Underground Manchester trainer consignment store Sneaker 63 has made headlines around the world this morning after sharing a ‘first world look’ at the latest pair of rare Nike Air Jordans ahead of their official release.
The first shop in the world to show the brand new Air Jordan 2 Low x Two 18 collab, thanks to the ‘leak’ the hidden Chinatown trainer store has blown up across the globe overnight – getting media coverage from sneaker fans in America, Brazil, Japan and Hong Kong.
The store is known for getting its hands on super-rare pairs of trainers and is full to the brim with elite and exclusive designs, some of which sell for as much as £6,000.
Image: Sneaker 63
And whilst they tell us that these new Aid Jordan 2s are more likely to go for around the £200 mark, the prestige of having the shoe first is worth way more than the shoe’s retail value.
Speaking to The Manc, they described getting their hands on these extremely rare Jordans first as being like ‘looking [for] and finding a rare or unseen Pokemon.’
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Created by Detroit sneaker retailer Two 18 in collaboration with Jordan, the shoes feature a full suede build with tonal browns covering the upper and leather liner with subtle red and blue paneling.
The soles feature Two 18 branding, whilst the tongue is dressed in the usual Wings logo.
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Owner Jack Chen has some great connections in the sneaker world, cultivated through meets and events he goes to, and is helping to put Manchester on the map for sneakerheads.
It certainly seems to have worked. Since opening the store in Chinatown in 2019, Manchester has welcomed the arrival of quite a few more shops in Sneaker63’s image – Kershkicks, Kick Game, and Crespslocker, to be precise.
Image: Sneaker 63
Jordan has made the Air Jordan 2s a priority for this year, and whilst Sneaker 63 tell us the UK ‘isn’t ready for Jordan 2 at the moment’ that hasn’t stopped them from getting ahead of the curb and debuting the new shoe collab.
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Since sharing the post yesterday, the store has featured on the front pages of some of the world’s best sneaker pages – including Nice Kicks and the Japanese page Up to Date, both followed by big-name sneakerheads and rappers like Michael Jordan’s son Marcus Jordan, Pigeon SB dunk designer Jeff Staple, and rappers Mayor and PJ Tucker.
Other rare pairs the store has stocked in recent years include players’ edition shoes made for the Oregon basketball team; a limited, executive-level ‘friends and family’ release of Para’s Nike Airmax 1 collab; Chinese New Year custom Jordans 1’s (one of just 50 pairs in the world); and a leaked early pair of the Travis Scott x Jordan collaboration.
Whilst Jordan Brand and Two 18 are yet to officially comment on this collaboration, it’s exciting to see an independent Manchester store putting the city on the map in such a big way.
Feature image – Sneaker 63
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Luxury Manchester gym Blok confirms permanent closure after weeks of uncertainty
Daisy Jackson
Blok Manchester has announced its permanent closure, weeks after the doors to the premium fitness facility mysteriously closed.
Around a fortnight ago, members began to arrive to their classes to find the gym on Ducie Street locked up and a forfeiture notice on the door – but at the time, Blok said that it was fighting to reopen.
Sadly, in an email sent to members today, its founder has confirmed that the studio is now permanently closed.
Blok – which has several very successful sites down in London – said that its relationship with its landlord has ‘broken down to a point where trust has been lost’.
The gym wrote that it’s been left with ‘no workable way forward’.
They said: “BLOK Manchester was a space built by our loyal and dedicated community. Whether you joined us for one class or one hundred, we are deeply grateful. You helped create something genuinely special in an incredible city.”
In the immediate future, they said they’ll be supporting the team of fantastic trainers who worked here, as well as looking after members.
Members will be contacted within a few hours with options and refunds owed.
Blok Manchester has announced its permanent closure. Credit: The Manc Group
CEO and founder Ed Stanbury said: “While this marks the end of a chapter, we don’t see it as the end of our story in Manchester. We’re already speaking with developers about potential future sites and remain committed to returning to the city when the time is right.
“Thank you for being part of our story so far. Let’s shape the future of wellness. The mission continues.”
Commenting on Blok’s Instagram post – its first in almost a fortnight – people have been sharing their sadness at the closure of its Manchester site.
One person wrote: “beautiful space, beautiful staff and beautiful community.”
Another said: “Sending love to all the instructors !! :(((( gutted”
Someone else commented: “THE BEST CLASSES. I’m gutted.”
‘The average cost of a pint’ in the UK by region, according to the latest data
Danny Jones
Does it feel like pints keep getting more and more expensive almost every week at this point? Yes. Yes, it does, and while you can’t expect a city as big as Manchester to be one of the cheapest places to get one in the UK, we do often wonder how it compares to other parts of the country.
Well, as it happens, someone has recently crunched the numbers for us across the nation, breaking down which regions pay the most and the least for their pints.
The data has been examined by business management consultancy firm, CGA Strategy, using artificial intelligence and information from the latest Retail Price Index figures to find out what the ‘average cost of a pint’ is down south, up North and everywhere in between.
While the latest statistics provided by the group aren’t granular enough to educate us on Greater Manchester’s pint game exactly, we can show you how our particular geographic region is looking on the leaderboard at the moment.
That’s right, we Mancunians and the rest of the North West are technically joint mid-table when it comes to the lowest average cost of a pint, sharing the places from 3rd to 8th – according to CGA, anyway.
Powered by consumer intelligence company, NIQ (NielsenIQ) – who also use AI and the latest technology to deliver their insights – we can accept it might seem like it’s been a while since you’ve paid that little for a pint, especially in the city centre, but these are the stats they have published.
Don’t shoot the messenger, as they say; unless, of course, they’re trying to rob you blind for a bev. Fortunately, we’ve turned bargain hunting at Manchester bars into a sport at this point.
We might not boast the lowest ‘average’ pint cost in the UK, but we still have some bloody good places to keep drinking affordable.
London tops the charts (pretends to be shocked)
While some of you may have scratched your eyes at the supposed average pint prices here in the North West, it won’t surprise any of you to see that London leads the way when it came to the most expensive pint when it came to average cost in the UK.
To be honest, £5.44 doesn’t just sound cheap but virtually unheard of these days.
CGA has it that the average cost of a beer in the British capital is actually down 15p from its price last September, but as we all know, paying upwards of £7 for a pint down that end of the country is pretty much par for the course the closer you get to London.
Yet more reason you can be glad you live around here, eh? And in case you thought you were leaving this article with very little, think again…
Georgina Pellant -
5th July 2022 
