Yeah Slaynish, that entire site is awesome. Although not many 12 year olds run around clad in Urban Outfitters clothes... it doesn't hurt at all to start wearing 1337ness early.
I wear Converse All-Stars. However, I've been wearing them pretty much nonstop sicne I was 11 because I don't like shoes with a ton of padding. The pair I'm wearing now are almost 3 years old and I anticipate that I'll be able to get another year or two out of them before they fall apart entirely.