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This week enthusiasm for design was meshed, forever, with athletic footwear in the depths of my sole.

As Written Quincy’s Cypher 120 was taking place at the Retro Bar & Grill feeding our collective souls with deep words and passionate performances, artist and visionary nosamyrag was feeding my soul with seeds of intrigue. In my causal eavesdropping the phrase “sneaker head” kept leaping out.

When I could no longer contain myself I interrupted, “What is a ‘Sneaker Head‘?”

After a night getting pumped about nosamyrag’s event happening this Sunday at the Soundpony Bar; planning my sneaker heads attire and being slightly elated and confused over this celebration of utilitarian footwear; I was compelled to learn more about the Sneaker Head culture that exists in Tulsa.

When I met with nosamyrag to discuss the next morning I learned that the upcoming 918 Sole Food event was conceived during a conversation with Tulsa artist and event collaborator, Tahlia Roper.

nosamyrag has been into sneakers for more than a decade, stemming from people he looked up to within his family and the thrill of collecting high end gear as well as his appreciation for the design and construction of designer sneakers.

Roper’s interest in sneakers was peaked during an art\fashion project. While learning about different styles of sneakers, in order to customize her own sneakers, Roper came across the #sneakerhead hashtag on Instagram and was enthralled with the culture.

This research dawned an appreciation in Roper that caused her to comment on nosamyrag’s kicks at a party both were attending. This quickly moved into the planning stage for an event to bring Tulsa’s Sneaker Head culture together. nosamyrag was most surprised that there wasn’t already a collective locally.

“The lane is wide open for me…”, said nosamyrag, and as the collaboration stands they already plan to drive a broader conversation about the styles and functions of sneakers in society. 918 Sole Food planned for happy hour (4-7 P.M.) at the Soundpony Bar this Sunday, October the 14th, is only the first action.

nosamyrag described the event as the first step in leading Tulsa’s Sneaker Heads into the spotlight. Like many creative minds the goal of nosamyrag and Roper is to show the world what the Tulsa community has to offer.

Put on your favorite footwear and meet nosamyrag and Tahlia Roper to get some Sole Food on October 14th at the Soundpony Bar.

Literary Editor

Casey McLerran is the Literary Editor at the Black Wall Street Times. She is a Sooner State transplant from Forest Hills, NY. McLerran arrived in Oklahoma at the age of three shortly after gentrification displaced her and her family out of their home in New York. At first glance, many think they have McLerran figured out. To be frank, she’s a biracial American young woman that unapologetically embraces her half-African identity — a feminist-womanist she is. Her pen operates as her voice as well as her sword. Her accolades include the 2018 Rural Oklahoma Poetry Museum’s Oklahoma Poem Award, a business management degree, and her three beautiful children. Her objective with the Black Wall Street Times is to elevate and amplify the literary art of modern black American culture, pay tribute to African-American literary trailblazers, all while simultaneously linking and introducing children to the world of colorful American writers.

918 Sole Food for Sneaker Heads

Literary Editor

The Black Wall Street Times