Meet the Guy Who Supplies Sneakers to The Hollywood

American entrepreneur and sneaker reseller

Benjamin Kapelushnik

Benjamin Kapelushnik, wearing a red shirt and gold chain, authenticating a pair of sneakers in 2017

Kapelushnik authenticating a pair of sneakers in 2017

Born
(1999-10-14)
October 14, 1999
(age 22)

[1]

Brooklyn, New York, Us

Other names
  • Benjamin Kickz
  • Sneaker Don
Occupation Entrepreneur
Awards Shorty Awards finalist (2018)
Website www.sneakerdon.com

Benjamin Kapelushnik
(born October 14, 1999), also known as
Benjamin Kickz
or the
Sneaker Don, is an American entrepreneur and sneaker reseller.[2]
[3]
[4]
At sixteen-years-old, Kapelushnik amassed nearly US$1 1000000 in sales through his self-made sneaker business organisation and attracted high-profile clients such as DJ Khaled and Odell Beckham Jr.[5]
[6]
In 2016, Kapelushnik was included in
Fortune‘s “18 Under 18” list and
The
Guardian‘s “teen ability list.”[seven]
[eight]

Early life and career

[edit]

Kapelushnik was built-in in Brooklyn, New York[9]
and grew up in Miami, Florida. He is the son of Russian immigrants.[10]
Kapelushnik attended Fort Lauderdale High School but was later homeschooled. Kapelushnik first gained an interest in sneakers after his mother purchased him a pair of Nikes in middle schoolhouse. Before long after, Kapelushnik used some of his bar-mitzvah money to buy additional sneakers and began consulting sneaker magazines and the sneaker resale market.[ten]
Using the profit from some of his initial sales and from his parents, Kapelushnik began to buy shoes in bulk, including 85 pairs of Air Jordan 1s.[11]
[12]
According to Kapelushnik, he managed to find friends with contacts to Nike and Adidas, oft referred to as “plugs,” and formed a partnership with an out-of-country sneaker store in order to acquire sneakers before their release engagement.[13]

In 2014, Kapelushnik’s reselling business gained momentum when a customer introduced him to tape producer DJ Khaled.[eleven]
Kapelushnik began a close human relationship with Khaled and is frequently featured on Khaled’s Snapchat.[10]
[eleven]
After meeting Khaled, Kapelushnik’s clientele went on to include a number of prominent rappers, athletes, and celebrities, including Drake, Travis Scott, Floyd Mayweather, Kevin Hart and others.[11]
[14]
Kapelushnik best-selling that P. Diddy is his biggest customer.[15]
In an interview with
New York
magazine, Kapelushnik noted that he planned on signing up for a reality Goggle box bear witness and that he desired to open up his own brick and mortar stores.[2]
[ten]

Kapelushnik has been featured on
Complex,[13]
Corking Big Story,[16]
Endmost Bell,
[17]
Business Insider,
[xv]
[xviii]
The Daily Bear witness,
[19]
[xx]
and CNN.[21]
In 2018, Kapelushnik appeared on an episode of
Almost Expensivest,
hosted past rapper 2 Chainz.[22]
[23]

Kapelushnik was a finalist for the 10th annual Shorty Awards for the All-time in Fashion category.[24]
[25]

Kapelushnik is signed with Brillstein Entertainment Partners.[26]
In 2020, Kapelushnik released a single titled “Let You Become,” featuring Gunna.[27]
[28]


New Year’due south Eve atmospherics

[edit]

On January vii, 2021, Kapelushnik was arrested for strongarm robbery, a 2d-degree felony, according to the Miami-Dade Country Attorney’due south Office.[29]
[thirty]
Prosecutors allege that on New year’s day’s Eve, Kapelushnik and his entourage were in the anteroom of the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach.[31]
In the vestibule, Kapelushnik and his entourage allegedly accused a xix-year-old male of taking of a picture of Kapelushnik without his consent.[30]
The man denied taking the photo, and Kapelushnik allegedly grabbed the telephone from the man’s hand, so a member of Kapelushnik’s entourage allegedly attacked the man.[31]
[29]
Prosecutors said that the man was punched and kicked in the head and afterwards required hospitalization and surgery.[32]
State Chaser Katherine Fernandez Rundle stated on Twitter: “Cyberspace fame or celebrity grants no one the correct to violate the law. The actions that put a boyfriend in the hospitals are crimes, plain and simple. The accumulated evidence, in one case placed earlier our criminal court, will make that signal clear.”[32]
Records show that Kapelushnik submitted his $seven,500 bond.[32]
Post-obit the incident, Kapelushnik entered a diversion program for start-fourth dimension offenders. His charges will exist dropped if he completes the program.[33]

A yr afterwards the altercation, a member of Kapelushnik’s entourage was arrested in connexion to the incident in Indianapolis on a fugitive warrant. The human being is charged with aggravated battery and potent-arm robbery and is awaiting extradition to Miami-Dade.[33]

