It was 2am and Liam Henderson had just finished cleaning £70,000 worth of designer trainers belonging to Newcastle United player Joe Willock.
Surveying his handiwork, the former academy prospect realised just how far he had come since being released by the club aged 21 and launching DrCleanCreps, his own shoe cleaning and repair business, in 2020.
The idea was born out of Liam's obsession with making sure his own trainers were squeaky clean, but after helping to clean his pal Paul Dummett's shoes, word of his skills began to spread around the Newcastle United dressing room and Willock was among those to reach out.
"Joe Willock has had the best shoes I have ever seen in my life," Liam said. "I totted it up what Joe gave me [to clean] and it was worth over £70,000.
"He had three pairs of Travis Scott and a pair of Jordans that had a collab with Dior, which are worth over £20,000 now.
"When I saw Joe, it was the last game of the season when they played Burnley away and he was injured. He gave me the shoes on Wednesday and he wanted them back on the Friday night, so I had less than 48 hours to do 20 pairs of shoes.
"That was me working until 2am. The next day I dropped them off to Joe and he flew off to America."
Now, two years on from quitting his factory job to launch his business full-time, the 29-year-old from Longbenton has worked with a number of other Newcastle players, including Emil Krafth, Karl Darlow, Jacob Murphy and Mark Gillespie, as well as Geordie Shore stars like Charlotte Crosby.
From his unit in Sunniside, Liam spends his days cleaning, repairing and repainting designer shoes and leather accessories. The painstaking work is done entirely by hand and can see Liam spending hours working on individual items worth thousands of pounds from designers like Louis Vuitton, Dior, and Chanel.
Liam recently worked on £20,000 worth of shoes for Karl Darlow who was left so impressed by his skills that he shared it on his Instagram Story, attracting the attention of fellow player Fabian Schar.
"When I saw Karl last week, his [partner] came out to help put the shoes back in the house and she was like, 'Oh my God I can't believe how fast you have done this,' and asked if I do handbags," Liam said.
"I said it's not just footwear now - it is ranging out to leather goods."
He continued: "I did a [Instagram] post on Karl and he shared it on his story and then Fabian Scharr has followed me straight away.
"It is one of those things where if you get in that clique, you can stick in that clique. Working with Joe Willock, who is a huge player and Karl Darlow, who is influential and has been there for years, that will just pass on."
Working with such high-profile clients is what Liam has "dreamt of since starting" his business, but it's taken him years of graft and working for free to get to this point.
However, thanks to the encouragement of his friend, Paul Dummett, Liam ended up launching his business full-time.
"I have a few mates from when I used to play for Newcastle and Paul Dummett is one of my good mates. I managed to get him to give me some of his shoes so I could show him what I can do.
"Dummy was buzzing with what I could do and said, 'I think you should try going for it,' [launching the business].
"It has been the best thing I have ever done in my life."
After first cleaning Dummett's shoes in 2019, Liam went on to do paid work for Remie Streete, Daniel Barlaser and Luke Charman who were all previously on Newcastle's books.
"That helped as soon as I did the work it would pass on and snowballed that way," Liam said.
"Paul comes to me all the time. He is a friend but also became a client."
The business boss, whose prices start from £30, has now set his sights on working with Allan Saint-Maximin, Bruno Guimaraes, Joelinton and Callum Wilson and says it's only a matter of time before they hear about what he can do.
"I want a footballer to send me their dirtiest pair of shoes so I can show them what is possible," Liam said.
He continued: "I can't actually believe how well it's going. Sometimes I'm lying there thinking, 'how have I managed this?'
"I never thought it would be the way it is now. Some of the footballers and influencers I have worked with...this year has been unbelievable so far and I hope it continues."
READ NEXT:
- 'People think you're an airhead' - Miss Newcastle winners reveal what the pageant is really like
Thai woman goes from having just £20 to running restaurant empire loved by Jonjo Shelvey
Newcastle dating agency helps Geordies sick of apps like Tinder and Grindr to find love in real life
- Inside the world of a real-life Geordie 'Dreamboy' who has bared all in front of 25,000 women
