Research has regularly addressed the disparities in power between consumers and more powerful market actors and the resultant market developments that emerge either through acts of resistance or the reproduction and consolidation of existing power structures. However, previous literature has primarily foregrounded dissatisfied consumers who are openly opposed to the aspirations of powerful actors. Through an inductive study of the sneaker subculture, we identify a previously overlooked category of consumer; a consumer with high field-dependent cultural capital who is dissatisfied with developments within their particular consumption field but who is generally unantagonistic towards powerful actors and willing to engage in an exchange of legitimacy that benefits all parties. We dub these actors “consumer Clerics.” Through an institutional theory lens, we elaborate on the legitimacy exchange between powerful actors, consumers, and disruptive entrants, explore the dynamics of these relationships, and describe the nature of consumer Clerics’ consumption field participation.