Locked-Down Creators: Morgan Weekes

For the next rendition of our "Locked-Down" series, we have got together with none other than @Morprime. For those of you who are unaware, Morgan is one of the biggest sneakerheads in the UK. With years of knowledge and expertise under his belt, there is very little that he doesn't know about kicks.

Take a look at what draws him to more obscure silhouettes, how he is keeping busy during quarantine, and much more below. If you want to go and give him a follow, you can check him out on @Morprime (yes that is a mixture of his name and Optimus Prime). Keep it locked to The Sole Supplier for all of the best news and original content from the sneaker community.

This is always a tricky question so I try to change it up slightly each time I’m asked!

1) Nike Talaria OG - I’m currently having a reignited love affair with the Talaria, it’s one of those under the radar greats that never gets enough love but sticks in your head long after you’ve put them back in the box. The volt or fluorescent green is mesmerising and yet it’s a very easy shoe to keep clean and in good condition due to the materials used, I’ve actually just picked up an OG Red/Yellow colourway that a friend in Italy sent me the link for. It’s been a pair I’ve been trying to track down at a good price for years and finally, it’s turned up.

2) Nike Spiridon Royal/Blue - This would have to be up there as my favourite pair and probably the one I’m most known as I’m sitting on about 15 pairs of this colourway at the moment, every time a pair comes up I’ll buy it as long as the price is fair, people have even started sending me links to pairs which I’m very grateful for!

3) Adidas EQT Support - My Adidas collection is quite healthy but my two favourite models are the EQT Support 93 “OG” and the ZX8000 “Aqua” and if I had to choose between the two, it would always be the EQT as I have many fond memories of friends, events and moments that shoe has been a part of, the shoe was originally designed by Peter Moore (who designed the Jordan 10 and features stripped back technical elements and no-nonsense colourways that marks it out as equipment for athletes to increase there performance and nothing else. I’d like to give a special shout to the new ZX1000 that does a great job of combining the ZX and EQT.

4) Nike Air Flow It’s becoming a very Nike heavy list which isn’t always the case as I’ve got every brand in my collection but I’ve got a real soft spot for this era from Nike and the colours and design really stick with me. So my next choice would be the duckbilled Nike Air Flow in the Teal/Purple colourway that is one of the first Tier Zero shoes I purchased when starting collecting so always holds a special place in my stash.

5) I’ll throw a curveball in as my last pair, I’ve been wearing a lot of Puma Suedes recently, I have a few of the Made in Japan pairs in my collection and I’ve just been enjoying the simpleness and beautiful quality of suede that has been used throughout the shoe. I’m currently wearing the Lakers pair a lot and I’ll probably look to pick up another.

It’s a story I’ve told numerous times but it all started with my mum trusting me with £30 to grab a new pair of school shoes and returning home from Footlocker with a new pair of Black Nike AF1 Lows. These were actually banned at the time but as I had orchestrated this plan so meticulously as to leave me with no other possible alternatives I was allowed to wear these as my daily. I believe that was the moment I became infatuated with footwear and the stories that flow around them.

I’ve been collecting now for 13 years and have been in and out of the industry for 10 years, working in stores, events, brands and freelancing. I’ve gone through bad times where I’ve had to sell off large parts of my collection to survive, but I’m currently sat at around 600 pairs and have locked down a lot of my most sought-after trainers.

Honestly, you’d be surprised but not a lot, there’s the odd GR I’ll go back and grab so I’ll probably go with MAGS I’ve had a few opportunities over the years to acquire, even being allowed to bid privately by Nike at the last auction, but unfortunately I’ve never had my assets in order so it looks like they’ll be staying out of my collection for the foreseeable future.

First of all, I feel there's a big trend on social media around making something happen during lockdown either improving yourself, starting a business, or utilising your time more effectively, these are all great things but are based on circumstance and resources. So now I see a lot of people under pressure and comparing themselves to others which isn’t always healthy.

If you come out of this situation with a new business or drive that’s amazing and more power to you, but improvements can be positive and beneficial in the smallest form. Watch that movie that’s been on your list, set up a time with friends for a session on Call of Duty, pick up those pens and have a doodle, read a book, plan a simple workout routine or more importantly, reach out to someone you haven’t spoken to for a while. These are all small and easily achievable motives that will aid you positively and keep you active, physically, mentally, and socially.

I’ve mentioned a few things above that I’ve been enjoying and I’ve continued to research and buy footwear for my collection. Alongside all that, I’d say a major focus for me is making sure the people around me are doing ok, I’m quite used to working from home so I’ve become adept at entertaining myself but to a lot of my friends it’s come as a shock, so just being someone that people can reach out to and discuss how they’re doing, the latest trainers or working from home has hopefully been beneficial.

Each week during Lockdown I’ve also been running a Mental Health Live Stream with a new guest every Wednesday, we touch on various topics but always bring it back to trainers - I’ve got mad love to everyone who’s tuned into that and especially the guests for taking the time to join me.

Finally, I’ve been trying to aid freelancers and creatives by sharing their work and highlighting them to friends within brands so if you’ve created something from home and have either used the #createathome tag or tagged me direct (easier), I look forward to seeing what you’ve written, shot, drawn, recorded or made!

It’s hard to say, most of my favourite models come from the 90’s and this was the time I was born so a lot of things I’m into and my style cross-over! During that period, I’d never considered myself an OG but I’m blessed to know a lot of them who were around when this whole sneaker collecting began and they’ve of course positively influenced me and I hope to share that with younger audiences.

It’s not that I’m against hype, a lot of it is deserved like the “Mars Yard’ for instance, good design resonates with more people which means the demand outweighs the amount of product produced but I don’t have an attachment to a lot of the current trends, I’m a sucker for the past! An example is I don’t listen to Travis Scott so I don’t have that connection that elevates a shoe that extra level into a need, not a want.

So I’d been toying with launching it just before Lockdown - as mentioned above the premise was to support the creatives and freelance community by sharing work and getting people involved in making something new. Converse also launched a similar movement at the same time which is fitting as their last event actually inspired me to start the project. So the tag is rather busy at the moment but in my eyes the more involved the better! I’m currently working on some updates, competitions, and brand support for the next push so excited to share that all with you, let’s get the Sole Supplier involved!