Made In Arizona: Tucson man's love for shoes led to boutique business in the Valley
PHOENIX - For sneaker aficionados in the Valley, research will likely lead them to Many Worlds Shoes.
The store sells rare pairs of shoes, with some being samples that were never even released for sale. An entire collection of "kicks" sure to make you stand out.
Many Worlds Shoes is a business built in Arizona by the "reshoevn8r" himself, Steve Grear.
"We have approximately 700 pairs, and anything ranging from $100 and under, which is the far right section, up to the most expensive stuff, in here, which is up to $5,000 or so," said Grear.
Grear was born and raised in Tucson, where his love for shoes really took shape.
"We didn't have a lot on money growing up. My mom made me take care of my stuff, so I was always cleaning my shoes, always taking care of them," said Grear. "Once I had the ability to purchase them myself, that's when I started collecting them."
Grear developed his own system, using a toothbrush, soap and eventually a washing machine to keep his shoes looking clean.
"I was cleaning shoes to sell on eBay and thought, 'why isn't there a product like this that's using this process?' and that's really what sparked the idea for Reshoevn8r," said Grear.
Grear started working out of his garage, making cleaning kits.
"The first kits, I remember giving one to my buddy on his birthday.. and it was a cheap nail brush that didn't hardly work and it was pretty bad," Grear recounted.
That was 10 years ago. Nowadays, Grear works out of a newly-renovated space near 7th Street and Indian School Road that he just opened, despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
It's a one-stop shop where people can buy their sneakers, as well as the right stuff to clean them, or have them dry-cleaned. Some customers even get some "off-menu" custom detail.
"We did a mid-sole repaint on a pair of basically $8,000 Yeesys last week," said Grear.
Since the business' start, the business has really grown locally and internationally. Grear credits much of that success to social media, where he has more than 680,000 followers on Instagram, and topping 1 million subscribers on YouTube, where people can find videos on tips, tricks and customs with online personality Vick Almighty.
The Reshoevn8r and Many Worlds have come a long way, much like the sneakers they are collecting, cleaning and selling. Grear, however, says he is constantly working on his craft, and people can expect to see even more from them very soon.
"We're going to be doing a bunch of cool events, and really just keep having fun, because once you stop having fun, it's not as enjoyable, and I don't want to do it anymore. So just continuing to challenge ourselves and keep having fun," said Grear.
Many Worlds
https://manyworldsclothing.com
Reshoevn8r
If you have an idea about a product made in Arizona, you can send an e-mail to madeinarizona@foxtv.com.