Trainer or sneaker customisation has become a big thing over the last five years. TikTok and Instagram have helped drive the trend, with people now starting to set up side businesses online or a few have even made it their day to day job.
One such person is 27-year-old Bristol-born Ronnie Arathoon, who set up his sneaker customisation and cleaning business back in April 2020. After being a self-confessed 'sneaker-head’ for years and having found there was a gap in the market in Bristol, Ronnie set up his business Sneek Geek at the north end of Gloucester Road.
“For me it’s not like a job, I've probably had one bad day in the last four years. Like, every time I go to work, I'm happy. I wake up every morning, and I just love it. I really love it. And honestly, I'm gonna do this probably for the rest of my life.”
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With social media being such a big driving force on trends and what the ‘in’ thing is now, I asked Ronnie why he thought customisation of trainers had become such a big market. He said: “There was definitely a gap in the market. And I think a lot of people got into the reselling game as well, because Jordan's and dunks started to become popular again. So that made it a lot more desirable.”
With customised shoes becoming so desirable now, Ronnie not only customises and cleans many pairs of shoes each week for regulars and locals, in the past four years he’s also customised shoes for different celebrities. With the help of his friend Amish who works at a PR agency, Ronnie has been able to create customised shoes for the likes of rappers Tion Wayne, DiggaD and Giggs and - while not customised by him - he’s sold shoes to Chris Brown and his team.
He said: “I want to mention Amish because without him I wouldn’t have been introduced to certain people.”
Designers will always have a favourite design they have done over the years and Ronnie is no different. He said: “I think my favourite one I’ve done so far would have to be for Tion Wayne because he was such a cool guy.” The pair he customised for the rapper had his album cover on the shoe and he then got to fly the shoes out to Amsterdam to deliver them.
With three services on offer, prices do vary depending on the level of work but cleaning costs around £60, restoration around £250 with customisations up to £1,000, depending on the level of detail.
Having amassed 5,000 followers on TikTok and just over 10,000 followers on Insta, Sneek Geek has started to become a popular place in the trainer world. It recently opened a second store up in Edinburgh with the hopes to make the business a franchise.
“This has just changed my life, the whole journey, and I never thought I would get to do this for a living,” said Ronnie
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