Sneaker culture with Jo Farah

Founder of Sneaker LAB Jo Farah has blended a passion for sneaker culture with science to create a world-first, proudly South African shoe-care brand, represented in over 60 countries

‘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 highend, 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 friendly, but with better results than any of our competitors – that’s what makes us different. Our unique formulas utilise bacteria and enzymes to hyper-escalate nature’s natural cleaning process. The biotechnology functions on a molecular level, and continues to work long after application.

GQ: How has sneaker culture grown from a subculture into a global industry?

JF: Sneaker culture began with basketball in 1973 when Puma released the Clyde sneaker for basketball player Walter “Clyde” Frazier, followed by Nike’s Air Jordans, made for Michael Jordan in the early ’80s. Once a New York subculture, celebrities are now partnering with brands to release their own lines of sneakers and apparel, which sell for a small fortune to collectors.

GQ: Do you collect sneakers yourself?

JF: I’m not a collector who resells sneakers – I wear everything I buy. I own around 60 pairs of sneakers and when I’ve stopped wearing a pair, I donate them to someone who will get more wear out of them. My favourite brand is Nike; I love their old-school Jordan 1’s and SB Dunks.

GQ: If you weren’t the creator of a sneaker product range, what else could you see yourself creating?

JF: A streetwear range. I would love to create a sneaker, but that’s not realistic with the strong international competition from huge global brands. I’m currently working on a new range of products, from household cleaning to personal care, which makes use of our environmentally friendly biotech.