GQ South Africa – September 2019

40 /september 2019

Photogra

Phy su

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lied by Jo Farah,

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lied by

sneaker lab

friendly,butwithbetterresults

thananyofourcompetitors

• that’swhatmakesus
  different.Ourunique
  formulasutilisebacteriaand
  enzymestohyper-escalate
  nature’snaturalcleaning
  process.Thebiotechnology
  functionsona molecular
  level,andcontinuestowork
  longafterapplication.

GQ:Howhassneaker

culturegrownfrom

asubcultureinto

aglobalindustry?

JF:Sneakerculturebegan

withbasketballin 1973 when

PumareleasedtheClyde

sneakerforbasketballplayer

Walter“Clyde”Frazier,

followedbyNike’sAirJordans,

madeforMichaelJordanin

theearly’80s.Oncea New

Yorksubculture,celebrities

arenowpartneringwith

brandstoreleasetheir

ownlinesofsneakersand

apparel,whichsellfora small

fortunetocollectors.

GQ:Doyoucollect

sneakersyourself?

JF:I’mnota collectorwho

resellssneakers– I wear

everythingI buy.I own

around 60 pairsofsneakers

andwhenI’vestopped

wearinga pair,I donate

themtosomeonewhowill

getmorewearoutofthem.

Myfavouritebrandis Nike;

I lovetheirold-schoolJordan

1’sandSBDunks.

GQ:Ifyouweren’t

thecreatorofasneaker

productrange,what

elsecouldyousee

yourselfcreating?

JF:A streetwearrange.

I wouldlovetocreatea

sneaker,butthat’snotrealistic

withthestronginternational

competitionfromhugeglobal

brands.I’mcurrentlyworking

ona newrangeofproducts,

fromhouseholdcleaning

topersonalcare,whichmakes

useofourenvironmentally-

friendlybiotech.

• Shannon Manuel

‘Once a

New York

subculture,

celebrities

are now

partnering

with brands

to release

their own

lines of

sneakers’

GQ: Who are you?

Jo Farah: I grew up in Joburg

and later moved to San Diego.

I returned to South Africa in 2008

because I wanted to help alleviate

the country’s socio-economic

challenges. Hip-hop had a huge

influence on my youth, as did

sneakers and streetwear culture.

I went into business with two

friends who owned a streetwear

store in Cape Town, and we

established a guerrilla marketing

agency, working mostly with

well-known sneaker brands and

retailers. That’s when I noticed

a gap in the market for a high-

end, sneaker-care brand. When

we received Sneaker LAB’s first

order, I remember personally hand

packing 500 bottles, because at

that stage it was just myself and

one other employee. Today, we

produce millions of units for the

South African market every year.

GQ: What has gone into

growing the Sneaker LAB

brand from the ground up?

JF: A lot of hard work, planning,

perseverance, constant innovation

and the right people.

GQ: The toughest lessons

you’ve learnt?

JF: How to build a brand using

limited resources, the planning that

goes into cracking the international

market, and not to underestimate

the importance of networking

or the value of registering a

trademark to protect your business’

intellectual property. Competitors

tried to replicate our product

once we reached the international

market. Fortunately for us, our

formula is unique, which made

their attempts unsuccessful.

GQ: Were you destined to

become an entrepreneur?

JF: Yes. My father is my role

model. The business he started

in his late 20s is now an

international IT company.

GQ: What lies at the

heart of the brand?

JF: Our brand’s ethos is to give

back and make a difference,

which we do by supporting local

charities and artists. Our “Artist

Series” events are a platform for

artists to connect and share their

work. Sneaker LAB is currently

working with WeForest, a

global organisation committed

to restoring forests affected by

climate change, and conserving

and restoring ecosystems.

GQ: Why was starting

your brand in South

Africa important?

JF: To address South Africa’s

challenges, Sneaker LAB has

created over 60 local jobs. We also

use local materials to manufacture

our products, the only exception

being the items we have to import

that aren’t available here.

GQ: Sneaker LAB is

the world’s only sneaker-

care product to be

Green Tag certified.

Tell us about that.

JF: This certification is a big deal

for us. It’s opened the doors to

the international market. Our

cleaning technology is light years

ahead of other brands on the

market. When I started Sneaker

LAB, I wanted the brand to be

sustainable and environmentally

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