"Sharks, did you know that Asian Americans are obsessed with sneakers and are a huge factor in driving sneaker culture?" That's the opening line of Newton native Sam Hyun and Dover native Adam King's pitch on Friday night's episode of Shark Tank, which kicks off a new season on ABC. They co-founded 1587 Sneakers last year after King, who's worked in the industry for two decades, kept hearing the same thing over and over again. "The word 'Asian American' is so uncool, it's like the third rail of marketing.
You market to hip hop culture, you market to skateboard culture, and the Asian Americans will just follow," he said in a website promotional video. He goes on to tell the panel of potential investors on Shark Tank, "I got so tired of hearing that Asian Americans are follower consumers, and that is why we started 1587 sneakers." Initially doing the packing and shipping from a tiny office in Roslindale, in just over a year, they've grown to fulfilling orders from a warehouse.
Hyun, who is of Korean descent, says the ethos of their business is that they are "unapologetically Asian American." "We're not just a sneaker brand. I really view us as a vision, and a movement, and a lifestyle," he said.
"While we are unapologetically Asian American, the overarching message we have for people is we want everybody to be unapologetically themselves." 1587's first rollout of sneakers cost about $288 a pair. They are branded as a high-quality, luxury sneaker made with full-grain Italian lea.