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Two J's & The Shoe Surgeon Talk Sneaker Culture and The Eminem Jordan 4s worth $25,000
Nov 28, 2022
Two J Kicks and The Shoe Surgeon stopped by Sway In The Morning to talk about sneaker culture and how they built their brands. They have built an empire on shoes that can go for millions of dollars or creating a unit experience like Urban Necessities that is unparalleled. Check out the full interview here.
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Exclusive interviews from Sway Calloway and the Sway In The Morning/ SwaysUniverse.com team with some of today's biggest celebrities, like Kevin Hart, Kanye West, Eminem, Usher, Jessica Alba, Steve Aoki, Torey Lanez, Julia Stiles and so much more.
Two J's & The Shoe Surgeon Talk Sneaker Culture and The Eminem Jordan 4s worth $25,000
https://youtu.be/1GbFlz0nS04
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0:00
the CEO and founder of the shoe surgeon
0:03
brand is here this is an iconic brand
0:07
this guy is considered a innovator of
0:11
Vanguard when it comes to designing
0:13
sneakers a lot of what he's done the
0:16
blueprint that he laid down Heather B
0:18
had been bitten Rewritten almost sound
0:22
like copied or run amok but they ain't
0:25
down like right this guy right here I
0:27
made a verse out of that you saw what I
0:29
did right there so he's the first he's
0:31
one of the first he'll tell you who
0:34
inspired him but when we talk about
0:36
these Eminem j4s that I'm sitting on
0:39
that are worth what 20 plus K you know
0:44
when you talk about some of these
0:45
sneakers that get into you know money
0:48
you would pay for a car or a house
0:50
um these guys right here at the
0:52
Forefront of that movement and so I want
0:55
to welcome Dominic here for the the
0:57
actual founder of the shoes
1:02
thank you so much absolutely Urban
1:06
necessities
1:09
come on man Urban Necessities from what
1:12
I found out after doing my research
1:14
because so many people kept coming back
1:16
saying even when we brought it up on the
1:18
show we start getting callers who have
1:20
been to the store right yeah yeah sway I
1:22
got a tattoo at Urban that necessity you
1:25
got a tattoo it's a sneaker store crazy
1:27
when would you get the tattoo after I
1:29
got the haircut
1:31
crazy right really what what what what
1:35
are you listening to that new Kendrick
1:37
where'd you hear it at Urban Necessities
1:39
damn for real well when you get this
1:42
gear from the same place sway it's crazy
1:45
it's an experience 2J kicks is here
1:48
ladies and gentlemen big round of
1:49
applause today appreciate y'all having
1:52
me
1:53
Dominic let me start with you
1:56
where did it start for you
2:00
I mean I've always at a young age I was
2:02
very creative in building stuff but it
2:04
really started when my cousin let me
2:06
borrow her 1985 Jordan Ones freshman
2:09
year of high school
2:10
were those to school everyone looked at
2:13
me and just flipped and I was able to
2:14
speak without talking
2:16
and uh after that I was just tired of
2:19
getting the shoes out my friends had
2:21
because once you wear that shoe once
2:23
that's it you can't wait you can't go
2:26
back to school the next day and wear it
2:27
again so I would get Jordans early and
2:30
then after my friends all having the
2:32
same shoes I airbrushed a pair of shoes
2:34
Air Force uh Air Force One all-white mid
2:37
and airbrushed it with the camouflage
2:39
print and went to school that day and it
2:42
was the same thing they were like
2:43
where'd you get those and it just
2:45
clicked I made them so
2:47
any of the people so that people start
2:49
coming to you from that moment to get
2:51
shoes made or I mean I was doing it for
2:54
myself I just wanted to have something
2:55
unique that created a voice for myself
2:58
and then of course everyone wanted stuff
3:00
like friends like oh makeup for you know
3:02
do them for me and I never charged
3:04
people back then because I wasn't
3:06
excited I wasn't fully uh loving how my
3:09
work came came out I wasn't perfected
3:12
yet which I've since learned it's never
3:14
perfect it's never perfect when did the
3:17
value become appointed to the sneakers
3:20
the specially made sneakers about what
3:22
year did you start seeing an increase in
3:25
value
3:26
when did people really start just pay
3:28
like paying yeah like when it was
3:30
thousands yeah well it was me letting go
3:33
of of understanding what how to how to
3:36
exchange money for the energy I put into
3:38
the sneakers and I think the first
3:40
sneaker the first stinker eyes told was
3:43
like 300 bucks and then you know now I'm
3:45
selling them for 250 000.
