A Closer Look at the Nike Air Max 95 “Freddy Krueger”
When you’re thinking about shoes, a character inspired by a horror film may not be the first thing that comes to mind. If you just happen to be an individual who is a huge fan of the film franchise “Nightmare on Elm Street” or maybe you don’t really care for the films, but you love the character Freddy Krueger, then you’re definitely going to want to know more about the Air Max 95 from Nike that shares the character’s name. Maybe you’ve been wanting to get your hands on a pair of these shoes for some time or perhaps you didn’t even know they existed until now. Either way, it’s time to take a closer look at these shoes and see what makes them so special.
It’s Not Exactly an Original Idea
Unless you follow the release of special edition sneakers very closely or you’re an avid fan of the aforementioned film franchise, you might be surprised to learn that this isn’t exactly the first time that a shoe has been released carrying the main character’s moniker. As a matter of fact, this particular shoe, made by Nike, is the most recent creation and it was specifically designed to provide a more cost-effective alternative to another sneaker designed by the same company, the Freddy Krueger Nike SB Dunk Low. At the time that the latter shoe was released, there were a lot of “Nightmare on Elm Street” fans that were going crazy for it and wanted to get their hands on a pair. An overwhelming majority of them ended up disappointed when they found out that the shoe was selling for what was then considered a fairly exorbitant price. Fast forward to 2020, and here is a new shoe created by Nike that is designed to appease fans by giving them their Freddy Krueger fix without costing them an entire paycheck in the process.
It’s All About Appearance
It probably won’t come as any surprise to learn that these particular sneakers were designed to look almost identical to the infamous sweater worn by Freddy Krueger in the films. As such, the shoes are made from suede and the colors are brown and university red, striped of course. Nike even went as far as including visible gel pockets on the sides of the brown soles. These gel pockets have a two-fold function. Obviously, they’re present for comfort, but they’re also colored red to symbolize the blood spilled by the victims of Freddy Krueger himself. These shoes were released on November 1st of 2020 at a cost of $180 per pair. Some people might argue that that is a purchase price that’s still a bit on the high side, but when you consider the cost of sneakers these days, it’s really not that bad. As a matter of fact, these shoes wouldn’t run you much more than your typical, run-of-the-mill pair of sneakers that you could purchase from practically any store at the same time. That made them an important find for film buffs and sneaker collectors alike. As you can imagine, the shoes sold out fairly quickly because all of these film buffs and sneaker collectors wanted to get their hands on a pair for themselves.
That means if you didn’t snatch up a pair of the shoes almost as soon as they went on sale, you were probably out of luck, at least at the time being. Sure, you can still purchase them to this day, but you’ll have to do it through a third party site that specializes in selling second-hand items and collectibles. That means that you’re probably going to spend a lot more than $180 on them. In fact, they routinely go for just a little over $300 these days. It’s worth noting that the amount you’ll eventually pay will largely depend on the size of shoe that you’re interested in purchasing. As is almost always the case with this type of thing, the sizes that are more difficult to find are going to be worth more money. In fact, there are some shoes that are still selling for roughly the same amount as they cost when they were brand new, around $180. They’re few and far between, but they’re the sizes that were produced the most. Think sizes 8 or 9. What if you wear a size 4 or a size 13? In those cases, you’re probably going to spend about $320 per pair.
Sometimes it Pays to Pre-Order
Perhaps the thing that really gets the best of individuals who are trying to purchase a pair of these shoes now is the knowledge that if they had only pre-ordered them before they were actually released, they could have saved a ton of money. In fact, the shoes were available for only $85 a pair through pre-order sales. As already discussed, that price went up by another $95 if you waited until the day of release to purchase them. Pre-ordering not only saved you almost $100, but it also ensured that you didn’t have to worry about missing out because of a sold-out item. Nevertheless, that doesn’t necessarily mean that everyone who wanted to get in on the action was actually able to do so. What does that mean for you? It means that if you still want a pair of these shoes, you can find them on sites like eBay, GOAT, Stock X and others.
It also means that you’re going to pay more money so you’d do yourself a favor to shop around and find the best deal possible. At the end of the day, this particular shoe is one that pays homage to one of the most beloved characters of a horror film classic to ever exist. Who knows, perhaps Nike will eventually come up with a shoe that pays homage to Michael Myers or Jason Voorhees, or maybe even Ghostface. For now, horror movie lovers will have to settle for getting their hands on a pair of Freddy Krueger sneakers. The thing is, these sneakers look good enough to wear practically everywhere you go so once you have them, you’ll have trouble deciding if you want to wear them or squirrel them away for safekeeping. After all, you wouldn’t want them to get dirty, would you?
