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  A large portion of Liang Weiming's sneaker collection was contributed by his mother.

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  Liang Weiming stores his beloved shoe collection in a room which he keeps air-conditioned for 24 hours day all throughout the year.

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SINGAPORE: Local youth Liang Weiming stores his collection of 150 pairs of sneakers inside a room which he keeps air-conditioned 24 hours a day throughout the whole year.

Liang is concerned that humidity or heat might damage the shoes in his collection, causing their soles to yellow and/or crack.

His collection focuses on Jordan shoes, which are named after the famous basketball star Michael Jordan. A single pair of these sneakers costs as much as S$1200 (about RM2760). He always buys two pairs, one for collecting and the other for wearing. Sometimes, he ends up buying as many as 6 pairs of sneakers in a single month.

When he was interviewed, he said that his mom had bought him an expensive pair of Jordan sneakers to encourage him when he had failed to make his secondary school’s basketball team. Ever since then, he has been hooked on Jordan shoes and Jordan merchandise.

He said: “After I graduated from secondary school, I knew that when sneakers are exposed to heat or humidity, the soles will yellow and crack even if they are not worn. From then on, the room in which I kept my shoes and merchandise was kept air-conditioned 24 hours day. [The air-conditioning] has never been switched off!”

Liang’s mother is a salesperson, and a large portion of Liang’s collection was bought by her. She once even ordered two pairs of Defining Moment Pack sneakers worth S$1200 (about RM2760) online as a present for her son on his 21st birthday.

Liang began adding to his collection with his own purchases only after finishing his National Service training and getting a job. He currently works as a salesperson at a store specialising in sports equipment.