Page 24 - Provoke Magazine Vol4

Hard Hitter from Houston
Andrea Pernell
We all know that hustler that takes anything and sells it. Marc Boone sold a brand and how he did that was by simply allowing himself to be misunderstood. Start- ing out posting his personal hard to cop sneakers he mistakenly gained a huge following for it. When they figured out he wasn’t actually selling his shoes, he made and sold shoes. Like any real hustla’ would do! When talking with him, just like his persona, his story is a guide on trusting your hand, using everything to your benefit and remaining cool.
What was the birth of SneakerGang? After college, I got back into character with my sneakers. When I was in Oklahoma I didn’t have access to the styles and trends. Once I was back in Houston, I purchased a pair of Jor- dans that had only dropped in Europe but I couldn’t find anything to wear with them. I started putting SneakerGang on shirts and everyone started asking for them. It grew from there.
So you found a shoe plug and ran with it? Yea, in 2014 I designed my own shoe. I went to China soon after and once I saw everything I had access to, I just let it devel- op. I just got home from being there a week ago too. I’ve seen the transition from showcasing sneakers and tees and now leather duffels and backpacks. Are you limiting products or are you creating buildup for ex- pansion? A lot of people thought I re-sold sneakers but that market is over-saturated so I focused on doing my own thing. There were a lot of DMs asking to purchase because I was marketing my IG wrong. But the exclu- sives were too hard to obtain in bulk so I stopped. If I 24 provokeusmag.com
only get one pair I can’t make any money. I stuck with the products I considered were my niche. I am growing based on my inspiration and the resulting demand.
This duffel bag set, are those your next transition up? Yea, I dropped my first set in 2015 and I sold out the first pop up at my friend’s hookah spot. I initially wanted it for myself and then people kept asking me for them after the pop-up. I said you know what, I am going to work on this bag. I worked at it for a year and I tried going the cheap route but ended up back with my previ- ous manufacturer. The black was actually just a sample and I only had samples for the shoot. I had to run with them because the photographer was top of the line and he was available. I spent a lot on the production but I collaborated with
my best friends sister to manage the entire thing. I had about six samples before I was satisfied with it. Even af- ter the conventions, they didn’t get it quite right. I ulti- mately flew out to make sure it was how I wanted it. We overcame language barriers and everything. The conver- sations start at 6 pm my time and last until 2 or 3 in the morning.
So I see you have the NBA and NFL nod of approval, how does that feel? It’s cool, it’s a start but I need more of them to buy it, you know, and no freebies!
What are your next endeavors? When I was in China I was actually there for 2 reasons. I had to finalize the bags and I am releasing a new sneaker cleaner. Over time I have realized that the accessories are where it’s at. Initial- ly, I was just playing with it to see how it went. I sized up my competition and said F it, I will run with this. I see myself getting somewhere with something of this level much quicker than the bags. The spray is for your sneak- ers made with leather. In addition to that, I was on a pan- el here in Houston called the Fish Bowl. From that, I was able to buy into a restaurant. When I officially close that deal out I will be a designer slash investor.
Did the guy who reached out for the panel know you previously? Yes, he actually owns She’s Happy Hair. His reach is in Dallas, Houston, and Detroit with a total of 6 stores. This event will happen every year and it catered to the veterans. There were about 25 different businesses and most people talked about how the business got start- ed and didn’t pitch the idea, running out of time. Most don’t need money so much as advice and resources. One person, I plan to reach out to just needs better pricing for her products. I remember asking big brands for angles and they would tell me to keep pushing. I realized I had