The UK Sneaker scene has been around since the 80’s but the spotlight has only been shining on it for the last 2 years with the expansion of institutions like sneaker events, reselling and sneaker Art, we talk to a man that has taken it upon himself to bear the burden of the sneakerhead scene and become the King of Trainers. Franklin Boateng is actively involved in the Sneaker scene with an Instagram following of over 80,000, a leading Sneaker News website and his fingers in many pies. We managed to grab his first in depth online interview to see exactly what being the King really entails…
Why does the Sneaker game need a King?
LOL what an opening question… Every kingdom needs a King! Nah in all seriousness I’ve been the King since I was a kid tbh, plus I thought a couple years ago who are the ambassadors of the UK Sneaker game? Who are the recognisable people? I saw a lack of help for people trying to do things in the sneaker game…
What qualifications do you need to be the King of Trainers?
None – you see I love the sneaker culture, I am from the sneaker culture… I have always been the King I dunno if you can qualify, you just need to have it in you, I probably do and have done more behind the scenes in the sneaker game than people know.
Why do you love sneakers so much?
Where I am from in London I wouldn’t say I grew up poor but we definitely weren’t rich or well off, but my mum worked crazy hard and always bought me a nice pair of trainers but being a kid, my Dad used to get Tailor made suits and he used to tell me to look after my Sneakers cause you can have the best clothes in the world but if your footwear isn’t nice or clean people won’t take you seriously.
When did you decide that you wanted to be The king of trainers?
I never decided I was given the name… in the early 90’s I used to come back from the states with kicks that you could not get for a couple months here in the UK, so people used to say you’re the King… There was times people would get the sneaker I had 6 months after I got it and people would say the King had it first lol, it was all fun and games back then just love nothing to do with status just a love of kicks.
What does The King of Trainers do?
Look over the Kingdom – I used to sell Trainers, I have been reselling before it was even reselling probably about 20 years ago and had an appointment only studio in North London. I have supplied a few UK stars and a few people with that hard to get heat and in between that I did a lot of other things to help out a lot of people in the scene. Today I am the UK’s biggest sneaker blogger and have the biggest Trainers news account in Europe, I help creatives and people who may not have a big social media following by posting up their work as well as sorting out loads of politics behind the scenes and keeping the kingdom happy but thats for another interview
Is Sneaker Art really Art or is it doodling?
Sneaker Art is really Art, you have some guys like Dave White that have gone from painting Jordans to creating his own Pair with Nike. Sneaker Art is massive world wide and starting to get big here in the UK where you have guys like Virginia Ben making a living from it and collaborating with with shops like Liberty on sneaker customisation projects.
The thing is the US is bigger so most of the guys out there are getting crazy money from Customising with some high end customisers starting at $1000 and a lot of the UK guys now are making some good money and got some amazing work. Follow my hashtags #RateMyArt & #RateMyCustom on Instagram.
What is your opinion on Sneaker events in the UK?
I personally think that they are good i’ve been to loads of them over Europe… But in the UK a new brand needs to get involved in the fray I love the events and meeting the Kingdom. Something is definitely coming though watch?
Who do you think has the most influence in the Sneaker Game Michael Jordan or Kanye West and Why?
Lol you know my answer on this question but I will say it again, I love MJ but Kanye West is more influential in the Sneaker Game. I don’t know if I can go so far and say he is the most influential, maybe Tinker Hatfield Ronnie Fieg and UK’s own Paul Raffles would be up there but I definitely would say no one has done what he has done in the sneaker game and when you talk about influence people really start wearing what he is wearing and go crazy for any trainer he puts his name to. MJ is a brand no one is gonna start wearing baggy suits or Cowboy boots based on what he may be wearing.
What is missing from the Sneaker game?
A UK Ronnie Fieg more UK people that can have collabs and are recognised for it, not the big shops more personalities and more inclusiveness not exclusiveness.
What brand do you think has made the most successful comeback since the UK Sneaker game in the last five years in terms of being acceptable casual fashion?
Hands Down @Diadora !! Last year they started doing collabs and it went from there, they sent me a huge care package and and I looked at all their releases and collabs and they went from a forgotten brand that was sold cheaply in Ahem JD to now being a true contender in the sneaker game.
What function do Sneaker Instagram Pages have in the sneaker game?
Instagram has literally changed the Sneaker game, people have launched brands solely through Instagram followings it is crazy… but the down side is everyone is a Sneaker head or thinks that because they have more followers than anyone else they are more of a Sneaker head than anyone else… Personally I use it to build a following and deliver services and products to them..
Do you ever get any hate for wearing a crown and a cape and encouraging people to collect love sneakers?
HATE? Whats that?? LOL, yeah I get hate all the time and before I used to get upset but now I see that it comes with the territory. People are wondering how can he be the King, etc but if I ain’t the King who is? Look at my movements, look how I handle people and treat people, I make myself accessible and inclusive ,who else would call out a big brand like adidas for not moving correctly in regards to a certain drop… Also I really love trainers, I lived a Sneaker head life my whole life… But anyone who hates they have to ask themselves am I stopping them from getting money or feeding their kids? Those are the things that are important, Instagram and kicks ain’t that deep… But it does make me laugh though people have debates about me lol
What’s the best thing about being the King of Trainers?
The Love I get!! People coming up to me anywhere I go and saying “Thank you”, I say for what, they say for the good you do for the community, Im like its not that deep but they say thank you and that it means a lot that they have someone like me repping for the UK sneaker scene.
How many sneakers do you own?
At one point I counted like 500+ pairs but since then I sold shit loads, gave some to a school in Ghana and just mashed pairs up so now I’m down to a couple hundred.
Tell us something about the King of Trainers that no-one knows?
I am a broke millionaire and this ain’t my full time Job lol – I am more of a business person TBH, I love the King of Trainers Socail side but there is also a business model behind it that is yet to be revealed… I’ve done things and have links in places people wouldn’t even believe… Name another Sneaker Head that has done a TedX Talk on something away from Sneakers ‘the Safety of kids online’ – My mind is somewhere else…
The King of Trainers Instagram Page has been going for 2 years this month and is now on 80.700 followers what has been the most rewarding experience of having this page?
I get so many FREE thing,s that is great but more importantly its the people I am meeting and becoming friends with through the Sneaker game, some really positive people doing some great things
The King of Trainers website was launched last year and has become a popular site for sneaker news why did you start this and what can we expect to see in the future from this platform?
Ahh the www.kingoftrainers.com Yup its the number 1 Trainers news site in the UK, it get’s about 2000 unique hits a day but that ain’t enough! I set that up for the brands, we need to own platforms that we can control yup Instagram is cool but we don’t own that, if they shut my account tomorrow which people have tried to ‘Ahem’ I would have to start again so we need our own platforms. I just felt no one was doing news at the time I was doing it TBH.
The things that are coming… Well we just launched TalkingSoles.com a forum for Sneaker heads to talk controlled and owned by the Sneaker community. Gonna reemerge Sneakionary.com got something big happening with that soon, Something for the Sneaker community that hasn’t been done before also… Just done a special T-Shirt Collab with Princess Nyah’s Binghis Boutique for the 20th Anniversary of the 95’s. I am just working soon people will understand the King!
Follow the King of Trainers on Instagram at @Kingoftrainers and check out the website Kingoftrainers.com
