With only one month of YouTube experience behind her, Ericka Alexis has already amassed almost 30,000 views of her in-depth shoe reviews. The Florida sneaker queen is rapidly gaining fans while showing off the sneaks on her size six feet, outgunning the guys with early exclusives, performance info and release date news. We jump into the tub to speak with Ericka about her videos, her collection and how she handles all those marriage proposals.
How many pairs are in your collection, and how many are Jordans?
I haven’t really counted lately but I think I have about 170. I tend to give away a lot of my sneakers and I always go through phases where I’m selling or trading. Majority are Jordans, probably about a good 80%.
When did you start buying sneakers? What got you started?
I always had sneakers but I started buying a lot more good stuff at 16, so that’s about 4 years ago. I was working my first job and just spending paychecks upon paychecks on getting shoes. I had a friend who actually worked at a sneaker store and he had a nice collection so I would compete with him on who would get the most sneakers. I just wanted to be better than the boys. Neither of us knew it then but those little competitive moments turned me into who I am today. In high school I was the girl with the most, and the hardest to get sneakers. That will forever be the coolest thing to me.
Which model is your favourite Jordan?
My favorite would have to be 7s. There’s something about them that always catches my eye. To go even deeper I’m in love with Maize 7s. The color way is so simple but cool to me.
Which pair has been the most difficult to get?
I guess the Columbia 11s were kind of hard for me to get but I ended up with 2 pairs. Being that I’m a size 6 nothing has been really that hard to get my hands on, most of my shoes just required a lot of negotiation. I remember days where I would be standing in front of the Champs on 42nd in NYC waiting to meet up with people to do sneaker trades. I miss that.
Normally girls wear the more lightweight running silhouettes, but your collection is all classic basketball sneaks. Do you wear anything other than Nike/Jordan basketball kicks?
This question made me smile. So many people ask me if I only wear Jordans and I’ve realized I really do just showcase those. I have Air Max, Free Runs, Tailwinds, etc. I even still have a little Nike Dunk collection from when I was 16. I also love Vans and Converse because they’re simple. One of my favorite pairs I own is actually a grey and red pair of adidas that I got a few years ago. I like to have options.
You had the LeBron 9 Elite South Beach quite a while before they dropped. How did you get them early?
I’ve always had access to shoes early because I have a friend over at the website thesneakerspy that would let me use sneakers for old photo shoots I would do. He’s located in New York, so ever since I moved to Florida he still helps and he’ll ship me a shoe before it comes out so I can be one of the first to display it. The only thing I won’t do is buy sneakers before they come out because I do work at a sneaker store and that discount is everything to me lol.
Your YouTube channel is becoming more and more popular every day. Why do you think you've stood out from the others?
I’m very surprised with the popularity of my channel so far, it’s been a month and the support I’ve received is amazing. I started thinking nobody would care what I had to say and surprisingly people come to me for my opinion on sneakers. I do know that me being a female is what really gets me out there though. Before I put out a video I check around and watch others, that way I’m not putting out the exact same info as the next person. It’s really a majority of guys or tomboyish girls. Guys want to see an attractive girl talking sneakers; I’m trying to stay that girl. Not too many people know that before I even started the videos I was doing some work last summer putting out a lot of sneaker pictures. Incorporating the two is another thing that I feel makes my channel stand out.
What made you start filming the sneaker reviews?
A boy I work with got me to start doing the videos. If it wasn’t for him I would have never even thought about making review videos. A few times at work he’d tell me I should do it, and me being shy I kept saying no nobody would want to watch me. I went home and just looked at my sneakers and thought about it then next thing I know my channel was up. I almost quit shortly after making my first video because I felt like I looked way too shy but all the positive feedback convinced me to just keep going.
Does it bother you that dudes seem to ignore the videos and just ask you to marry them in the comments?
Sometimes it does. I never want to sound stuck up or ungrateful but sometimes it's just a lot. I love reading comments where people compliment my knowledge or even when they’re giving me constructive criticism. I just can’t stand when I make a video and go into detail about the tech part of the shoe and a guy comments “you should do your reviews in a bikini.” However it comes with the territory I guess.
What's next for the videos?
I’m really not sure. I know I’m going to continue doing reviews but I want to get into more stuff. I want to show people more of my personality and that I’m not just all about sneakers. I also want to do work with other people so I can say I will have some skits coming out soon. I just want to have fun and ride this out for as long as possible.
OK, one more - Which sneaker is your holy grail?
Miro Olympic 7s! I’ve never seen them in person but I NEED a pair in my life. Hands down my favorite sneaker ever.
Thanks to Ericka for the interview! Make sure you catch more of Ericka on YouTube and Twitter.
