Our Story

“Hello & welcome! My name is Jake and I am the founder of Nuu Sneaker Clean. I moved to Stafford in 2019 after spending 15 years in New Zealand and I’d say I’ve always been the typical ‘I want to own my own business’ type of person. Like most, that never materialised because the comfort of a salary was too easy and the motivation to take the risk on an idea always evaded me!

At the beginning of the first COVID lockdown in 2020 I was made redundant. I know this was a testing time for most, but coupled with a redundancy this was probably the lowest point in my life and I can’t lie I felt a bit lost for a while. I didn’t want to go back to the corporate sales life, but I also knew I would fall into a dark place if I didn’t find something I could put my passion into. Fast forward 6 months I was cleaning a pair of Silver Bullet’s for a friend when they suggested that I could start a business cleaning shoes. Pretty ironic really since the 97 Silver Bullet was the shoe that got me into sneakers. Naturally as a sneaker-head it’s always been a bit of a hobby to keep my own shoes clean, but I never knew that sneaker aftercare was actually a thing! Sort of like a modern day cobbler!

I spent a tonne of time researching the market and industry, watching videos on youtube and experimenting. I learnt the most from projects that I’d never done before and figuring it out as I went. I think because I love shoes it was easy to get lost in the learning. You just start understanding how different shoes and materials wear, and what can be done to correct the problems.

The passion has grown from just wanting to bring shoes back from the grave, to wanting to build a brand that really makes a difference in our sneaker community. A brand that not only involves it’s customers, but that brings them together over their shared interests. There are obvious environmental benefits to the service, but for me I think it’s more about changing people’s mentality. Changing the way of thinking from ‘oh my shoes are dirty, I need to buy a new pair’ to ‘my shoes are dirty, but I love these shoes so I’ll get them refreshed’.

From working on a kitchen bench to then setting up a workshop in my bedroom, the journey has been one I am grateful for and proud of. I am also excited to share that I am setting up a workshop space in Derrington! this will become our Nuu HQ. Moving the workshop out of my bedroom is going to be great for me personally, but It will also mean I can now invite customers in to my workspace and create a more interactive experience with the brand.

The end goal is to build a shop where we can physically bring people together. A place for sneaker lovers from all over to relax and enjoy. Something Stafford has never seen before!”

Jake Carcaterra - Owner