Now, more than ever, we have the accessibility and credibility that many OGs might have dreamed of - and pushed for - in the early years. Paying respect to one of our most influential compadres, Shelflife, is essential to our vision for South African sneaker culture. Now, with their momentous, exclusive release of Shelflife x AJ2 low and apparel collection, the future couldn’t be more ripe for the taking; we chatted to Shelflife founder & creative director, Nick Herbert, about this moment for South Africa.  

Shelflife opened its doors in 2006, and for Nick, it was an extension of his distribution of Montana spray paint specific for graffiti artists and writers. As an exclusive stockist, Nick knew he could pay the rent with the demand for Montana within his community - and start seeding something slowly, to what Shelflife is today; a mecca of importing & distribution, punctuated by both originality and collaboration for the scene in South Africa. Back then, Shelflife started off small - and a year into opening, they were approached by Nike - a moment that altered the store’s trajectory forever. Reminiscing on this, Nick says, “We started off with Air Force 1s, that was our first style, and only three pairs. We did a whole launch with them, the Shin Tanaka paper sneaker show, and we had an amazing turnout - and it was the first time that a lifestyle footwear range had been marketed in South Africa. Before then no one had done it, and so we started to build our relationship with Nike from that moment.” That was 16 years ago, a long time ago in a word of ceaseless trends, but Shelflife continued to drive forward with the kind of grit and endurance unmatched in the country; “The first five or six years were really difficult - we struggled to pay rent and even salaries - so it wasn’t an overnight success, but the whole time we maintained a very strict composure. We made sure every launch was done to the best of our ability, and that we spoke and educated within the local market and that’s always been very important to us. That’s how we ended up with a lot of the accounts that we have today; it’s an incredible balance between telling our story and the brand story as clearly as possible. Our biggest commitment has been to the local community, local artists, and creating employment.”

Nick says, “We got there by telling these stories before anyone else in South Africa. We started to market these products to a very specific audience, and in doing so were able to educate the South African consumer from understanding Air Maxes, and Jordans and Air Forces, as sports or performance footwear to lifestyle products. When we started, there were maybe 50 to 100 collectors in the country that understood these as a lifestyle footwear. We have kept pushing boundaries and creating innovation through this all.”

Together, Shelfife and Lemkus are the only two holders of the highly coveted Nike NBHD account in the country. A ‘boutique sneaker account’ - Nick explains, “The name itself gives you a feeling of what this account is about. It’s about community, and what surrounds you directly - it’s about telling the neighbourhood story. We have always used the community around us to tell a story and leverage the position of the product within our unique, local context. Achieving a neighbourhood account is the best one can do - there are only a handful on the whole continent.” When Nick got the call from Nike that Shelflife had been put forward for the anticipated Air Jordan Retro 2, it was a dream come true - “I really couldn’t believe it, I didn’t think it would ever happen and it was quite hard to fathom that this would be the next moment for Shelflife. One of our ex-team members reminded me that I had said in 2008 or so, that our own Jordans would be a dream come true. It’s a huge moment in time for us, but also for the spotlight to be shone on South Africa for once. It shows the possibilities for the future - and that it is our time now.” Regarding the Air Jordan, Nick says “There’s always been a legacy, for me it's been since ‘93 or ‘94 - it's such a potent symbol for sneaker collectors. There is a massive following in Cape Town especially, it will never be a fad - it’s a heritage brand here.”

So alongside Detroit, Manila in the Philippines, and us in Cape Town and Johannesburg, we form the ‘international flightclub’ - with the community as the central focus and theme. We started to think about our direct team, and the guys who released and work with - from shooting products, to packing boxes, to having coffee every morning together - these are the people who make it happen, everyday, for us to have the kind of scene we do surrounding Shelflife. Their support and knowledge makes us special, and is the community closest to our heart. Our pack is “TEAM ONLY” - what does a team mean, and what can you achieve with others with a unified vision?”