by Alexandra Mansilla
Who Is Del Ten In Real Life? Interview With That Sneakerhead In a Mask
7 Jun 2024
We had many questions for Del Ten, the mysterious sneaker collector who always hides behind a mask, glasses, and caps. Who is he? What is his real name? What does he do for a living? Who inspired him to get into fashion? We asked him all these questions directly — some we got answers to, others remain unanswered.
— So, Del, you have thousands of followers and almost no information about you online. Why is that?
— You know, I don't talk about a lot of things. Because my personal life is more for me and for my close friends, you know? It is all about privacy.
— Okay, I will try. You mentioned once that you used to go to Italy to see your family. So, as I understand, part of your family lives in Italy, right?
— Right, part of. I have always visited them since I was a kid. I'm into fashion because of the Italians. The Italians live and breathe fashion every day. It is part of their culture.
— And your parents are from Kuwait? Are they into fashion?
— Yeah, they are both from Kuwait. My mom is actually into fashion. She is the one who got me interested in it.
— I am going to ask you about your Instagram name, of course. You have already explained that it's dedicated to the Italian football player, Alessandro Del Piero. So, are you ready to tell your real name?
— No!
— Okay, I tried! Why do you hide your real name? It is nowhere.
— For me, it is always about privacy. Since I started, I wasn't looking for fame, honestly. I didn't care about that, and I still don't care about it. I want people to open the page, see good vibes and think, "This guy loves fashion. Fashion is in his blood."
I just want to inspire people with fashion. But when it comes to my personality, my real life, that's something private for me. I don't want to go out on the street and be recognised by people.
— That is interesting that you have chosen this path where you are in the spotlight, but you still take care of your privacy and don’t want attention at all.
— For me, I wasn't thinking about showing my face because I don't know how long I am gonna be doing this. I keep doing this because it is a passion for me. If I were just doing it for a living or to reach a goal, I would stop one day, honestly. Once you see it as a job or work, you are not going to enjoy it. You know what keeps me going? It is because I have this passion in me. I am doing everything with love. Even when I work with brands, it is always fun for me.
I have gotten used to being hidden. But it is tough at the same time. Sometimes, I take a selfie without the mask, and I am like, oh no, what if I post this by mistake? It is always a concern. But I have never made that mistake!
— Okay. Your friends have Instagram accounts, too, right? Do they have photos of you without a mask there?
— Haha, maybe on private accounts, but I am not sure. I actually had a risky situation once. I was on a trip to London, and a friend invited me for lunch. When we met, he started filming me as I was walking to the table and laughing. We had lunch and spent two or three hours together. Later, one of my close friends, who follows both of us, told me, "Your friend just posted you."
That video had been up for three or four hours, so a lot of people could see it. Fortunately, he removed it after I asked.
— And in normal life, like walking on the street, you don’t wear a mask, right?
— The funny part is: that I used to wear the mask even before COVID. Some of my new followers think I still wear it because of the pandemic, but it was way before that.
Honestly, when I go to events, it is hard to keep the mask on all the time. Sometimes I go to food events or restaurants without a mask because nobody recognises me without it. But once you put it on and take it off, that is when the problem starts.
Here in Kuwait, many people have already seen me. They know who I am. But people are still curious about my name, and what I do for a living.
— Okay, so what do you do for a living?
— I would like to tell you, but I can’t, sorry. But it is far from fashion.
— Let’s talk about sneakers. You said, “I’ve been exposed to this world since 2017 and have received a lot of support from fans, family, and friends from day one. It has escalated into an interesting and challenging dream, which indeed requires a lot of endurance, patience, devotion, and hard work.” What is the most difficult part of collecting sneakers?
— Honestly, let me tell you how it all started from the beginning. As a kid, I played basketball all the time. People who play basketball are always into kicks, you know. But back then, it wasn't like today. When we bought basketball shoes, we just used them on the court. We used to buy shoes just for playing and we never thought we would use those shoes for the street or fashion.
I wasn't collecting back then, but I was always obsessed with shoes. Every time I wanted a new pair, it was especially tough here in Kuwait because we didn't get many of those kinds of kicks. If I knew someone travelling, I would ask them to bring me a pair. When I travelled with my parents, I would always ask my dad to get me shoes, but I wasn't buying a lot — maybe one pair every two or three months for basketball. After games, I would take them off, clean them, and put them back. But I never collected them.
Later, when I was a teen, I started collecting shoes. I didn't feel the need to give them away anymore. That was when I began to collect some of my pairs and found myself really getting into it.
The worst part of collecting sneakers is realising that I have plenty of shoes while some people don't have a single pair. I truly feel guilty. To alleviate some of this guilt, I sometimes buy new pairs and give them away. There are so many kids now who want a pair of shoes but can't afford them. I see this in my DMs when I post about my sneakers. Many people message me saying they need a pair. So, now and then, I buy shoes and give them away to people in need.
Some people think I am just showing off. I understand their perspective, but they don't know what I am doing behind the scenes. They judge me just from the pictures without knowing how I feel and what I do.
