Mark Wahlberg Sneaker Obsession Revealed: From Childhood Dreams to $100,000 Collection!”
As a young boy growing up in Dorchester, Mark Wahlberg had a singular desire: to own a fresh pair of sneakers.During his formative years, Wahlberg, a self-professed “big shoe head,” would spend countless hours in stores like Mickey Finn’s and Crystal’s, yearning for a pair of “shell toes” (a moniker for Adidas Superstar sneakers), as he recounted to the Globe on Wednesday. This recollection took place during an event at Concepts on Newbury Street, celebrating the launch of Origin, a new sneaker under his lifestyle brand Municipal.
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Mark Wahlberg reminisced about the time his late sister Debbie gifted him a pair of Converse, which he meticulously tried to keep pristine until he realized that deliberately poking holes in them might prompt a relative to buy him a new pair. When that tactic failed, he resorted to shoveling snow, selling newspapers, and doing whatever it took to amass enough funds to splurge on coveted footwear.
Mark Wahlberg
“It’s always been an integral part of my life and a defining aspect of my identity,” Mark Wahlberg remarked. He also revealed his childhood aspiration of becoming a Celtics ball boy solely to acquire shoes in the team’s signature green and black colors.
These days, acquiring new sneakers poses no difficulty for the actor, who possesses an extensive sneaker collection valued at over $100,000 in 2015. His assortment includes sought-after pairs like the Eminem x Carhartt Air Jordan 4, which can fetch prices exceeding $20,000.
“I have an office in Vegas where my entire shoe collection essentially occupies the entire space,” Mark Wahlberg disclosed. “I let my sons peruse the collection, but for the most part, I intend to keep them and hopefully construct a dedicated space to house them all.”
When not engrossed in sneaker pursuits, Wahlberg is immersed in realizing his own shoe line, which he regards as a “dream come true.” In 2022, he assumed the role of a strategic investor in sneaker brand P448 and its parent company StreetTrend. This collaboration led to the launch of Origin earlier this year, with a full collection slated for release in 2024.
While Wahlberg has previously collaborated with other shoe companies, primarily in an “endorsement capacity,” he is now fully invested in Origin. Following his investment in the company, Wahlberg collaborated closely with Straitened CEO Wayne Kulkin, whom the actor likened to Nike co-founder Phil Knight, to bring the new sneaker line to fruition.
“I aimed for a design that combines the comfort of a Boost and a Yeezy with the stability of a performance shoe,” Mark Wahlberg explained. “I wanted something suitable for work, workouts, and lounging at home.”
Despite his foray into the world of sneakers and other business ventures, Wahlberg remains committed to his acting career. Although he has hinted at a potential slowdown in film production, he has no plans to retire from acting anytime soon. In fact, the actor disclosed plans to establish a studio in Vegas near his residence, enabling him to oversee productions while remaining close to his family.
“I wanted the ability to work from home, building brands and creating my own films,”Mark Wahlberg shared. “To be able to finance films and television, own the content, and truly have control over my destiny.
“These are the things I aspire to do,” he continued. “But I believe I have a specific timeframe during which I can continue to dedicate myself to becoming a better actor and starring in movies that I genuinely believe audiences would enjoy and that I would want to be a part of.”
