One on one with Mexican-American Sneaker Collector, Cheddar Alcala

A proud Mexican-American from Chicago, Luis ‘Cheddar’ Alcala, aka @cheddar2345, has been in the sneaker game for a long time. The avid sneaker collector has built relationships throughout his 20-year sneaker journey, even getting blessed with pairs months ahead of the drop date, 1 of 1 samples, and PEs.

Cheddar is now getting his start on the retail side, moving to marketing and now consulting for the likes of Joe Freshgoods and other retailers across the States. We talked to Cheddar for Hispanic Heritage Month about his sneaker journey, giving back to the younger generation, and his thoughts on sneaker culture through the Latino lens.

Where did the sneaker journey begin for you?

So it started just reading magazines, ranging from basketball to hip-hop.

One day I read an article about Leaders coming to Chicago as one of the first sneaker boutiques in the country. On a random day on the way home from work, I decided to stop by there and see what it was about. I'm not going to lie man, I was super nervous, super scared to go into the shop because it's intimidating. Back then it was very intimidating to go to these sneaker stores. I finally walked in and it was everything I expected it to be. It was great, bro. They had a Nike SB account at the time, they had all kinds of crazy shit, 10 Deep, Red Monkey denim, everything.

With my first little income tax return, I'd bought a pair of Atmos Air Max 1s from 2006, and I wore them to the store. A guy behind the counter, a super quiet dude with glasses comes up to me, he's like, ‘Hey, where you get those at?’ And I'm like, ‘I got them from Flight Club.’

And that's how I met Ty Mathis aka, regularolty. And that's kind of where he kind of helped me cultivate my passion and actually showed me that he could turn this into a real job. So I would start going to Leaders every day, and I would hang out with Ty every day. Then I got to meet Vic Lloyd, Joe Freshgoods, King Rello there, all these guys.

We all became really close because I was there every day. Eventually, it led to helping out at the shop here and there, being there every Sunday with these two guys.

And from there, it led to a friend of mine, Hustle Simmons, asking me, ‘Hey, would you want to come do this Reebok gig that I'm working at?’ From there, I quit my nine to five and I started doing some stuff with Reebok. So we were doing some local and street marketing for Reebok in the Chicago area.

Reebok had just announced they signed Rick Ross, which was wild. So my first trip ever to Vegas and my first trip for Magic and sure enough, I was hanging out with Rick Ross, Dominique Wilkins, and Allen Iverson, it was a crazy time, but that was my first foray into sneakers as a gig, then to a real job, so it was pretty dope.

What was the first pair of sneakers that really resonated with you?

So for me, it's the same story of every kid in the hood. My mom thrifted me a pair of Carmine 6s, I'll never forget it. It was 1992 and Carmines came out in 1991-ish. There was a thrift store right by my house and my mom would go thrifting, and I found a pair of Jordan 6s, they were a size too big, they were beat up, but they were beautiful. I begged my mom for them, and it wasn't a lot of money, really. They were like $20, but for us, it was a lot of money back then. So my mom was like, ‘Yeah, get them. Go ahead, we'll buy them for you.’ I thought it was super cool. I went to my cousin's house, I had them on. I cleaned them up a little bit and my cousin started clowning me.

He's like, ‘You got these Bozo the Clown shoes on, blah, blah, blah.’ I'll never forget it, his homie Mike was like, ‘Yo, those are the Jordans, those are fire.’ I felt so good hearing that. That was my first real foray into collecting and buying and knowing that shoes meant something, it was like a status symbol.

I went to Catholic school so you had to wear a uniform, but everybody had on different shoes. Especially here growing up five minutes from Chicago Stadium at the time, everybody had Jordans on, you know what I mean?

And we would go to SportsMart, Tony Sports, City Sports, to see what they had and that was the first real foray into knowing what sneakers were, and they actually meant something to people. So that's how I first discovered it and then that led into everything else. Diamond Turfs and Griffeys: Griffey was big man.

Seeing that shit, it just changed a lot of my perspective on footwear. And I always tell people the first thing I do to this day is look at somebody's feet first and then I judge them off of that shit, which is terrible, but it's still how I go about my process because that's how I've lived my life is just knowing, ‘Yo, he got cool shoes on, he's got to know something.’

