Our story
It started with a pair of Air Force 1s I got when I was eighteen. Two of my best friends had the exact same pair around the same time. Theirs started yellowing and breaking down. Mine stayed crisp. When they saw the difference, they asked me to bring theirs back to life too. Somewhere in there it clicked: why not get paid for this? I was a high school kid looking for something on the side, and it grew from there.
That first paid clean was one pair, in 2022. Four years later we’re past 1 500 pairs. Every single one washed by hand. No machines, no shortcuts, no production line. The same attention that went into pair number one goes into pair number fifteen hundred, and that’s deliberate: the moment we start rushing is the moment we become just another cleaner.
I’m studying graphic design now, but the goal for Kick-O-Mat has grown a lot bigger than a side hustle. We’re still a budding brand: small, hands-on, figuring it out as we grow. And honestly, that’s the best part. You’re not customer number ninety thousand to a call centre. You’re early, and we treat you like it. The goal from here is to build one of the biggest, most accessible sneaker care brands on the continent: culturally rooted, community-inclusive, and built to last.
Sneakers aren't just footwear to most of us. They're an investment and a form of self-expression. Too many people don't have access to sneaker care they can actually trust. Kick-O-Mat exists to fix that: convenient, professional care, while creating real income opportunities for young entrepreneurs through our network model. The long-term goal is a nationally recognised brand that empowers communities, extends the life of the shoes people already own, and leaves South Africa a little better off along the way.
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