HOUSTON – The love of sneakers runs deep for this Houston area duo who created a brand and business based on a childhood hobby -- collecting shoes.
Lamarkus Simpson and Khamron Micheals, two childhood friends turned business partners, created Shewz Houston by selling sneakers out the back of their trunks in 2013.
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From children, meeting in the third grade, the duo first started by comparing their love for shoes and then moved into working in local shoe stores around the city while in high school. From there, the two decided to quit their jobs and start their own business.
“We met in third grade, and in the fifth grade going into sixth grade, we started our first business selling CDs at a barber shop. We did that until about the eighth grade, and then we started throwing house parties and teen parties. We continued to throw parties up until I went to college and then we merged into the shoe game,” said Micheals, co-founder of Shewz Houston.
Shewz Houston, which has over 43,000 followers on Instagram, opened its first location in a salon suite in 2020. After creating an exclusive shopping experience for the Houston community, the business grew and the partners decided to open a brick-and-mortar location in a prime area in Houston -- Westheimer Road and Briarhurst Drive, near the Galleria.
But, with growth comes trials, as some would say. Months before their grand opening was set to occur, the business took a huge loss when their store was burglarized and nearly all of their inventory was stolen.
“It’s a very, very bumpy ride owning a business. With what happened, it was pretty tragic. I’ve been doing everything from the ground up. The hardest part has been taking a loss out of pocket. It has been one of the hardest parts that we’ve been dealing with,” Simpson said.
Now, with 24-hour security, the duo hopes they can continue bringing culture, exclusive shoes and merchandise to the Houston area by collaborating with other brands to continue creating exclusive merchandise, which they say sets them apart from competitors.
Also, on Sundays, the business will begin introducing a special event called “Shewz Houston Sundays,” which will be a way to showcase local brands or host events for children and the community.
“Growing up in Houston, being from Houston, and always being a part of the culture is what really separates us from any other individuals that are in our industry or in our lane. That’s why we are able to move with this much merch and sell products as well as other places that may have bigger establishments,” Micheals said.
Boasting of having some of the best resale prices in Houston, Simpson said while the new location is not officially open, customers can still drop by the store when making an appointment to pick up shoes and merchandise.
The new store, which will open in September, will operate from Tuesday to Saturday, between 12 p.m. and 7 p.m., and Sundays from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.
A documentary entitled “I Hope You Like It” will also be dropping at the time of the grand opening, which will tell the story of building Shewz Houston.
For more information, follow Shewz Houston on Instagram.