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The founder of Outsole tells his story

K’LEKT | 3 november 2015

K’LEKT Member Interview – Frank Klerks

Frank is not only a passionate sneaker collector, he also started the website Outsole.nl with a couple of friends. We talked to him about his personal favorites, the idea behind the website and the most hyped shoes they got in stock.

Hey Frank, thanks for being our guest today!

Cheers, thanks for having me here!

First of all, please give our readers a short introduction on yourself. 
My name is Frank Klerks, 23 years old and I live together with my girlfriend in Apeldoorn, Netherlands. My passion lies in sneakers, sneakers, sneakers, music, football and sneakers. I started collecting about 10 years ago and just launched Outsole as an online shop for – second hand – exclusive collectible sneakers. Beside processing orders at Outsole, I work as a Business Intelligence Consultant for a living.

Since when have you been collecting and at which point did you first start thinking about reselling sneakers? 
After being raised with mountain boots and sandals, I saved up my birthday money and bought my first pair of Nike Air Max after my 12th birthday. This was all before the Nike AM1 hype began. Back then most other kids used to wear Puma Race Cats or K-Swiss sneakers, so I wasn’t even that cool with my Nikes. However, the Air Max gave me that ‘WOW’ feeling and I just had to buy another pair… two times a year, to two times a month, to two times a week. Of course I also had to sell pieces of my collection to make this happen, I was able to sell sneakers for like 10 € more than I bought them. My focus has always been on older sneakers, not to resell kicks which have been released a week ago! And the combination of buying and selling is exactly what I’m still doing nowadays. I started Outsole as a legit platform to sell hundreds of sneakers, but also to buy sneakers from others and to expand my personal collection.

How did you establish the whole platform? 
I started Outsole together with my co-owner Bas Honders and our visual designer Dennis Wegereef as an official webshop for legit collectible sneakers. We know from our own experience that it’s really hard for sneaker freakers to figure out whether a seller at places like eBay or Facebook is legit or not. That’s why we want to ensure our customers that they can easily order sneakers at from us as a legit seller. Customers receive what they paid for: what you see is what you get. You will find over 500 pairs of exclusive sneakers, and we will update our webshop at least once per month. We have over 1.000 exclusive sneakers from the past years that will be sold – if you don’t want to miss any of the updates, follow us on Facebook and Instagram! Our main focus is on Air Max 1s from the past years – we’re Dutch after all (laughs). However, we also like diversity. About 50 percent of what we offer are AM1s, the other half consists of AM90s, New Balance, ASICS, Jordans, Vintage, Air Stab, 180s, Structures and so on. You won’t find many sneakers that have been released last year in our webshop though.

Well, now we’d really love to hear about the Top 10 sneakers you got in stock!

