A TikTok user filmed himself cutting down shoes from a power line to sell them. The shoes often pay respect to people who died.
A Tiktok user documented himself cutting down shoes from a power line to sell them for a profit.
But shoes that are thrown over a power line are typically associated with paying respect to those who died in communities of color.
In a now-viral video, Blake Messick explains how he was able to turn the shoes into money.
"When you see shoes on power lines, you might think of gang territory, but what I think of is profits," Messick said in the video, which he captioned, "quickest way to make $20."
Messick said he and another person bought construction uniforms and a ladder in order to cut down the shoes.
"If anyone asked, we would say we're from a random power company who told us to take the shoes down," Messick said.
In the video, Messick said the shoes "don't belong to anybody and are literally the same as trash on the side of the road."
After finding the best-looking pairs that were mostly vintage, the pair went to find a buyer, and filmed themselves selling the box of shoes to a guy in a parking lot for $20.
Critics took to the comment section to call him out for insensitivity.
"Y'all are foul & know what u did was wrong bc u put on a whole costume. Stealing from a memorial & labeling it as gang territory for change & views," one user wrote.
"Actively gentrifying a neighborhood and claiming it's traditions as gang activity," said another.
Messick did not immediately respond to Insider's request for additional comment.
There are many theories around the "urban myth" of sneakers hanging from a powerline, such as losing one's virginity, graduating, gang terrority, drug sales, or paying respect to someone who's died. It can also mean moving on to retirement among members of the military.
"The Mystery of Flying Kicks" is a short documentary that was released in 2014 that created a hotline for people to call with their theories of why the shoes were hanging over wires.
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