Once upon a time I was pulling down half a million a year in sneaker resale. That time has passed and now I spend my time trying to create a site that gives people as much information about the world of sneakers as possible. It doesn’t bring me as much money as flipping ever did, but the sneaker world has shifted and it takes a serious amount of finessing and dealing to get all of the hottest shoes to flip. Besides that, Memphis is a tough city and flipping is now a contact sport that I’m not tough enough to grind in anymore.
I don’t have the energy and money to do it anymore, but it always amazes me to see people who are in the biz discuss details, without really discussing details. If you have been in the kicks world for a while, you know who 23Penny is. If you don’t then this documentary is worth your 5 minutes.
Yeezys sell out nearly instantly due to backdoor-ing, bots and resellers. Sneaker resellers are somewhat of a pariah of the culture; their occupation is taboo and they largely fly under the radar. Yuanrun Zheng, better known in his circles as “23Penny” or “Z,” is the Sneaker Broker. He has a personal sneaker collection of over 500 pairs, but, for him, sneakers are just business. Z takes us on an unprecedented look into the world of resellers.
(shot in part on Kodak 16mm film**)
Director- Benjamin Skipworth
Cinematographer: Hayden Mason
Editor: Owen Jackson
1st AC: Sam Siske
Original Music By: Ford Heacock
Additional tracks provided by: Miyagi
Sound Designer and Location Sound: Jeremiah Nave
Colorist: Jimmy Cardenas
Transcriptions: Sarah Hood
CAST
Z- Yuanrun Zheng- 23Penny.com
Car Wash- Chase Tucker
Girl On A Ledge- Mandy Renfroe
Unbox Me- Shayla Humphreys
The Ye Projector- Ethan K. Summers
Sneaker Spinner- Stephanie Nicole Longo
ATL Wall Tagger- Ephraim Johnson
Lifestyle footage shot on Kodak 16mm film stock.
Remaining footage shot on an Arri Alexa Mini.
Shot on location in Atlanta, GA and Nashville, TN.
What drove us to tell this story? Personifying a “villainous” reseller through Yeezy hype.
