This is how you see the market. If you look at the US landscape, there are literally a couple of boutiques that make a difference.

There's a secondary market, which is cool for those cities that don't have anything inside jordan 4 metallic red them,” Whitner says. “I noticed when I opened Social Status in Pittsburgh and Charlotte - there was nothing like that. Then I moved to Greensborro, a city full of colleges and no one wanted to open anything there.

Then I came to Rayleigh, a city where there is Duke, UNC and the state of North Carolina. There was a culture, but there was no one who could serve it.”

Impressively, James has been able to build an empire of sneaker boutiques that interact with brands such as Reebok, Diadora, New Balance and afford to buy clothes from Off-White and Gosha Rubchinskiy.

But Whitner says his gem is A Ma Maniere. Luxurious clothes, high-end shoes and all this in one store in Atlanta.

Hewas opened in 2014. This store was covered by the guys from Complex along with 2 Chainz on an episode of Complex's Sneaker Shopping.

A Ma Maniere specializes in clothing brands such as Stone Island, Rick Owens and footwear brand Hender Scheme. Whitner also plans to open a branch in Washington, DC.

“The secret is that I look more like a junkie than a sneaker guy,” laughs James.

Whitner has avoided street life in Pittsburgh, but Atlanta has its own surprises. Last year, A Ma Maniere was the victim of several robberies. In September 2015, someone rammed the store with a car and the attackers stole over $15,000 worth of goods.

“During the week we had cases of people entering the store in cars,” says James. “We understood that we needed to protect the store like a safe. This problem was not unique to us, it was unique to Atlanta."

Asked how this situation makes James feel, he replies: “People will do what they do. I, in turn, need to respond to this. And

This reaction should be positive, which is positive for my business. Some people, of course, react differently, but you don’t need to feed this negativity.”

“I'm not a guy who craves fame. jordan 4 metallic red I crave performance, the finished product, and what the brand stands for,” he says. “I don't feel complete if people just know who I am.

I'd rather be the richest guy in the world without anyone knowing me than if I'm the richest guy in the world and everyone knows who I am."