You've been in this for a while. You've learned how to navigate being an elder statesman, but not be so dismissive of younger kids. So in sneaker culture today in 2023, what is the one thing you enjoy about it and what is one thing you wish you could change about it?

I enjoy that people actually give a shit about footwear. I tell people all the time, my biggest joy in life is somebody discovering footwear, discovering sneakers. I tell people all the time, I hate going on Twitter and seeing people talk shit about, ‘Oh, this guy only buys hype shit, he only likes Travis Scotts.’ You know what, bro? We all started somewhere, that's the reality of it. I tell people all the time, if it wasn't for that person buying shoes, most of us and my friends I know that are in this industry wouldn't have a job. We have to be appreciative of people who actually want to spend their hard-earned money on sneakers and footwear.

So that's the part of me where I didn't have a playbook. I learned from my brothers Vic and Ty. They showed me that, hey, you could really make a career out of this. Nobody showed me before that, so I want to show other people and my nieces and nephews, you don't have to be a doctor, you don't have to be a lawyer. You can actually be passionate about what you love and really make it a career and do it. I've been doing it for the last 15-20 years. It's something that I am appreciative of, as without these people, we wouldn't be where we are today. It's good to be appreciative of that and thank people.

So when somebody does say, ‘Hey, those are cool shoes’, just say thank you and go from there and just be appreciative of that shit.

What's one thing you would want to change about sneaker culture?

Man, it's tough, bro, there's a lot of things. I feel like there are so many shoes that come out so often, and that's the part where it is disappointing because people put a lot of hard work into it, and sometimes it gets really thrown by the wayside because there's a release almost every day.

I wish there was more emphasis on the storytelling with people actually making the product. Maybe they're not this famous artist or this famous musician or whatever the case may be, but they're just as passionate as that person and they want to tell their story.

I also wish there were more people that are just, like I said, appreciative of people buying sneakers. We all start somewhere. So just be appreciative of people just trying. They love sneakers too, and maybe they're not as passionate or knowledgeable as the next person, but you know what? They like this too and they want to look good. There's nothing wrong with looking cool.

One thing you've done since I've started getting to know you is how you navigate your relationships. Getting samples, 1 of 1s, sneakers ahead of their release date as a person who doesn’t resell is pretty impressive. How do you navigate these relationships without stepping on too many toes and also upsetting the brands themselves?

I love Chicago so much, and Chicago's done so much for me. So whenever somebody comes to town, I want them to understand and have the best time in the world because Chicago gets a bad rep of violence and crime, but you don't hear about the good stories and how much cool stuff happens. I always try to do my best whenever somebody comes to town to show them the real Chicago. The real people, the real brains behind it, what goes on. I want them to have a great experience in my city because I don't want them to walk away and say, ‘Man, I hate this place. It's so crazy, it's so ghetto, whatever whatever’.

I try to do my best to show them around and also being honest with them, man. Sometimes that's the thing where a lot of people think, ‘Oh man, Nike's coming. I got to tell them this is the best ever.’ Sometimes this shit is not good. That's why I've succeeded in a lot of the relationships I have because I'm very honest and open, but I'm also very explanatory why I don't like something or why I do like something.

Well, why is it trash? Do you not like the colourway? Do you not like the materials? Do you not like the way it fits? The comfort? That's what helps a lot, especially in the footwear industry, a lot of people understand what they can do to make the product better.

What are your thoughts on the industry through your Mexican-American lens?

It's an interesting world, man. I think we're very, very unrepresented. There are not a lot of Latinos in the footwear industry, and that's the part where I wish it was different.

I don't want to put everybody in a group, but I know a lot of us don't represent who we are and say, ‘Hey, I am a Mexican, I am this or that.’ It needs to be put out there and it needs to be said, ‘Hey, I'm a Mexican American, I'm a Latino who is in the footwear business.’ And there's ways and opportunities you can grow and be in this business and I think that's the part where we lack a lot of that. If I see somebody that's a Latino in this industry and that's young, I always try to say, ‘what can I do to help?’

I think the other part that we don't do a good job of is saying, what can I do to help the next generation? What can I do to help the next person coming up? I grew up in an area where a lot of my homies and friends are all Black, and they were willing to take me in and show me this. I feel like that's the synergy that is lacking nowadays. We don't try to help the next person and we just be like, ‘Oh, well, nobody did it for me so you got to do it on your own.’ But that's not the way it works, man.