— Have you had an idea to give your sneakers to charity?
— Honestly, I do it. I give away shoes to charity sometimes during the year. I collect some of the shoes I am not using, and some of them are even new. I take them to a charity place here in Kuwait and donate them.
I have never collaborated with a charity formally, and I don't like to post on my IG about doing charity work. When I do it, I do it for myself, not for the recognition.
— I saw that video with you made by Level Shoes. You showed your wardrobe filled with sneakers. How do you sort them? Are there any criteria for how you put them on the shelf?
— It is crazy, Alexandra. Honestly, it is crazy. When I first started my shoe room, I used to organise every single shoe in its spot so I could easily remember where each one was. When I wanted to pick an outfit, I would just go and pick the shoes I needed. But now… it is messy.
[Del Ten show his wardrobe with lots of sneakers; the room is too small for this amount]
Now, it is just impossible to sort, you see?
— Oh my God, they are everywhere!
— It is out of control now. It is not fun anymore. I used to enjoy picking out shoes, but now it is hard because I want to wear so many different pairs. Every morning, I try to pick an outfit, and I spend a long time just standing there, trying to decide which shoes to wear.
When I leave my place in the morning, I usually take two or three pairs with me in the car because I often spend the whole day out. I don't want to wear the same shoes all day, whether I am going to the gym or to work. I take multiple pairs with me just to enjoy them.
— Do you have a shoe that you find to be the most uncomfortable ever? One that makes you think, "Oh my God, why did I spend so much money on this?"
— Let me think. It is Bottega Veneta boots. They are amazing, but I can't spend the whole day wearing them — two to three hours max.
— Collecting sneakers is very expensive. You might not tell me how you earn money for it now, but let’s talk about the time when you started and didn’t have the money for it.
— Yeah, 10–15 years ago, it was hard for me to buy expensive shoes. I didn't even have the heart to spend that kind of money on shoes. Back then, it was always around $150–$200. But with the hype and high demand for sneakers, the prices went up. It is not easy to get shoes because they are always sold out, and if you want them, you have to buy them from the resale market, where prices can be insane. Yet, I couldn't stop buying.
Even with the higher prices, I was determined to get the shoes I wanted. But it wasn't easy to afford all of those kicks back then, so I was always picky. I remember the most expensive shoes I debated buying were in 2018: the Air Jordan 1 Chicago Off-White, the first Nike collab with Virgil Abloh.
They dropped the collection early, two months before the fashion week, with only a few pairs available. The resale price was over $2,000, and I wasn't sure if I could justify spending that much on a pair of Jordans or Nikes. But after thinking it over, I decided to get them. That was the most expensive pair I bought at the time. Spending over $2,000 for Jordans felt crazy, but since then, I have felt more comfortable investing in a pair of shoes.
Before that, if I spent that amount, it was on Louis Vuitton or Gucci, which made sense to me. But for Nike or Adidas, it felt different because the original price is around $200 max, and then you are spending over $2,000. Sneakerheads will understand this — the value of the shoe in the resale market can far exceed the original price.
Even though the original price is relatively cheap, the market value can be higher than luxury brands like Louis Vuitton and Gucci. With those brands, the price usually goes down over time, but with certain sneakers, the price keeps going up. Sneakerheads know this well.
— But okay, when you were a kid, where did you get the money from?
—I just started collecting money my parents gave to me. For example, if my dad gave me fifty dollars, I used to spend half and save the other half. By the end of the month, I could get something for myself. It was always sneakers or clothes.
There were things I wanted that my parents wouldn’t buy for me because they thought it was too much. They wanted to teach me the importance of money and not spoil me. They could get me things as rewards if I did something good, like getting high marks in school, but it wasn't a regular thing.
— You started collecting sneakers in your early 20s, and now you are 37, right? So, my question is, have your tastes changed over time? Or your attitude to collecting?
— Yeah, with sneakers, it is always like that. You can wear shoes in 20 years, and they will still be cool. Like Converse — even today, if you wear Converse, they are still cool. But sometimes you buy sneakers, and after two years, you feel like you won't wear them again because they are out of fashion. Then, seven or eight years later, you find yourself missing them and wanting to wear them again.
This has happened to me, and I have made a lot of mistakes. I used to get bored with my shoes after two or three years and think there was no way I would wear them again, but trends always bring them back.
So I have learned my lesson. I don't throw my kicks away because I know, at some point, I will come back to them. I might get bored of them today because they are out of fashion, but I know in two or three years, I will want to wear them again.
So, before, it was always about following trends. Some people strictly follow trends, but for me, it is more about staying up to date. I love being current. There are things I didn't like back then, but now they are trendy, and I see they are nice and cool, so I wear them and buy them. I am flexible — if I like something, I will buy it, regardless of whether I liked it before.
I always return to certain pairs of shoes, especially with sports brands like Nike, Adidas, New Balance, and Asics. They are doing well now. With luxury brands, it is different. If you buy, for example, five pairs from a luxury brand 10 years ago, you might only use one of them now because the rest are out of fashion.