3:51
I'm quitting I'm quitting this is my
3:53
last day here I'm about to go design
3:56
some sneakers he's actually here too he
3:59
has a a surgeon Academy in Brooklyn
4:01
that's going down today with the NFL so
4:03
and Seaport in Seaport what's a surgeon
4:06
Academy what is that so so uh teach you
4:09
how to be him about six seven years ago
4:11
I started uh a school a workshop where
4:14
people can learn how to take shoes apart
4:16
and rebuild them and it's
4:19
um it's just something that is a major
4:21
focus in in what we do because I want to
4:24
give the creativity back to anyone that
4:27
wants to learn it
4:28
200 a quarter of a million first of all
4:30
round of applies for sharing because a
4:32
lot of times people have these gifts
4:33
they don't want to share you know and
4:35
you're open enough and confident enough
4:37
secure enough in what you do to want to
4:39
share a quarter of a million dollars so
4:42
I'm working on a two million dollar shoe
4:44
what what brand can you say it's the Air
4:46
Mags two minutes completely custom wow
4:50
who would pay 2 million for a pair of
4:52
shoes that's happened
4:54
DB why you raise your hand you got two
4:56
million no you said who would pay I
4:59
don't know okay the Air Mags like I told
5:01
you I told them in the lobby the Air
5:03
Mags are my dream shoe and so if I had
5:04
two million dollars to get a custom Air
5:06
Mag from the surgeon [ __ ] yeah is it a
5:09
gamble though how do you know that the 2
5:11
million is going to sustain its worth or
5:14
does it not matter it's art at this
5:15
point so the way the way with with my
5:17
shoes I mean some people keep them put
5:20
them on a you know put them put them up
5:22
but there's a lot of people that wear
5:23
them because I I make my shoes for
5:25
people to wear and I see it as art yes
5:28
there's going to be collectors that just
5:30
want to collect it and and hold on to it
5:31
and then there's going to be the ones
5:32
that can wear it wear that art into you
5:36
know the sneakers too is that there's no
5:38
right or wrong way to do it right and
5:40
there's so many different level of
5:42
collectors right but like like you
5:45
mentioned some want to wear it and have
5:47
that feeling of you ain't got these and
5:49
some guys just want to or you know
5:51
ladies want to just talk them and put
5:53
them on a mantle and stare at them
5:55
collect and Dodge till they fall apart
5:57
and then you give them back to them and
5:59
then he re you know he refurbishes them
6:02
and then you got another 10 15 years in
6:04
them damn all right we got Cedric on the
6:07
line
6:08
um from Minneapolis Cedric go ahead hey
6:10
seti how are you doing how you guys
6:11
doing this morning good morning so it's
6:13
funny my son kept saying Dad we gotta go
6:15
to 2J store in Vegas 2j's store in Vegas
6:18
I'm like all right we'll go out there I
6:20
could call my man Two Jacks I didn't
6:22
know who he was right dude you can call
6:24
me whatever you want man especially if
6:26
y'all are paying attention to what I'm
6:27
doing I really don't that that don't
6:29
bother me none I'm just humbled that you
6:31
felt motivated to call in and speak on
6:33
it bro word we met we met you at your
6:36
store in Vegas and you're the nicest
6:38
person I've ever met he gave us t-shirt
6:40
he took pictures with us and to the
6:42
point where he inspired my son to start
6:44
his own store and myself
6:47
did you have him call them no that's
6:49
okay I'm just saying no no I I I'm dead
6:52
serious I'm an old man I knew nothing
6:53
about it but I swear at my son and he
6:55
inspired my son and like I said I met
6:57
him at his store in Vegas and I met him
6:58
a couple times at the sneaker event the
7:00
sneaker cones the nicest guy
7:04
we're aiming to do a broadcast December
7:07
16th from Urban Necessities so Cedric I
7:09
put that out on the air so prepare for
7:12
that okay bring your son if that goes
7:14
down okay I appreciate you guys thank
7:16
you your citizen man in the morning um I
7:19
want to know where did you start did you
7:21
start in the sneaker business no I mean
7:24
I grew up in Jersey right what yeah I'm
7:27
from Earth
7:31
so I've always had an appreciation for
7:35
for our culture right and I didn't
7:38
really know how to articulate or express
7:40
my love and passion for for this culture
7:43
and so you know I was a knucklehead
7:47
growing up I did a lot of stuff probably
7:49
not the most ideal way and my journey
7:52
led me to Vegas was homeless for a bit
7:55
not because I had habits just because I
7:56
didn't want to pick up the phone and ask
7:58
anybody to get me out that situation I
8:00
put myself in and then I job hopped and
8:03
I've always been in retail and I've
8:05
always been good at what I've done but I
8:09
struggled with Direction and being told
8:10
how to do stuff and so I'm looking at
8:13
rap I'm looking at you know our like our
8:16
neighborhoods and the way that
8:18
everybody's styling and fashion and just
8:21
like I want to do that I want to live
8:23
