Hot on the heels of season three of the Netflix series <a href="https://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/television/five-major-spoiler-free-takeaways-from-stranger-things-season-three-1.882717">Stranger Things</a>, a sneaker made in collaboration with Nike has gone on sale. Watched by over 40 million people, <em>Stranger Things</em> is the 1980s horror drama starring Winona Ryder, that tells the story of the supernatural forces behind the disappearance of a little boy. Naturally, the show has legions of devoted fans. To fuel this support, the programme has released various limited edition merchandise with the likes of Coca Cola, Polaroid and even Hasbro, that have been avidly snapped up by the loyal followers. However, even the most die hard fan will be left scratching his or her head at the latest collaboration with Nike. Entitled <em>Stranger Things x</em> Nike Tailwind 79, to find the special designs that make the sneakers covetable and collectable in the first place, the proud new owner must first set them on fire. Huh? Hidden in various places around the sneakers are secret messages that have to be uncovered. Reach inside the shoe and rip out the footbed, and the act of destruction will be rewarded with discovering the secret code in Cyrillic and English that stumped the characters Steve (Joe Keery), Robin (May Hawk) and Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo). Anyone brave enough to hold a flame to the fabric of the heel cuff will see the series name begin to appear through the destroyed weave. As a marketing ploy this is definitely intriguing, as it tests a followers loyalty and commitment in ways that normal sneakers don’t. It also poses a very modern dilemma. Buy the shoes and unearth the messages, half destroying them in the process? Or keep them pristine for the resale value, but never get to see them as the designer intended? Whatever buyers decide, it might be prudent to keep a fire extinguisher handy.