Especially in this world, it's such a small, tight-knit group. Matt from Corporate is one of the Latino dudes, we talk all the time and we always say to each other, ‘Hey, what can we do to help the next person?’

What can we do to show the next person that there is a world where you can really be passionate about what you want to do and if footwear is it, reach out. I tell people all the time, send me a DM, I've never been shy about helping anybody.

When it comes to Latino collaborators on the sneaker side, it seems like it's a pretty thin space. Are there some artists that you would like to put on and let people know about that should get an opportunity?

There's a few that I love to see, man. We see the J Balvins, we see the Bad Bunnies, and it is tough because I love those guys and they're great, but there's people out there that really are doing work like Runsyyy, one of my favourite people in the world. She's a Mexican-American artist from where I grew up in my neighbourhood, and I love to see her get a chance to collaborate on a shoe.

My good friend Joe Freshgoods’ main design artist is this guy named Churro Arturo, a good homie of mine. Amazing, amazing creator. He's starting to get his just due as he should. It is good to see people like Joe who aren't shy and say, ‘Hey, this is the guy that helps me do what I need to do to get stuff done.’  I love to see it and I love seeing more of it. I just feel like it needs to be covered more as well.

Milkman is another artist that I admire from Mexico City. Maybe it's his time to get some shine and do some product, because guess what? Our dollar is just as green as everybody else, and it's actually very strong. I think in the next five to 10 years, these brands are going to realise that and they're going to be too late, and that's the thing that is going to hurt.

I tell people that the Latino dollar is very strong, and it's not just the US, it is all these other countries. Mexico City's one of my favourite places in the world, not just because I’m Mexican, but because the hunger for sneaker culture there is insane. They see how the U.S. does it and they want that. Colombia the homies at BROKEN CHAINS, they're doing a lot of crazy shit. Chile is another one. A lot of homies in Chile are doing some dope stuff.

So what are you doing now?

Now? I just recently left StockX. I was at StockX for about a year and a half, and that was a blessing because I was able to see a lack in the industry of consulting and helping some of these stores understand their clientele and their demographic. Because a lot of these stores have lost touch with their everyday customers. Not to go back to Matt and Corporate, but he's such a strong character in this industry and his community loves him. They're there for him every single release, every single drop. That's stuff that I try to help some of these boutiques around in the Chicagoland area and a couple other places to understand is that we need to get back to our community and get that going. People have become so reliant on Instagram and raffles online.

That in-store release and that in-store consumer doesn't exist anymore. So trying to find ways to help with releases, help with buying, and knowing your consumer because a lot of these people don't know.

The consumer is changing. It's becoming a lot younger, they're more reliant on TikTok and Instagram and all these places to know about products. That's the thing that these stores have to be on top of, finding ways of getting that consumer to come into the door, that's the reality of it, man. There's no feeling like walking into a shop and saying, ‘Hey, that shoe that I took an L on on SNKRS is sitting on this wall.’ People become so reliant on SNKRS and online drops and they don't realise, like, guess what? These stores have that product and it's sitting there.

I feel like it's going back to, I hate to say it because that sounds so dated, but back to the old days where when you walk into a shop, there's something new that you've never seen before. Whether it be ASICS, Saucony, Nike. That's the part of getting these stores to understand that we can't be so reliant on online drops and actually find ways to bring that consumer back to their shops.

Last question, favourite sneaker of the year?

That's tough, man. I'm a big Jordan 4 x SB dude. I love it, that Jordan 4 SB to me is phenomenal. But the year's not over and there's a couple of things that I know that are coming out that are going to blow people's minds. I know that there's a lot of good stuff coming from a lot of people in the city.

I think once we just get towards the end, we'll see. Of course, I love the J Balvin 3s. That's one of my favourites, I've had that for a while and I couldn't stop talking about it, it's one of the best shoes ever made. Shout out to my boy Frank Cooker, he did an amazing job on it. That sunset gradient heel tab is just insane.

But yeah, there's a lot of stuff coming that I think we're going to be really surprised by and really excited about. I'm excited for people to see it and I think once it's out there, it's going to change a lot of the sneaker of the year conversation. But I really, really love that Jordan 4 SB. I think it's really, really good.