Drum – 22 August 2019

68 |^22 AUGUST^2019 http://www.drum.co.za

SNEAKER

FRENZY

What dobillionairesblowtheircash

on? If you’reMilesNadalyouforkout

big bucksfortheultimatelimited

editionkicks

R20million

tostarthis

collection

ofultra-rare

sneakers.

tionofhats,jacketsand

helmets.

In fact, Miles Nadal

owns so many thingshe

houses them in his own privatemuseum
where he can feast his eyesonhisprizes
and show them off to hisfri
So when he heard of a

auction going down atthe

Andsobeginsa talethattrulydepicts

howtheotherhalflive.

Miles (61), a hugely successful Cana-

dian entrepreneur who has amassed a

fortunebycreating enterprises across

severalindustries, started by snapping

pairs of rare and limited

tion trainers.

Heforked out $850 000

(R12,7 million) before the

auction began – but he

couldn’t get his hands on

the main prize: lot 100, a

pair of ultra-rare Nike

Moon Shoes.

Jordan Geller, a full-time

fessional sneaker collec-

tor,owned lot 100 and turned

his noseupatMiles’ offer of $160 000

(R2,4m).

The Moon Shoes,named for the waffle

printofthesolewhichissimilartothat

ofastronautfootprintsonthemoon,

man for runners at the 1972 Olympics.

“[Miles’ offer] seemed like a great deal

for everyone but with the Moon Shoes,

there was no telling where the price

would end up,” Jordan said.

“My opinion was that any estimate

was a number pulled out of the sky, and

I felt that I wanted to let the market de-

cide what they’re worth. It was a risk, but

I didn’t want to pull the plug five days

early. I felt as if I’d live to regret not seeing

their way to the finish line.”

It was a shrewd move. On the final day

of the five-day auction a bidding war

brokeout.

“Asit waswindingdown,I waswatch-

in 10 000,$200000,

p

ends.

an

e

up 99

edit

prof

tor ow

Milescannowproudly

displayinclude(from

left)NikeAirMags,

kicks designed by

Pharrell Williams,

Supreme x Nike Air

Jordans and limited

edition Nike SBs.

Nike co-founder Bill Bowermandesi

the so-called Moon Shoes (ABOVER

and TOP) in 1972. An unworn pairha

for R6,5 million.

p

arevaluablebecausetherewereonly

ever 12 pairsmade.

The handcrafted footwear were

designed by Nike co-founder Bill Bower-

$250 000 ,to$300000.It wassosurreal,”

Jordansaid.

“It wasalsosucha reliefformewhen

the bidding surpassed what Ihad

igned

RIGHT

as sold

RIGHT:Raresneakers

Miles can now proudly

eedition kicks COMPILEDBYDENNISCAV E R N E L IS

Canadian

entrepreneur

MilesNadal

spent nearly

E HASalotofcoolstuff

• rarecars,vintagemo-
  torbikes,pricelessan-
  tiquesanda vastcollec-

famousSotheby’s auctionhousehede-

cidedhehadtogetinonit.Awhole

bunch ofoldsneakerswereforsaleand

hehadtohavethem.

NEWS