that but I can't how do I how do I
8:26
involve myself and not look like a
8:27
tryhard so I figured trying to sell
8:30
sneakers till I found another job and I
8:32
put in over 100 apps over the time where
8:34
I was trying to um you know find a job
8:38
and the sneakers just didn't let me
8:41
sneakers never let me go back they
8:43
called you and so the the hood dream has
8:47
always been like yo when I make it I'm
8:49
gonna have a barber shop that sells
8:51
sneakers and this and that and when I
8:53
was a kid I used to jump on the train
8:54
from Jersey and walk from MSG all the
8:57
way to Queensbridge and back and just
8:59
find like barber shops and just like get
9:01
caught up in all the stores out here and
9:03
and like I think I'm one of the first
9:06
that forecasted these stores these type
9:10
of stores need to be in malls with high
9:11
foot traffic these type of stores need
9:13
to cater to all walks of life and I need
9:16
to clean it up then just be in that like
9:18
Mom and Pop yeah right and so you know
9:21
from I say it all the time from Average
9:23
Joe to Fat Joe they come to the shop and
9:25
it's just been real cool to see what
9:27
they gravitate to what they're buying
9:29
what what it means to them how it's
9:31
inspired others and we've created a lot
9:33
of content kind of like Dom to kind of
9:36
show others how to do it because like it
9:39
ain't about the I don't have fear giving
9:41
somebody The Playbook yeah you're not
9:44
gonna run the plays the same way as me
9:45
yeah you know what I'm saying and that's
9:47
not what I was put here to do you know
9:49
for me my intention was to fix a lot of
9:51
the flaws and to take a lot of the risks
9:53
that a lot of people wouldn't be willing
9:55
to do and I had nothing but time you
9:57
know so here we are how many years later
9:59
nine years later I'm going yeah I just
10:02
we just celebrated our eight year
10:03
anniversary in September but but uh wow
10:07
congrats that's huge this this started
10:09
with one shoe at 40 bucks now 40 bucks
10:12
so now you're selling shoes for two
10:13
million well hey let's let's let's let's
10:16
he's doing that okay I I sell shoes
10:20
reasonably priced from under a hundred
10:21
dollars all the way to three hundred
10:24
thousand dollars but you know we're
10:25
catering all walks away when you sell a
10:27
pair of shoes for a hundred thousand or
10:29
more do you feel like you gotta not did
10:31
I get over it not got over that's the
10:33
wrong kind of thing you know it's just
10:34
like look but kind of with your pocket
10:37
but here's here's here's why the the
10:41
average consumer struggles with the
10:43
thought process of somebody paying a
10:46
higher dollar amount you're you're
10:48
basing that that spend based off of what
10:50
you got in your pocket yeah not
10:52
understanding the body of work or that
10:54
person that could justify that expense
10:56
and not everything is for everyone so
10:58
like you got to remove emotion from like
11:01
from that and I I know that that that's
11:04
going to go over some people's head but
11:07
it's to me it's ill that somebody could
11:09
get to that point and say yeah I could
11:11
justify that expense forget if I'm the
11:13
guy that sold it or not like I mean I
11:15
could justify that expense and I could
11:17
have that and I could wear it into the
11:19
ground or put it on the wall like this
11:21
like it's like becoming a rapper a lot
11:22
of the rappers first shoe is the Air Mag
11:24
right because that was the shoe that
11:26
they wanted to get when what is it now
11:27
thirty thousand yeah I mean it depends
11:29
on which one you go to the auto lacing
11:31
joints those are six figures you know
11:33
like it's like a painting or like a
11:36
painting it's just different you can
11:38
wear it because it doesn't it won't just
11:39
last forever that's the difference okay
11:42
guys this was an improv conversation so
11:45
but I appreciate you coming in we got um
11:47
we got our next guest pinky cold from
11:49
[ __ ] vegan about to come up but Urban
11:51
Necessities if you're in Vegas make sure
11:53
you check them out
11:55
hit up two Jays Two Jacks 2J kicks
11:58
whatever you want to call it but we're
11:59
in Vegas and then Caesars Palace in
12:01
December December 8th we're opening a
12:03
storm Riyadh Saudi Arabia
12:06
I told you slay is different it's
12:08
different and we coming from Miami like
12:11
February March yeah if they want to
12:13
reach you how can they reach you uh
12:14
Instagram 2j's kicks two JS kicks nice J
12:19
ass kicks two two JS kicks Dom what
12:22
about you yo check out uh at the surgeon
12:24
on Instagram or at srgnacademy that's
12:28
where we're teaching our classes and uh
12:31
giving out the knowledge I love it man
12:33
I'm glad we all met see y'all in
12:35
December my birthday is coming up in
12:37
July 11th yeah
12:40
all right we got uh we got pinky cold
12:44
from [ __ ] vegan here all my vegans
12:46
where you at all my vegans call up
12:48
888-742-3345
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