  1. Patta x Parra x Nike Air Max 1 ‘Burgundy / Cherrywood’
    Number 1 is definitely the Patta x AM1 Burgundy designed by Piet Parra, released to celebrate the 5th anniversary of the Dutch sneaker store Patta. We’re selling these highly limited sneakers in size US 5 and US 8.5 – and we also got the other AM1s related to Patta’s anniversary.
  2. LFSTL x New Balance 577 ‘Kakkerlak’
    While the ‘Burgundy’ is related to Amsterdam, the second most hyped sneaker we sell represents the competitive Dutch city Rotterdam. We had this true collectors item in size US 10, brand new in box. Unfortunately, they sold out quickly after the launch of our web shop.
  3. 3.Parra x Nike Air Max 1 ‘Amsterdam’
    Once again, a sneaker that represents a Dutch city. Of course, there are some chauvinistic influences on our list (laughs). Probably every AM1 head knows this pair of sneakers – in our opinion, these are so ugly that they are freaking awesome.
  1. Atmos x Nike Air Max 1 ‘Supreme Animal’
    These could also be on the number 1 spot. Even though these do not have the same value as the sneakers that are ranked higher, ‘Animals’ are hyped as fuck at this moment. We sold a few of them, but we still got them in US 9 and US 9.5 at this moment. Don’t confuse the name with the ‘Beast Pack’, which is also in our stock.
  2. Patta x ASICS GEL-LYTE III
    The first collab with Patta on an ASICSS GL3 is not the most expensive one we sell – but definitely the most hyped one. These have had a great life so far, that’s for sure.
  3. Hanon x ASICS GEL-LYTE III ‘Wildcats’
    The first GL3 collab with Hanon is a lovely one. They’ve been released in the time were GL3’s weren’t such a hype shoe. We remember those days where these went for only 200 € and the first Slam Jams were on sale in Dutch stores. You know the story of the prices these days though.
  4. Nike Air Jordan I BRED 1985 Original
    A true collectors item. These Jordans are older than we are, that’s crazy. However, they’re still in an amazing condition and the midsole looks great. Despite that we are no Jordan heads, the OG Bred has to be in our Top 10.
  5. Atmos x Nike Air Max 1 ‘Elephant’
    Next to the ‘Supreme Animal’, we also sell other Atmos releases: Viotech, Safari 1B, Desert Camo, Tiger Camo/Snake and so on. But in our opinion the ‘Elephant’ is the most hyped pair of these, without a doubt. These are some of our favorites.
  6. Nike Air Max 90BHM Hyperstrike
    The price of this pair is not close to other more hyped hyperstrikes, but this is the one and only that we sell at our web shop – a Friends & Family release.
  7. Clot x Nike Air Max 1 NL
    Number 10 of our list: the first AM1 Clot release, with the strange transparent toe box and without lining… hate it or love it!

An impressive list, that’s for sure. Do you also have a personal grail yourself? 
That has to be the Overkill x Nike Air Max 1 Studio ID in the Concord colorway. Most of my friends know that sneakers I wear usually have some pink on them – real man wear pink! I’ve had this AM1 three times now, but there’s only one left. I bought these at Sneakerness Cologne two years ago, but they started yellowing like hell as well. So if any of you guys got a pair in a good wearable condition and size US9… hit me up (laughs).

We hope that somebody get’s in touch with you! How many pairs do you own right now? 
That’s a hard question for me, because there are always many pairs in my collection which may be sold at Outsole. There’s no real boundary between my personal collection and sneakers that will be up for sale… simply because I like to refresh my collection from time to time and there are only a few sneakers that I will not sell for personal reasons. However, I own over 800 pairs of sneakers at this moment. There are some true collector’s items among them: Amsterdam, BRS, Burgundy and some hyperstrike stuff, but somehow I prefer simple studio IDs and Structures.

Can’t go wrong with them. Thanks a lot for showing us these gems!
Thank you guys – see you at Outsole or some of the upcoming sneaker events!

Outsole on K’LEKT
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Outsole on Facebook

Overkill x Nike Air Max 1 Studio ID

Patta x Parra x Nike Air Max 1 ‘Burgundy / Cherrywood’

Nike Air Max 1 Patta x Parra Burgundy Cherrywood

LFSTL x New Balance 577 ‘Kakkerlak’

Parra x Nike Air Max 1 ‘Amsterdam’

Atmos x Nike Air Max 1 ‘Supreme Animal’

Patta x ASICS GEL-LYTE III

Hanon x ASICS GEL-LYTE III ‘Wildcats’

Nike Air Jordan I BRED 1985 Original

Atmos x Nike Air Max 1 ‘Elephant’

Nike Air Max 90 BHM Hyperstrike

Clot x Nike Air Max 1 NL

 

