Grant Taylor, 23, is a digital marketing assistant with an astonishing sock collection.
“I think I have sixteen different pairs with junk food on them. It’s pretty awesome.” says Grant, who lives with his parents in Neutral Bay and became obsessed with socks late last year.
“It started around December when I had broken up with my longterm girlfriend. The decision to break up was mutual. Make sure you write it was mutual,” Grant said. “So I knew I had to shake things up. And foot-gloves, toe-sacks, or heel-holders, as I like to call them, were the perfect solution.”
His first foray into the world of socks began when he purchased every single item available on ‘happysocks.com’.
“I’ve got ones decorated with monotone stripes, abstract swirls, rainbow candy, love hearts. You name it, I’ve worn it on my feet.” Grant says his favourite pair is covered with prints of little pineapples. “It just speaks to me you know. Everyone’s so serious at work and I’m here just like ‘hey, look at my pineapples’ [laughs]. I’d definitely say it reflects my rebellious side.”
Grant says that since his break up last year, which was a mutual decision and not a result of his ex thinking he was suffocatingly boring, his socks have brought him significant attention from potential love interests.
“Girls are always coming up to me and complimenting my socks, especially the puppy ones. But they usually end up losing interest for whatever reason after we start chatting properly.”
Despite that, Grant’s eclectic purchases certainly make him stand out in the workplace.
“It’s what I’m known for. They call me ‘that sock guy’, ” Grant says. “I guess you could probably call me office famous.”
Natasha Swinburn, a colleague of Grant, describes Grant as a recluse.
“Oh, that sock guy, yeah. Like, don’t get me wrong, a lot of the socks are pretty cool, but he doesn’t shut up about them,” Natasha says. “He never comes to work social events, and spends his lunch break scrolling through web pages buying more socks.”
Natasha told The Garter that Grant had previously gone through a phase of wearing loud neckties.