The French Riviera has Sneakerzion. Hong Kong has Samplekicks. Patta is No. 1 in Holland, and Berliners line up at Overkill. Now Richmond’s Henry on Broad in VCU-Land has sneakerheads buzzing.

If you’re the kind of person who wears a pair of sneaks until bare foot meets ground, stop reading, move on. This one’s not for you. HOWEVER, if you remember how you were shod when, say, you met your special one, had your first beer, or got your third tattoo, Henry is there for you.

Sneaker boutiques like Henry cater to Sneakerheads, defined by Urban Dictionary as those who collect “limited, rare, OG [original gangsta], or flat out exclusive kicks.” Despite its gangsta origins, the sneaker culture has spread to fans of all music genres, from hip-hop to punk to hardcore.

Sneakerheads not only have foot-forward fashion sense that keeps them in rubber soles for every occasion, serious cases, like Henry co-owner Rudy Lopez, collect them, keep them and chart their lives by them.

“Some guys reference points in their lives by their sneakers. I have some from middle school,” Lopez admits. “I don’t necessarily wear them, but I still have them around. And I definitely have some from high school that I wear.”

In fact, Lopez notes, responding to demand, some shoe companies are re-releasing some designs from the ‘90s, when Lopez was flashing his kicks at St. So-and-So’s High in Northern Virginia.

While working at a NoHo sneaker boutique, Lopez’ foot focus blossomed into a viable business adventure. As a student of fashion merchandising at VCU, Lopez had learned how to establish and market a business. So when he teamed with Billy Manzanares to create Henry about a year ago, the two had a sound business plan that earned them a bank loan for a store specializing in sneakers and the street fashion that evolved with them.

Being more collectors than consumers, sneakerheads prefer buying from the Little Guy for their exclusivity. “There are a lot of shoe companies that have select accounts for boutiques, with sneakers that are not available to any of the big players,” Lopez says.

Both art school grads naturally bring another facet to the business.

“Although our first purpose is to be a sneaker fashion store, our secondary purpose is to showcase artists who normally wouldn’t be recognized by other downtown galleries, because it’s more forward, more of a pop feel,” says Lopez.

For instance, VCU grad Pepe Botardo, creator of the Civilize clothing line sold at Henry, had an ink and watercolor exhibit there depicting the artist’s friends and family members committing suicide. “At first glance, it looked pretty morbid,” says Lopez. “But once you read the artist’s statement, you understood he was portraying the pain he’d caused these people over the years, yet they remain close.”

Whether they’re driven by compassion for fellow artists, great promotional skills or both, Lopez and Manzanares know how to target a market with scalpel precision. A recent exhibit showcased skateboard deck art. “Most were done by artists,” Lopez explains. The tattoo studio Absolute Arts provided some of the art, as did a Brooklyn, NY-based tattoo art group and some street fashion clothing companies.

Henry will host another bash on Friday at Gallery5 (200 W. Marshall St.), just around the corner from their gallery/boutique space at 212 W. Broad. Part promotion, part party down, there won’t be any retail going on. But stop by Henry sometime as a gesture of appreciation.

http://www.thehenrygallery.com