News 12 sat down with a major sneakerhead who, after purchasing a domain in the early 2000s, helped turn it into one of the largest sneaker events in the world — Sneaker Con — which is headed to Coney Island this weekend.

Yu-Ming Wu, founder of Sneaker News and Sneaker Con, fell in love with street footwear during college. He began blogging about sneaker culture while buying domains related to the industry.

“I bought Sneaker News because I was reading Footwear News and thought, maybe one day there will be Sneaker News,” Wu said.

As Sneaker News grew, Wu’s partners approached him with the idea of creating a sneaker convention. Wu liked the concept and already had the perfect domain name in mind.

“If this is the deal, then OK, but I have an idea of what to call it. It’s called sneakercon.com,” Wu said.

Nearly 20 years later, Sneaker Con holds over 20 events annually, where sneakerheads buy, sell, and trade coveted footwear. This weekend, the show is making its way to Coney Island.

“When I was growing up in sneakers, it was big, but not to the degree it is today,” Wu said.