If you follow the sneaker news circuit, you’ve probably seen posts in regards to the winner of the Air Jordan XIII (13), from the “28 Days of Flight” month-long contest held in February, selling his pair on eBay. What you might not know ...
If you follow the sneaker news circuit, you’ve probably seen posts in regards to the winner of the Air Jordan XIII (13), from the “28 Days of Flight” month-long contest held in February, selling his pair on eBay. What you might not know about this story is the fact that the seller, Franaldo Hanna, a 27 year old cleaning technician for his family’s cleaning business, is donating every cent from his sale to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital in Memphis, TN, one of the worldwide leaders in children’s cancer research. Oddly, some sneaker blogs/websites have chosen not to even mention this part of the story, which to me is much more newsworthy than any shoe could possibly be. I understand that we as sneaker writers are tasked with writing about, y’know, sneakers, but to not even mention the fact that this guy was willing to give every single dollar from the sale of this shoe away to charity was a travesty.
For those unfamiliar with the contest, the “28 Days of Flight” contest was held by Jordan Brand during the month of February, in the lead-up to the release of the Air Jordan XX8. Utilizing the black and green theme used for the Air Jordan XX8, Jordan Brand created a pair of each of the Air Jordan signature models, from 1 through 28, each crafted with high-quality materials and each a 1-of-1. Starting from February 1st, Jordan Brand held a daily contest for the model coinciding with the date, meaning that for February 1st, it was the Air Jordan I (1); February 2nd, the Air Jordan II (2); February 3rd, the Air Jordan III (3); etc. The contest consisted of sending in an original picture featuring the particular shoe of that day. One winner was picked for each day, with the winner receiving the special “28 Days of Flight” pair from that day, sent with a special wooden case for storing and displaying the shoes. Considering that there was only 1 pair of each model, and the fact that this shoe would most likely never be made again, you could imagine the craziness this contest caused. People were racking their brains in trying to come up with the winning picture for their favorite model of Air Jordan. With each pair featuring a striking black and fluorescent green colorway, reminiscent of the Air Jordan XIII (13) “Altitude”, along with high-quality materials, these shoes were truly works of art, and would be a welcome addition to most every sneaker aficionado’s collection.
Before hearing about this story, I remember having read about a winner of another one of the “28 Days of Flight” Air Jordans, this one being the Air Jordan XI (11), which was most likely the most desired shoe of the bunch. This seller was also selling his pair of shoes on eBay, with a starting price of $15,000. With this auction, however, there was no mention of donating the proceeds to a charity. I don’t say that to disparage the seller of that pair of shoes, either. I imagine that most people wouldn’t be willing to donate the money if they were in a similar position, and there is nothing wrong with that. However, the fact that most people wouldn’t do what this man did is what makes this story that much more exceptional.
After hearing about the contest from another sneaker site that shall remain nameless, Franaldo, a life-long sneakerhead, jumped at the chance to enter; the only problem was that he was currently staying in Harlem, NY, while his shoe collection was in East Hampton, NY. By the time he was able to get to his collection, the contest was already at day 13, which lowered his chances of winning significantly, since, according to Hanna, “roughly 90% of my Jordans are I through XIV”.
With little time to spare, he immediately started snapping pics, uploading a total of 3 pics for the 13th day/Air Jordan XIII (13). Ironically, the photo that would end up winning was his least favorite of the bunch. Still, the photo, an other-worldly shot depicting the Air Jordan XIII (13) “He Got Game” standing on what could easily be mistaken as Martian land, was an excellent pic,