Shortly after Adam passed, his family had to figure out with what to do with his estate & belongings. One of the first things put into motion was the idea to setup a charity organization which became the DJ AM Memorial Fund. It's purpose was to maintain the legacy of Adam Goldstein and his commitment to helping others who struggle with addiction. DJ AM’s sister, Lara Long, was the creative force that founded the DJ AM Memorial Fund and one of her first contributions to it was to hold a charity shoe auction of AM's collection on eBay with 100% of the proceeds going to AM's Memorial Fund. To the best of my recollection, over $150,000 was raised during the auction which kicked off on November 15th, 2009. Here was the original flyer announcement:
The workload for this event was off the charts. The first order of business was to go through and gather all of Adam's nearly 900 pairs of kicks, organize them, number them individually and professionally photograph them. The professional photos of his collection can be found on the gallery page of this site. They are also are being posted over time on the DJ AM Lives Instagram page (in order, in the story highlights). Andre Ljustina, known in the shoe community as Croatian Style and as the owner of Project Blitz, along with Joy Claire really helped in assessing value and preparing the collection for the sale.
Here are some never before seen photos courtesy of Ben Long (Adam's sister Lara's husband) of the shoes being organized and getting prepped at AM's former residence:
Once the shoes were organized & photographed, the next steps were to set up the charity aspects of the auction with eBay, move the shoes to the Deckstar offices, get supplies (shoe boxes, authentication certificates, packing materials) and start posting the listings on eBay. Adam's sister Lara's tireless efforts really helped keep things moving. My wife & I, along with others, assisted with auction listings & my wife did the writing on the shoe authentication certificates. Many others helped with packing, listing and other duties.
Here are some additional never-before-seen photos of the eBay auction process at the Deckstar offices. Once again, big thanks to Ben Long for these photographs:
Here is a screen grab of the DJ AM Memorial Fund eBay page while the auction was going:
The shoe auction had MOST of his kicks but the highest valued ones were kept aside and displayed at UNDFTD during and after the shoe auction. They were later returned to his family who sold most of them in the "As I AM: The Life & Times of DJ AM" Indiegogo fundraiser which benefitted the completion of the 2016 documentary.
Did you get any kicks from AM's personal collection? If so, post up pics of them in the comments!
I got a pair of dunks I think they are in storage I will post when I go by.
Some of my most prized possessions, along with a stack of records from his collection which I’ll post up soon!
I remember being stunned when hearing of the news of DJ AM's passing-in fact we had just bought tickets to see him in SF. As a sneaker collector myself, when the charity auction came around, it overwhelming to see the quality, variety and passion in his collection. Knowing I'd want to buy at least a few pairs, I decided to focus on the Lakers-themed kicks--an odd purchase for this Bay Area Warriors fan. But 10 years later, as one of the few pairs in my collection not in my size, I still cherish the kicks and have provided a good home and was happy to support a great cause and keep his memory alive whenever I share the story ab…