In Indonesia talking sneakers with Ipamevil
His life history gets intermingled with the passion for sneakers and the business since a very young age. Laurensius Teguh Pramono, better known as Ipamevil on Instagram, is a passionate sneaker fan living in Bandung, Indonesia.
A part of the local Indo Sneaker Team, Ipamevil proclaims one of the main and more important values of each and every aficionado out there: he likes to be different, and he is what he wears, no matter what. Discover more about Ipamevil’s collection, his view about resellers, vintage models and much more in our interview.
Can you please state your name, location, and occupation?
Laurensius Teguh Pramono aka IPAM Instagram: @Ipamevil – Bandung, Indonesia Owner of Evil Clothing company, LTP Project and C59 Tshirt Factory.
So, what can you tell us about your passion for sneakers?
I love sneakers since my early age, it differentiates me from the others, while others are scared or ashamed of wearing striking color sneakers I on the other hand search and wear them daily. I only buy and wear what I like, it doesn’t matter if people say they are fugly, for me, I am what I wear.
What was the thing that really triggered your interest?
When I was in primary school all my friends were wearing them ugly all black warrior sneakers to school, so my dad gave me the Jordans 6 black infra to wear.
I became the coolest kid from my point of view anyway… since then I always asked him to buy every Jordan that released here in Bandung. Back then buying Jordan was not that hard, no hype yet here so just go to the store and all the OG colors were always there.
Can you share some insight into the sneaker scene in Bandung?
Well, the sneaker scene in Bandung is growing bigger this year, with IST (Indonesia Sneaker Team) having their own Bandung Team, more and more people here sharing what they pick up, and their knowledge on sneakers…power to them!
Tell us about three of the most cherished models of your collection…
Louis Vuitton Slipstream Python … I know this is not Nike or adidas but since I first saw the model I fell in love and my Dad-in-law gave me a surprise by giving this dream pair! The “retail” price tag on it was just spectacular due to the real snakeskin.
The Blake Griffin Galaxy Hyperdunk … people were crazy on the galaxy foamposite, but for me when I saw the details on the pair I decided not to buy because the price was high on the reseller market.
When I saw the BG Galaxy I was blown away by the details and colours… I had to buy this, but the pair was even more limited than the Foamposite… finally, I got them from a friend who didn’t really know the value of this pair… lucky for me I go them at a good price.
Jordan 11 of course … they’re not as comfy as Asics or New Balance but they are Jordan 11 … the best Jordan ever made for me…
Do you try and wear all the models that you have? Or are there some that are just kept away?
I wear all my sneakers, I’m trying my best to rotate them every day, it’s pretty hard to rotate more than 400 pairs but yeah that’s the beauty of having them…
Do you focus on fresh and new releases or do you try and reach out to vintage models as well?
For now I only focus on recent or upcoming releases, I have a bad story when it comes to vintage models… I collected Jordan and other basketball shoes since around 1990 and I always kept them in my room, in 1995 I had to move to Europe and when I came back from Europe every year my collection on Jordan kept growing…
I kept them in my room here in Bandung…disaster came around 1999…our family bought a new house and had to move …this happened when I was in Europe studying.
My mom gave nearly all my Jordans away to her factory employees… she didn’t ask permission. When I asked why she said I don’t want to move to a new house with old shoes… just buy new ones! Since then I never look back on vintage shoes… too heartbroken if you ask why…
Share with us about some of your latest pickups…
Well, recently I went to Singapore to attend sole superior 2014, what an event! Shout out to the people who organized the event. I picked up: NewBalance Limited Edt their 3rd collab, Adidas Tubular Grey and Black color, Jordan14 Ferrari, Adidas Blackscale, Asics Gel Lyte 5 Cove (the Ronnie Fieg collab), Diadora 24 Kilates, Dunk SB Clark Kent, New Balance Concept Rose…
Oh yeah at the same time I won ballot at Nike Pacific Place Jakarta for the Jordan 6 Slamdunk and the Superfly Slamdunk…so 11 pairs this weekend…what a great weekend! …
The sneaker industry has a history of several decades. What is your perception about the whole business?
I am a team retail guy so I got a lot hook up from me here in Indonesia or from my ‘angel’ hookup from Singapore. Getting your pair at retail is the art of collecting sneakers.
I hate it when reseller just buys every pair in at the release date or even before the release date, they are ruining the industry and yet we need them sometimes. Please do give a chance for the real sneakerheads to own a pair at retail.
I do have a hatred problem with resellers who sell fakes and tell the buyer that they are authentic…they should all burn in hell!
Please share with us about three essential stores in Indonesia that the whole world should know about.
Nike Pacific Place Jakarta – they have all the Quickstrike Jordan and others too, you need good info so that you can get a pair because Jordan releases in Indonesia are pretty weird sometimes we get them early sometimes very late.
Myshoes – Jakarta … a good friend of mine owns this store, he is the legend in sneaker collection department too… they sell legit stuff here and you can ask them to help you legit check you pair too…
@juragansneakers – this online shop on facebook or Instagram provides me with a lot of releases that I couldn’t get in retail stores here… I know him personally too… LEGIT!
Image credits (Homepage feature): Jeff O’Neal