A Day in the Life with Disruptor Jordan Taylor of Vamp Sneaker Cleaning
By Sebastian Turano
Over the past year, TSIP and Centric have worked with and researched what we call 'Disruptors'. Disruptors are successful entrepreneurs and creative young people from underrepresented communities. In our report, we identify the critical characteristics of Disruptors, analyse how they incubate businesses and share recommendations for how institutions can better support Disruptors. In this blog, I want to give you a sense of what a day with a Disruptor looks like, share how Disruptors inspire me and hopefully inspire you.
Recently, I spent a day with Shaun Danquah, Founder of Centric and Jordan Taylor, Founder of Vamp Sneaker Cleaning. Centric is a community research organisation tapping into community intellect to disrupt how research is executed and used. Vamp Sneaker Cleaning is a premium sneaker cleaning business that we spoke with as part of our Disruptive Futures research. The two first met ten years ago when, as a young adult, Shaun began mentoring an 11-year-old Jordan. However, that’s a story for another day. For now, all you need to know is that Jordan amazed Shaun from their very first encounter. He couldn't believe that this kid from Jamaica, living on the estate in Brixton, was asking such extraordinary questions, interested in worldly issues and teaching himself Mandarin. Fast forward to today, Shaun continues to mentor Jordan, who has grown his sneaker cleaning business from cleaning his friends' designer sneakers to opening a brick-and-mortar store in Brixton, with customers across the country.
Before I met Shaun and Jordan, my day started at Impact Brixton, the first black-owned co-working space in England. Here I brushed shoulders with locally based freelancers, Apple Music and a range of entrepreneurs. Mid-morning, Shaun joins me and gifts me with a tracksuit from Daley Kaveli, a brand created by Michael Morris, a fashion designer and researcher at Centric. After catching up over a coffee, we start making our way towards Brixton Tube Station to meet Jordan.
Today, Shaun and Jordan are headed to the Axel Arigato office to discuss a potential collaboration. Axel Arigato is a contemporary fashion brand with a massive online presence, an impressive Soho flagship and stocklists at high-end retailers worldwide (including Selfridges, Harrods and Harvey Nichols). This meeting was followed by another with Proxyeed, a streetwear marketplace (store and app) where streetwear enthusiasts can connect, buy and sell products such as new and used sneakers. While Shaun and Jordan were away, I messaged one of TSIP's interns, Muyiwa, to join us for the afternoon. I know Muyiwa is passionate about sneakers, and my instinct told me he’d love the opportunity to join us.
After Shaun and Jordan return from two successful busines meetings, we all make our way to the Vamp Sneaker Cleaning shop. It's only a 10-minute walk but Shaun and Jordan pause to speak with multiple people along the way. Today, Jordan and Shaun's gifts for relationship building, capitalising on opportunity, and executing ideas are all on full show.
Visiting the VAMP Shop
When I first arrive in the store, the first thing I notice is the Vamp logo and a beautiful wall display of recently cleaned sneakers ready for customer pick-up. It’s on the other side of that wall where the magic happens. Sneakers are brushed, a hydrophobic spray coating is applied, and laces are washed. Rocane, Jordan's 17-year-old cousin, shows us dirty, rare, expensive, and standard sneakers in the back. He then explains the cleaning process without giving away the secret sauce. While he laces up an assembly line of freshly cleaned sneakers, I ask him about his job. Immediately I'm impressed by his answers. He is not caught up in the hype of working with sneakers or interested in how much he's getting paid or what else he could be doing during his summer holidays. Instead, he tells me about his long-term vision and aspirations for Vamp.
While Muyiwa and I talk to Jordan, he tells us how he analyses data on the range of sneakers he receives from his customers. He also discusses his plans for a better CRM, a subscription model and expansion. As we chat, Jordan pauses to speak with customers coming to pick up trainers and new customers interested in Vamp's services. What I found fascinating was the diversity of Jordan's customers. When speaking with his customers, Jordan demonstrates his remarkable cross-cultural dexterity where he's able to understand the nuances of working with different products, customers, and business partners. In our conversations, Jordan also demonstrates an inspiring degree of cultural integrity and authenticity. When I ask Jordan how many sneakers he buys, he begins discussing mindless consumerism and reflects on how in his native Jamaica, people walk barefoot by the river. The conversation shifts to studying Arabic in Egypt instead of pursuing a university degree at King's College London. Nothing about his story or venture is traditional, but there is a sense that he's limitless, interested in systemic change and his community. It’s all bigger than just sneakers.
As Muyiwa and I prepare to head back to Impact Brixton, Jordan casually offers Muyiwa some parting advice. Reflecting on the recent completion of his Computer Science A-Levels and interest in sneakers, he tells Muyiwa to consider learning how to use his Computer Science skills to break into the £30 billion sneaker reselling market. After brainstorming ideas and reflecting on different opportunities in the market Muyiwa and I make our way back to Impact Brixton, stopping for a Beef Patty along the way. As Muyiwa leaves he brings up some of the ideas that he discussed earlier with Jordan and muses, "You know what? Some of them could work".
Reflecting on the day
I'm inspired that in the time that I’ve been following Jordan's journey, he's gone from operating out of someone else's shop to going out on his own and forming equitable partnerships with high-end brands, all whilst navigating through a global pandemic. But more than that, I can't stop thinking about how a successful, entrepreneurial and disruptive Shaun mentored and inspired Jordan. And now, a successful, entrepreneurial and disruptive Jordan is mentoring and inspiring young people like Muyiwa and Rocane.
How can we capitalise on, build and scale up this disruptive ecosystem of not only entrepreneurs, but also develop a framework for inspiring other young people to chase their dreams and fulfil their aspirations?
The following quotes from Shaun and Jordan sum it up best:
““Today was a memorable day in the name of Disruptive Futures. We had an amazing journey from Brixton to central London to negotiate an equitable partnership with a high street brand. Not only does this have momentary value for my business, but it also fits into what we are all about, inspiring other people in Brixton.”
““What we are saying to young people is that yes, you can do it- it is possible! We want to build this ecosystem, create an influential framework, inspire and equip young people who didn’t believe they could do it. We were once young men in darkness, and we both found the light. I want to not only spread the message of what it means to be an entrepreneur and own a business, but also share this narrative with people who do not know its power.” ”