LACING THEM UP: LA Grissom's laces up skates and lots of shoes

Everyday, LA Grissom laces up his skates and steps onto the ice, most days for practice and the rest of the time for games. 

While his skates may be the most common pair of footwear that fans have come to associate with the Swamp Rabbits’ no. 4, there is a far more fashionable style that resonates with the second-year defenseman. 

Growing up, Grissom found himself surrounded by his father’s shoe collection ranging from colorful Reebok’s to various combinations of dress shoes to match all styles of formal wear. 

“My dad had a ton of shoes, but nothing like Jordans or anything like that,” said Grissom. “I was into having a lot of shoes but nothing like collecting them at that point.”

Fast-forward to 2020 and the Covid-19 pandemic, Grissom, along with many people, was looking for ways to generate income despite the pandemic keeping many people home from work. 

The answer? The shoe game. 

“During Covid, buying and reselling shoes really took off for people since no one could go to work,” he said. “I realized that I do like shoes and that reselling them was a good way to just do something at that time and make a little money.”

Grissom dove into the marketplace headfirst, joining Facebook groups, Discord servers, and even mobile apps to begin his reselling journey. 

“At some point, I was reselling and realized that I really liked certain pairs of shoes that I came across,” he explained. “I started looking around and getting pairs for myself, and that’s when I shifted into starting my own collection.”

As time passed, Grissom started to build his collection while still maintaining his reselling directive, but his mindset began to shift into one that loved the ‘game’ of dealing and collecting. 

“You get a pair that you really wanted, or maybe you got a different pair, and you are able to use these shoes in this bartering system that makes collecting shoes that much more fun.” 

 Slowly but surely, Grissom built a collection to marvel at. As it stands, his collection holds a whopping 76 pairs of shoes.

While some of the shoes are limited runs, some are highly sought-after, and some are just plain ‘cool,’ he has a special place for the ones that mean a little more.

“I really got into collecting Nike SB’s because they have a bigger meaning than just being a shoe,” he said. “There is a story behind every shoe, and when you collect it and wear it, it’s about more than just wearing a shoe, it’s about supporting that cause.”

His favorite of his Nike SB collection to wear is a combination, blue-colored shoe titled “Why so Sad?”

“Mental health is a big thing for so many people right now,” he said. “People struggle with their mental health every day and that shoe has so much meaning in trying to recognize the struggles that come along with it.” 

Despite his shoes being part of a collection, Grissom still uses each pair for their intended purpose: to be worn.

“I’ve worn every one of the 76 pairs except for one,” he said. “I just got a new pair, and I haven’t been able to break them in.”

For many collectors, using the items, like baseball cards, is seen as a threshold that isn’t to be crossed. For the shoe collecting community, wearing the shoes is almost a necessity.

“In our community, you see all sorts of people wearing their shoes and posting pictures of what shoes they wore on a specific day,” explained Grissom. “You look at these photos and you get to see shoes that you’ve never seen before and some that you didn’t know were still around.”

Despite his expansive collection, Grissom has to narrow his selections of casual wear during the season.

“When I come down here, I leave a majority of the shoes at home,” he said. “I can only have so many here with me, so I brought three pairs and the rest of my necessary shoes, since most times during the season I’m wearing dress shoes to games.”

A growing collection doesn’t just mean spending money on shoes for Grissom, it’s an opportunity to think about the future. 

“I look at this as an investment,” he said. “Shoes grow in value over time and the market is there. This is a passion I have, but it’s also an investment for my future just like the stock market.”

Grissom said he has no desire to slow down investing in shoes and growing his collection. A passion like this is hard to untie.