My Story presents: Yujun Chen (@kickskase)

We briefly had a chat with Yujun Chen, the young energetic entrepreneur and founder of the immensely popular sneaker bag brand KICKS KASE.

Do you still remember the time when you first got into sneakers and the culture?

I had some interest in shoes and sneakers from about the age of 18. Initially started collecting Supra shoes (not sure if anyone knows this brand now) and by the age of 21, I somewhat accidentally stumbled into the world of Jordans.

I saw the Jordan 1s that JAY-Z was wearing in the OTIS music video and wanted a pair like that. No idea what they were because i knew nothing about Jordan’s.

On a trip to the USA I found myself at Flight club New York and saw a pair of Bred Jordan 1’s so I bought it for (at the time) $500. This was an insane amount of money to spend on shoes for me being a uni student. To be honest I didn’t know exactly what they were, I was just looking for a pair of Bred Jordan 1s. I wouldn’t have even known the difference between a Jordan 1 mid or a Jordan 1 high. Turns out I bought the 2011 Jordan 1 Banned (Editors Note: StockX last SOLD US size 9: A$6,882!!!) and that would be the beginning for my love of Jordans.

Any particular favourite sneaker silhouette?

My favourite sneakers would have to be the Bred 1’s and Bred 4’s.

What made you decide to venture into the world of sneaker bags?

I was always entrepreneurial even from a very young age. I was always trying to improve existing systems and bridging cracks to common problems.

2 years ago I found out about sneaker bags when I saw them online. Being entrepreneurial at heart it didn’t take me long to see a gap in the market.

I wanted to create a brand that was more reasonably priced (particularly for us buying from Australia) but wasn’t cheaply made like some of the lower priced bags at the time.

I also wanted to see more range in colours and patterns.

This was how I started Kicks Kase.

I never thought the brand would take off like it has and 2 years in it has grown massively. We have a strong presence in the Australian and US sneaker scene. Most of our popular colorways like the breds, are always in demand.

What are your plans for the future for KICKS KASE?

I would like to see this brand grow stronger and establish a good name in the market. I think there’s a place for kicks kase to sit along the global competition.

Any advice for the next generation of entrepreneurs?

Make sure you execute and move. As long as the loss isn’t going to hurt you hugely financially then just execute, learn, make adjustments and repeat.

Peep their dope collection of sneaker bags at kickskase.com.au and use our exclusive 15% off promo code during check out: “TKS”.

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