Are you getting tired of spending time washing dirty sneakers? Then don’t look any further, because Ayabulela Mabinda is your man.
Mabinda, 28, has turned people’s dirty sneakers into an opportunity and has now built a thriving business that sees people queuing at his Southernwood, East London, flat to have their tekkies cleaned.
The Buffalo City TVET College human resource management graduate searched more than two years for a job without success.
Knowing he had to find other ways to make money because “financial responsibilities kept knocking at my door”, he started thinking about how he could turn his passion for sneakers into something that could put food on the table.
“I have searched for employment for two years and I could not find anything,” the father of two said.
Understanding his own issues with dirty tekkies, he wondered if he could help others. And so the foundations for “Black Race Sneaker Wash” were laid.
The business’s reputation has grown through word-of-mouth.
Mabinda said sneakers were popular among the youth, which was why he believed the business would be sustainable.
He charges cleaning costs of R35 for adult and R20 for children’s sizes, and offers “pickups and drop-offs” as well. He cleans an average of 10 pairs of shoes a day.
Twenty minutes is enough to wash and rinse a pair, which he does individually for hygiene reasons.
But Mabinda also believes the “personal touch” is necessary when providing the service.
Mabinda works seven days a week.
The business experiences “foot traffic” on weekdays and just before weekends begin.
While working alone, when there are many orders he ropes in friends whom he pays a percentage of the takings.
He said cleaning sneakers in a washing machine shortened the lifespan of the shoes because the soles lifted and they became worn.
When DispatchLIVE visited him this week, he had just returned from dropping off shoes to clients, while the footwear of others was hanging on the washing line.
“I enjoy what I am doing. It does not feel like a job to me at all,” he said, adding that he received support from his parents even though at first they were not too sure about his business venture.
“As much as it took time for them to get used to the idea of me giving up on my qualifications and starting something totally new, they [now] understand the business,” Mabinda said.
“Obviously my qualification is playing a big part in how I conduct this business. I do things by the book.”
With the money he gets, Mabinda is able to support his two children.
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