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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Mike D. Sykes, II

SPECIAL DELIVERY: Authenticating the ‘Silver Bullet’ Nike Air Max 97s was equally terrifying and an absolute blast all in one

Authentication is one of the pillars of the sneaker world today and for good reason.

There are lots of fake sneakers out there and, in many cases, they look like legitimate pairs to the naked eye. The materials won’t be the same, but they’ll be completely passable.

It’s easy for someone who isn’t as invested in the world of sneakers to be fooled by a replica. That’s why the market for fake sneakers is estimated to be worth hundreds of billions of dollars.

We’d thought we’d gotten got when it came to a pair of Air Max 97’s purchased early on the secondary market for an episode of Special Delivery. So when the crew traveled to San Jose for SneakerCon, one of our main goals was to get the pair authenticated.

We did. The results were interesting. But the process leading up to it — the tense moment of truth — was hilarious while also being terrifying.

Tap in to this week’s episode of Special Delivery to see the results and learn more about authentication.

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