Justin Melnichuk, despite his young age, has quickly become the go-to man in California for purchasing a range of stylish sneakers. For 4 years he has been building his business via his personal and professional Instagram accounts. In 2021 he successfully juggled being a full-time student with his business Sneaker Kitchen, achieving 1.4 million in sales. With countless celebrities, such as Jake Paul, Marcelas Howard, G-Eazy, De’Aaron Fox, Buddy Hield, Mozzy, and more buying from him, Justin has become renowned in the sneaker community and is planning to take his business to new heights in the coming years.
Welcome Justin! To begin the interview can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
I am an entrepreneur to sum it up. I buy and sell bulk sneakers all around the world. I am 16 years old, in 2021 I did 1.4 million in sales. I live in California and I am one of the youngest and biggest sneaker resellers in the United States.
How did you become interested in selling sneakers?
I have always had a love for sneakers. I mainly started getting into them when I saw Benjamin Kicks with DJ Khaled saying, “Business Boomin” and that just got me curious. How is he making money off of selling sneakers to Celebrities I questioned? I started doing some research and not long after, I purchased my first pair of sneakers to resell. I have been reselling since I was 12 years old and I just love sneakers and the community around them.
Which channels do you use to sell sneakers?
The majority of my sneakers are sold in bulk to other stores locally and around the US/UK, however, I do sell to people all around California including many celebrities. Whenever I get a pair of shoes, I just snap a pic and upload it to my story. If any stores or customers are interested they DM (direct message) me and I give them a price. If they are local, all sneakers are picked up but if they are in the US I ship for free. It’s a fairly simple process and much faster, easier, and cheaper than StockX and GOAT.
How do you advertise your business?
I don’t do much advertisement myself. Everyone in my city knows who I am, and they know exactly who to go to if they need a pair of sneakers. I am the plug of my city. However, whenever customers purchase off me, many times they post it on their Instagram story and tag me. That way more people find my page and more people buy off me.
How much time do you spend working on your business each day?
I try to limit my time working since I am only 16. My daily schedule is the same every day, I wake up at 5AM sharp, eat, workout, shower, eat, school, go to the warehouse to ship shoes, go home to do homework, and sleep. I would say I spend an average of about 3-4 hours per day posting sneakers and boxing them up.
What are your hobbies and interests outside of work?
Outside of work I snowboard and I wakeboard. That’s about it to be honest.
What are your plans for the future?
Yeah I actually have a lot of plans for the future. I am opening my very first location of Sneaker Kitchen in Sacramento, California this year. Shortly after that, I plan on opening locations in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Miami Florida. Soon everyone, not in just California, but the entire United States will know who Justin Melnichuk and Sneaker Kitchen is. It will be the biggest Sneaker Franchise ever.
Thank you Justin for your time!
You can follow up with Justin Melnichuk at IG @justinmelnichuk and @sneakerkiitchen
