Nike shoes found in Portland homeless donation bin sell for $50K at auction
A pair of rare
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PORTLAND, Oregon (KPTV) — A pair of custom Nike shoes, found in a Portland donation bin for the homeless, sold at Sotheby’s auction on Monday for $50,800.
The gold-colored Nike Air Jordan 3 shoes were similar to ones worn by ‘Do the Right Thing’ director Spike Lee at the Oscars in 2019.
Just a select few pairs of those personalized sneakers—designed by Nike’s most well-known designer, Tinker Hatfield—were produced for Lee to present to his closest friends and family.
The shoes were never made available for the public to purchase.
Then a pair of those rare Jordan’s made their way into a donation bin at a homeless shelter in Portland.
A previously homeless man who was volunteering at the Portland Rescue Mission’s shelter on Burnside found the shoes as he was organizing a donation bin in April. Through its donation chute, the downtown Portland shelter receives thousands of pounds of clothing every year.
The designer, Hatfield, then confirmed that the shoes were in fact real Spike Lee Air Jordan 3′s. He gave the shelter a brand-new shoe box for the sneakers and a framed, autographed concept design.
All of the proceeds from the auction sale will go to the Portland Rescue Mission.
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