Community Curated #3 - @jjjjjoshhh

It's that time of the month again here at The Sole Supplier where we put one of our community members in the spotlight to showcase their sneaker collection, flex their latest pickups, talk about their fashion style, and much more!

Last month, we had London-based illustrator Tim Easley talk about his experience working in the footwear industry and his projects with Nike and Footlocker. And now for The Sole Supplier: Community Curated part three, Exeter-based medical student Josh Petersen has been gaining a significant level of attention on social media recently for his vintage Nike sneakers and neutral-coloured outfits. We spoke to him to find out more!

Hi, I’m Josh, aka @jjjjjoshhh on IG. My love for sneakers started with football trainers back in primary school. I always remember trying to convince my parents to buy me the new Nike Mercurials that had come out that year, ready for the new season. I was always massively into the bright colourways to make sure they stood out. I'd say the first sneakers that got me hooked were the Nike SB Stefan Janoskis back in 2010 as they were a massive craze at that time. For the last five to six years, I’ve kept up with new releases but didn’t purchase my first "hyped" pair until 2018 when I saved up and bought the Off-White x Nike Air Force 1 "The 10". Since then, my collection has grown extensively, and I have spent far too much of my spare money on sneakers. In February 2021, I started an Instagram page to showcase some of the pairs in my collection through images and reels. From doing this, I found myself even more invested in sneakers and have especially developed a love for older pairs.

A lot of my inspiration comes from other creatives on Instagram. This might be a colour combination, particular location, and more. A lot of the time, I just like to get loads of clothes out, chuck them on my bed and try out a bunch of different combinations of outfits. For me, the shoes are always the focal point, so I like to start with those and plan my outfits around them. Most of the time, I like to keep my fits quite simple and focus on good colour combinations and tones that would compliment my sneakers. A few of my favourite brands at the moment are Ronning, Carhartt, Stüssy, and Jaded London as they offer decent basic essentials like hoodies and trousers which I can use for lots of fits. I tend to shop at places like Depop, eBay and sometimes at END Clothing for certain bits.

I picked up the Air Jordan 4 "Military Blue" from 2006 for a really good price off a good friend of mine in a heavily worn condition. I think the AJ4 is one of my favourite silhouettes and the Military Blue colourway has to be one of the best. The amazing vintage condition that this pair is in just gives them so much character. Recently, I’ve been searching for more older pairs like this one and I think this pair is the exact reason why I’ve been doing that.

There's just something amazing about the details on the Carpet Company x Nike SB Dunk High and the story behind it. The whole tear away upper is such a cool concept for a sneaker, although I don’t personally think that I will be cutting them up. When I found them for a steal price, I couldn’t say no to picking them up.

I think the Air Jordan 1 Low "Neutral Grey" is massively underrated. I’ve never owned a pair of Jordan 1 Low before but I had to pick these up. The combination of white and grey is just such a clean look that goes with anything. They’ve become my daily beaters for the last few months and I’m very tempted to double up on them.

I absolutely love The Sole Supplier community community. I've met some amazing people through the groups that I speak to all the time who share the same interests. It's nice to be part of a community with so many like-minded people who look out for each other. I also have to give a big shout out to everyone in the TSS team who do such a good job running all the groups, especially Emily Atkins!