Personal life

[edit]

Kapelushnik has a younger brother who he features on his social media. Kapelushnik keeps kosher. His father is a real-estate banker and his mother is a stay-at-home parent.[10]

Kapelushnik was reportedly evicted from his luxury apartment edifice at Ten Thousand in Los Angeles over claims of unpaid rent.[34]

See also

[edit]

  • Hashemite kingdom of jordan Geller – American sneaker collector
  • Sneaker collecting
  • StockX – Online marketplace primarily dealing with sneakers

References

[edit]


  1. ^


    Kapelushnik, Benjamin [@Benjaminkickz] (September eighteen, 2017). “Shoutout to Ye for dropping the yeezys on my altogether 10/14 #yourwelcome” (Tweet) – via Twitter.

  2. ^


    a




    b




    Schlossberg, Mallory (August 12, 2016). “A 16-year-sometime started a sneaker visitor that volition sell $1 million in shoes this yr”.
    Business Insider. Archived from the original on August 13, 2016. Retrieved
    March 21,
    2021
    .



  3. ^


    Shapiro, Bee (May 12, 2018).
    “How Much Is That Sneaker in the Window?”.
    The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved
    April 12,
    2021
    .



  4. ^


    Marsh, Calum (May 5, 2021). “Desire to Get Rich Selling Sneakers? Start Flipping Bricks”.
    GQ. Archived from the original on May v, 2021. Retrieved
    July 29,
    2021
    .



  5. ^


    Desaulniers, Stephen (October 2, 2016). “The 16-yr-old ‘Sneaker Don’ whose clients include Odell Beckham Jr. and DJ Khaled”.
    CNBC. Archived from the original on October iii, 2016. Retrieved
    March 21,
    2021
    .



  6. ^


    Vassolo, Martin (September 10, 2018). “Miami sneaker bazaar shutters shop, frustrating resellers who oasis’t been paid”.
    Miami Herald. Archived from the original on September x, 2018. Retrieved
    March xx,
    2021
    .



  7. ^


    Marinova, Polina (September 15, 2016).
    “18 Under 18: Meet the Young Innovators Who Are Changing the World”.
    Fortune. Archived from the original on September 19, 2016. Retrieved
    March 21,
    2021
    .



  8. ^


    Hayes, Martha; Buist, Erica (December x, 2016). “‘It’s not almost your historic period, information technology’s well-nigh your ideas’: the teen power listing”.
    The Guardian
    . Retrieved
    March 21,
    2021
    .



    {{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)


  9. ^


    Schlossman, Lawrence (November 16, 2017). “Business Is Boomin Benjamin Kickz for Grailed”.
    Grailed
    . Retrieved
    March 21,
    2021
    .



    {{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)

  10. ^


    a




    b




    c




    d




    e




    Schwartzberg, Lauren (August 11, 2016). “This 16-Yr-Sometime Has Fabricated Millions Selling Rare Sneakers”.
    The Cut. Archived from the original on June xi, 2017. Retrieved
    March 21,
    2021
    .


  11. ^


    a




    b




    c




    d




    Greig, Dylan (August 12, 2016). “How This Teenage Sneaker Dealer Is Making Millions”.
    GQ. Archived from the original on May 14, 2018. Retrieved
    March 21,
    2021
    .



  12. ^


    Paton, Elizabeth (February four, 2016).
    “Manner Industry Scrambles to Find a Use for Snapchat”.
    The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved
    April 12,
    2021
    .


  13. ^


    a




    b




    Welty, Matt (Dec 11, 2015). “Meet the Plug: Benjamin Kickz, The Teenage Sneaker Mogul”.
    Complex. Archived from the original on Dec 14, 2015. Retrieved
    March 21,
    2021
    .



  14. ^


    Besser, Rachel (August eighteen, 2016). “This 16-Yr-Old Sneaker Is Set To Make $one 1000000 In 2016”.
    Refinery29. Archived from the original on October 3, 2019. Retrieved
    March 21,
    2021
    .


  15. ^


    a




    b




    Ocbazghi, Emmanuel (Jan 5, 2018). “Run into the 18-twelvemonth-sometime entrepreneur making a fortune selling rare sneakers to celebrities”.
    Business Insider. Archived from the original on January v, 2018. Retrieved
    June 19,
    2021
    .



  16. ^


    Fischer, David (April 9, 2016). “Run into The Sneaker Don, the 16-Year Old That Hooks up DJ Khaled and Chris Brown With Sneakers”.
    Highsnobiety
    . Retrieved
    March 21,
    2021
    .



    {{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)


  17. ^


    “16-twelvemonth-sometime sneaker mogul”.
    CNBC. September 23, 2016. Archived from the original on October 30, 2017. Retrieved
    March 21,
    2021
    .