With sneakers, it is the other thing. When you buy Jordans, you will always find time to wear them. They will always be relevant at some point in the future.
— Also, you mentioned that in 2015, you had a bad injury to your leg. What happened?
— Yeah, true. I have something called the molar syndrome in my right ankle. I was always running, and one day, while running, I felt a sharp pain in my ankle. It was so bad that I couldn't even stop properly. The pain was intense, and no doctor could figure out what was wrong. They thought it was something minor. So, I had to go to Berlin, Germany, to see a specialist.
I met this professor who essentially saved my life. He told me I had two options: surgery or a treatment with drips to improve blood circulation. The issue with my ankle was that the blood flow had stopped, so the drips were meant to help move the blood through my body to reach the affected area. However, he told me my foot would never be completely normal again and that it would take time. This was in 2016-17. I couldn't even walk without a stick for a year.
That injury was a turning point in my life. It transformed me into the person I am on Instagram now. Before the injury, my life was different. I was always into fashion and sneakers, but my routine was different. I worked, went to the gym, played basketball, and football — sports were my life.
During the injury, I couldn't do anything physical — I could barely move. So, I created my Instagram page and started posting pictures of my kicks. Initially, it was just sneakers. Then, I decided to post outfit shots, but without showing my head. Eventually, I added the mask, and that is how my journey began.
— Did the doctor explain the reasons why it happened?
— The doctor was surprised because that type of disease usually affects kids. It is mostly kids who get it, and for them, it is easier to recover. I read a lot about this disease, and it is rare for someone my age to have it. I was around 31 or 32 at the time. The doctor told me I might be the only one at that age he had seen with it.
When he started my treatment, he explained that the course he wanted to give me might be too dangerous for someone older, like my dad. It could be harmful to the heart. But for someone my age, it should be okay, though he couldn't promise 100% that I would be fine. He didn't want to do surgery right away, so we decided to try the treatment first. If a kid in my age group took the same medicine, they would be okay in two or three months.
It is a weird disease. I read a lot about it. It affects a bone in the body.
— You said, “I believe that in 10 or 20 years, I'm still going to be wearing my sneakers!” What sneakers do you think you will be wearing in 10-20 years? Let’s just imagine.
— It is always going to be the Jordan 1, especially the OGs like the Breds and the Chicagos. Also, people might not know this about me, but the Adidas Superstar is one of my favourite shoes as well.
I love all brands, but if I have to mention one shoe, it is going to be the Jordan 1, specifically the Breds.
— Virgil Abloh is your icon; he is a legend. But are there any other figures in the fashion scene that are very close to him for you?
— No one. These days, honestly, I don't see anyone close to that level. With all due respect to everyone, there are many icons, but I don't feel that same connection with anyone else. Virgil Abloh was both great and humble. For me, personality is the most important thing.
I am not a judgmental person, but if I see someone dressed well and looking good, they could be a fashion icon. However, if I feel they are not a good person, they will never be an icon to me. Virgil was so humble and always had time for everyone. We weren't friends, and I have never met him in person, but when I sent him a DM, he responded.
Before he passed away, the last two pictures in his story were my pictures. He appreciated the love people showed him and was never arrogant. During his time, he was the top for me, and he remained humble. Everyone in the Louis Vuitton team he worked with loved him.
Virgil always made time for everyone, even people he didn't know personally. He appreciated the support and love from his fans. I bought Louis Vuitton pieces because of him, not to show off, but to support what he was doing.
— A few questions about your collab with Alwaysoutofstock — the Eternal Soul collection. How did it happen?
— Eternal Soul is owned by Masa, a Japanese guy. We met through our mutual friend in Riyadh during a sneaker event in 2021.
For the first time, we talked about the idea of doing a collaboration. Masa asked me if I was interested, and I was really excited about it. We started sharing ideas and discussing what we could do together. I began designing for them, and during that time, we exchanged a lot of concepts.
I flew to Tokyo to shoot the campaign. We launched the campaign both in Tokyo and online. We did a pop-up event at Ginza Mall in Tokyo, and it was a success — it sold out.
— Wow, do you want to repeat it?
— Of course! Actually, we had a call a few days ago. Masa called me and said, "Bro, let's do it again. Let's do something for Fashion Week." So, for the next Fashion Week, probably in January, I am going to design more stuff.
— If someone comes to you and says, "Hey, you should give all your sneakers away. Just get rid of them," what would you do?
— And I can’t keep anything, right? In this case, I am going to donate them to charity.
— What projects are you working on now?
— My ultimate dream is to create my own brand.
— Clothing brand?
— Yes! I am going to start with clothing because it is easier than starting with sneakers in this industry. I don't want to say there is a lot of competition, but breaking into the sneaker industry is just not easy. Starting with clothing is more manageable. I know there are a lot of brands out there, but it is a more accessible entry point.
— What is the stage of this project?
— I have created some samples, but I don't want to say I have already started. I am still in the process. I have done a lot of samples, but I am still trying to find the right way to start this.
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