Meet Barry Ancheta | Sneaker Cleaner & Restorer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Barry Ancheta and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Barry, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I fell in love with sneakers as a kid growing up in the 80s & 90s. The “Golden” era of music, fashion, and sports. I didn’t start collecting until after securing a good paying job and eventually sold my 300+ pair collection to help fund my wedding. After being married and having children, I realized I could no longer spend hundreds of dollars on pairs of sneakers – but I also did not want to stop collecting. I started hunting down cheap, used sneakers on eBay, craigslist, and offer up. Some of the pairs needed just a quick wipe down, some needed major cleaning, painting, and even repairs. I quickly realized I was able to not only bring sneakers back to life, but restore value into beat up kicks. After years of buying, trading, cleaning, and selling sneakers on the side – I decided to start offering cleaning services to co-workers, friends, and family. Word spread from the first initial projects I had worked on and I started to get a lot of referrals. I began to get traction with very little advertising power, so I knew I was on to something special.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
At SoleWorks, we offer premium sneaker detailing and restoration. We specialize in services ranging from basic to deep cleaning of common, high end, and collectible sneakers. We also offer restoration, minor repair, and custom work.

We offer a unique service that caters to the rapidly growing number of sneaker enthusiasts, collectors, and resellers alike.

Sneakers have become a staple in today’s fashion and people are paying high dollar amounts for rare shoes made out of a mixture of different materials. The different material makeup of each individual pair of sneakers may require special handling and cleaning techniques to ensure minimal risk of damaging the shoes.

There have been many challenges and obstacles that I’ve have been faced throughout the years. I started cleaning shoes in my home bathroom. I did not have much space and it was difficult having to share the bathroom with my family. It was also very unsanitary. I eventually partnered with some friends and opened up a sneaker consignment shop where we offered cleaning services – giving me the opportunity to grow and have adequate workspace. The first year of business in a retail establishment was great, but I became overwhelmed with the amount of projects that walked through our doors. I was often backed up and having to work long hours at the shop (on top of a regular job) to complete work. During the Pandemic, I decided to pause operations and shortly after left the business completely.

I took a year long break from restoring and decided to re structure and re launch the business on my own terms. I took into account all the challenges I faced from the previous venture and out measures in place to create a more efficient work flow and customer experience.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I’d like to recognize my wife, Michelle and my two children Jasmine & Noah. They are my #1 supporters and the reason I work so hard. I’d also like to thank my buddy Nick Engvall and the whole Sneaker History family for the constant support & for being the most selfless & generous group of sneaker heads in the world. I’m also very grateful to the small community sneaker restorers out there who I’ve been fortunate to network and grow with – especially the ones who I’ve learned from directly and indirectly.

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