  18. ^


    Gmoser, Justin (September 14, 2016). “This 16-year-old entrepreneur is making a fortune selling rare sneakers to celebrities”.
    Business organisation Insider. Archived from the original on September 14, 2016. Retrieved
    March 21,
    2021
    .



  19. ^


    Welty, Matt (January 7, 2016). “The Daily Show Trolled Sneakerheads”.
    Complex. Archived from the original on January nine, 2016. Retrieved
    Apr eleven,
    2021
    .



  20. ^


    “Merely for Kickz: The Face up of the Secondary Sneaker Market – The Daily Testify with Trevor Noah”.
    Comedy Central. January half dozen, 2016. Archived from the original on January 21, 2021. Retrieved
    April xi,
    2021
    .



  21. ^


    “Teen turns sneaker fetish into million dollar business”.
    CNN. May 22, 2018. Retrieved
    Apr 11,
    2021
    .



  22. ^


    Austin, Boykins (August 1, 2018). “2 Chainz Links up With Benjamin Kicks on ‘Virtually Expensivest’“.
    HYPEBEAST. Archived from the original on August 2, 2018. Retrieved
    March 21,
    2021
    .



  23. ^


    Sawyer, Johnathan (August 1, 2018). “2 Chainz Meets Benjamin Kickz on ‘Most Expensivest’“.
    Highsnobiety
    . Retrieved
    March 21,
    2021
    .



    {{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)


  24. ^


    Ramos, Dino-Ray (Jan sixteen, 2018). “Shorty Awards Nominees: Tiffany Haddish, Lena Waithe Amidst Those Recognized For Social Media Excellence”.
    Borderline. Archived from the original on Jan 19, 2018. Retrieved
    March 21,
    2021
    .



  25. ^


    “tenth Annual Influencer Finalists – The Shorty Awards”.
    Shorty Awards. Archived from the original on March 24, 2018. Retrieved
    March 21,
    2021
    .



  26. ^


    Kroll, Justin (September i, 2016). “Sneaker Mogul Ben Kapelushnik Signs With Brillstein Entertainment Partners”.
    Multifariousness
    . Retrieved
    May 6,
    2022
    .



  27. ^


    Staff (March 26, 2020). “Sneaker Plug Benjamin Kickz Is Now Rapping”.
    aGOODoutfit. Archived from the original on April 13, 2021. Retrieved
    April 13,
    2021
    .



  28. ^


    “Ben Kickz Feat. Gunna – Allow Yous Go (Official Music Video)”. March 16, 2020. Archived from the original on Jan 14, 2021 – via YouTube.

  29. ^


    a




    b




    “Celebrity Sneaker Entrepreneur Benjamin Kickz Facing Robbery Charge in Miami-Dade”.
    NBC 6 Southward Florida. January seven, 2021. Archived from the original on Jan 7, 2021. Retrieved
    March 21,
    2021
    .


  30. ^


    a




    b




    Deng, Victor (January seven, 2021). “Reseller Benjamin Kickz Charged With Felony Robbery”.
    Complex. Archived from the original on January vii, 2021. Retrieved
    March 21,
    2021
    .


  31. ^


    a




    b




    “Officials: Benjamin Kickz charged with stealing telephone”.
    Associated Printing. Jan viii, 2021. Archived from the original on January viii, 2021. Retrieved
    March 21,
    2021
    .


  32. ^


    a




    b




    c




    Torres, Andrea (January seven, 2021). “Sneaker reseller Benjamin Kickz faces accuse afterward brutal chirapsia at Fontainebleau Miami Beach”.
    WPLG. Archived from the original on Jan vii, 2021. Retrieved
    March 21,
    2021
    .


  33. ^


    a




    b




    Ovalle, David (March 23, 2022). “New arrest in South Embankment robbery involving celebrity sneaker seller Benjamin Kickz”.
    Miami Herald.



  34. ^


    Gardner, Chris (January 26, 2022). “Eviction Lawsuits Hitting Pricey Fifty.A. Apartment Building Once Named “Hottest” in City”.
    The Hollywood Reporter
    . Retrieved
    May 3,
    2022
    .


Further reading

[edit]

  • Smith, Nicholas (May 2018).
    Kicks: The Bang-up American Story of Sneakers. New York: Crown. ISBN978-0-451-49811-3. OCLC 1000251158.

  • Tatum, Alfred W., ed. (Baronial 28, 2019). “Texts, Entrepreneurship, and Identities: Cultural Capital and Cultural Capitalism”.
    Journal of Adolescent & Developed Literacy. Wiley-Blackwell.
    63
    (2): 229–233. doi:ten.1002/jaal.998. ISSN 1081-3004.

External links

[edit]


  • Official website
  • Benjamin Kapelushnik’due south channel on YouTube
  • Benjamin Kapelushnik at IMDb



Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Kapelushnik

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