Sneakerheads of Hong Kong explain their unique subculture

Ask any sneaker freak about their addiction and they'll tell you it's all harmless fun. Ask their partners, on the other hand, and the answer probably won't be complimentary.

"We've got to keep our voices down, my wife might hear us," says Brian Siswojo as we check out his home stash of 100 or so pairs that is part of his current rotation. There's another 800 or more in storage. "I'm a sneaker whore, I'm aware of it and not ashamed to say it," he says with a hushed laugh.

Siswojo might be familiar to some as a member of Hong Kong rap group 24Herbs, but he's also the brains behind 8five2, one of Hong Kong's earliest street and skate fashion stores.

"When I was a kid I would often go to Mong Kok to window shop, then save up two or three months for a pair shoes. But when I got money, man, I went nuts. I was distributing shoes through 8five2 and I would take a pair or two for me and then five for the shop. I was easily buying 20 pairs a month. The guys in the stores would give me VIP treatment," says Siswojo.

There are two types of people in the sneakerhead subculture: those who buy just to collect - meaning the shoes are never worn - and those who actually put the shoes to use. Siswojo is the latter, and he considers the former group "posers".

"Those who just go for the latest hype shoes to post them all over Instagram, they don't really know or understand the history of what they're wearing," he says.