Klik hier voor het originele artikel

Nike
MEN
US UK EU CM
3.5 3 35.5 22
4 3.5 36 22.5
4.5 4 36.5 23
5 4.5 37.5 23.5
5.5 5 38 24
6 5.5 38.5 24
6.5 6 39 24.5
7 6 40 25
7.5 6.5 40.5 25.5
8 7 41 26
8.5 7.5 42 26.5
9 8 42.5 27
9.5 8.5 43 27.5
10 9 44 28
10.5 9.5 44.5 28.5
11 10 45 29
11.5 10.5 45.5 29.5
12 11 46 30
12.5 11.5 47 30.5
13 12 47.5 31
13.5 12.5 48 32
14 13 48.5 32.5
Nike
WMNS
US UK EU CM
5 2.5 35.5 22
5.5 3 36 22.5
6 3.5 36.5 23
6.5 4 37.5 23.5
7 4.5 38 24
7.5 5 38.5 24.5
8 5.5 39 25
8.5 6 40 25.5
9 6.5 40.5 26
9.5 7 41 26.5
10 7.5 42 27
10.5 8 42.5 27.5
11 8.5 43 28
11.5 9 44 28.5
12 9.5 44.5 29
New Balance
MEN
US UK EU CM
4 3.5 36 22
4.5 4 37 22.5
5 4.5 37.5 23
5.5 5 38 23.5
6 5.5 38.5 24
6.5 6 39 24.5
7 6.5 40 25
7.5 7 40.5 25.5
8 7.5 41 26
8.5 8 42 26.5
9 8.5 42.5 27
9.5 9 43 27.5
10 9.5 44 28
10.5 10 44.5 28.5
11 10.5 45 29
11.5 11 45.5 29.5
12 11.5 46 30
12.5 12 47 30.5
13 12.5 47.5 31
13.5 13 48 32
14 13.5 48.5 32.5
14.5 14 49 33
New Balance
WMNS
US UK EU CM
5 3 35.5 22
5.5 3.5 36 22.5
6 4 36.5 23
6.5 4.5 37.5 23.5
7 5 38 24
7.5 5.5 38.5 24.5
8 6 39 25
8.5 6.5 40 25.5
9 7 40.5 26
9.5 7.5 41 26.5
10 8 42 27
10.5 8.5 42.5 27.5
11 9 43 28
11.5 9.5 44 28.5
12 10 44.5 29
Adidas
MEN
US UK EU CM
4 3.5 36 22
4.5 4 36.7 22.5
5 4.5 37.3 23
5.5 5 38 23.5
6 5.5 38.7 24
6.5 6 39.3 24.5
7 6.5 40 25
7.5 7 40.7 25.5
8 7.5 41.3 26
8.5 8 42 26.5
9 8.5 42.7 27
9.5 9 43.3 27.5
10 9.5 44 28
10.5 10 44.7 28.5
11 10.5 45.3 29
11.5 11 46 29.5
12 11.5 46.7 30
12.5 12 47.3 30.5
13 12.5 48 31
13.5 13 48.7 32
14 13.5 49.3 32.5
14.5 14 50 33
Adidas
WMNS
US UK EU CM
5 3 36 22
5.5 4 36.7 22.5
6 4.5 37.3 23
6.5 5 38 23.5
7 5.5 38.7 24
7.5 6 39.3 24.5
8 6.5 40 25
8.5 7 40.7 25.5
9 7.5 41.3 26
9.5 8 42 26.5
10 8.5 42.7 27
10.5 9 43.3 27.5
11 9.5 44 28
11.5 10 44.7 28.5
12 10.5 45.3 29
Asics
MEN
US UK EU CM
4 3 36 22.5
4.5 3.5 37 23
5 4 37.5 24
5.5 4.5 38 24.5
6 5 39 25
6.5 5.5 39.5 25.3
7 6 40 25.5
7.5 6.5 40.5 26
8 7 41.5 26.5
8.5 7.5 42 27
9 8 42.5 27.5
9.5 8.5 43.5 28
10 9 44 28.3
10.5 9.5 44.5 28.5
11 10 45 29
11.5 10.5 46 29.5
12 11 46.5 30
12.5 11.5 47 30.5
13 12 48 31
14 12.5 49 32
15 14 50.5 32
16 15 51.5 33
Asics
WMNS
US UK EU CM
5 3 35.5 22
5.5 3.5 36 22.5
6 4 37 23
6.5 4.5 37.5 23.5
7 5 38 24
7.5 5.5 39 24.5
8 6 39.5 25
8.5 6.5 40 25.5
9 7 40.5 26
9.5 7.5 41.5 26.5
10 8 42 27
10.5 8.5 42.5 27.5
11 9 43.5 28
11.5 9.5 44 28.5
12 10 44.5 29