REAL SNEAKERHEADS OF GENIUS: Boon Tan aka The Air Jordan Accountant
Published
A lot of sneaker culture spotlight gets hogged by collectors who don’t have to grind for their grails. Yeah, we get it, DJ Khaled and Mark Wahlberg have every desirable pair ever show up right on their doorstep. Who cares? Wow, Ben Affleck spilled his Dunkaccino on those $20K Dunks you’ve been dreaming of. Boringggg. We’re like you, in it for the love of the game, batting roughly .082 on SNKRS and in desperate need of a W. You have to work painstakingly hard for every single addition to your collection, and we respect the hell out of it. So, we’re grabbing the spotlight away from the superstars and shining it on everyday sneakerheads doing something truly impressive. Real Sneakerheads of Genius, we salute you.
Meet @Boona_makan_tan, aka Boon Tan, aka The Air Jordan Accountant. He’s got a lot of skin in the game and the vast majority of it is above the ankle.
This dual-sport athlete is not only a world class number cruncher but also an elite sneaker collector. Raised by a mom who played basketball, Boon was born for this game. He fell in love with basketball on his own while living in Australia but kicked his collection into gear once he made his own money and moved to Singapore, where he now calls home.
“The first pair I ever wanted? The Jordan 6 Infrared,” Boon tells his modest but loyal following on Instagram. But what pair has become his bread-and-butter, the silhouette he comes back to more than any other?
“The Jordan 3—timeless, grounded, and quietly bold.”
Boon describes his favorite sneaker like the voice of Jon Hamm selling an S500 in a Mercedes Benz commercial. Probably because a lot of Boon’s collection costs more than most cars.
He posts a photo every day from his office, sitting in his fiberglass frame chair in shirt and tie, pants rising above the calf and exposing shin. Boon’s sock choice is maybe the only thing that isn’t flawless in his game, and would normally distract most from the sneaker on-foot, but not in Boon’s office. You can’t take your eyes off what he’s rocking.
The day after I reached out to Boon to ask if he was cool with us shining a light on his glorious collection, he hit the feed with 1-of-10 Eminem x Carhartt Air Jordan 4s from 2015. He paired the grails with a quote, saying, “Confidence built on chaos. Precision born from pressure.”
The next day? The never-released, only a handful of pairs in existence AJ 8 OVO x Calipari Pack (Part II). “Some returns don’t need an announcement—the presence says it all.”
DAMN BOON IT’S ONLY TUESDAY.
Wednesday? Kaws Cool Grey 4s. Biggie Smalls 13s on Thursday. Closed out the week with Oregon Ducks PE 5s on Friday and said, “Consistency builds momentum. Momentum builds legacy.”
I would run through a brick wall for Boon. Normally, someone flexing on me incredibly hard every day while I sip my morning coffee would be defeating after a while but Boon makes it a moment, ensuring we all feel like we’re part of the celebration. This isn’t just a fit pic to Boon, he’s weaving a story throughout the history of sneakers and helping us all unlock the power of the pieces to build our own confidence.
Accompanying each sneaker shot is his curated song choice of day to pair with his footwear, thoughts on the music, his iconic quotes, a detailed description of the sneaker and its historical context, plus design notes and a breakdown of his outfit. It’s a masterclass in simple-yet-refined sneaker content. Boon is a pro’s pro, and we could all learn a lot from his consistency and execution.
He only started posting the daily sneaker entries back in August, but he’s been collecting heavy for the last 10 years. His feed was previously filled with travel photos and food porn, with the occasional shot of a shoe, and we don’t know what prompted the switch this summer but we salute you, Boon. Our scroll will never be the same.
Everyone give Boon a follow and hit up Sole Retriever on social to let us know who we should feature next on Real Sneakerheads of Geniuuuuuuus.
Drew oversees content at Sole Retriever and hates writing in the 3rd person soooo I'm going to stop. I've written for countless blogs and magazines, from Complex to XXL and everywhere in between. Spent a long time in LA, running content and working on branded collabs at The Hundreds. Now, I'm back home on the East Coast freezing my ass off. Email me at drew@soleretriever.com with scoops, story ideas, and size 13 heat.
