Malik Nash graduated from Prince Edward County High School in May 2014 and is the owner of Liko Sneaker Care, a small business based in Farmville, VA. The name of the business is Nash's nickname, but he says he hopes to be able to change the name to Liko Shoe Care to showcase the fact that he can restore more than just sneakers.
"There is no particular brand that I will single out. I'm willing to work on anything that anyone brings me," Nash said.
Nash said Liko Sneaker Care was officially started in 2015, but he did not begin to seriously start restoring shoes until November/December 2017.
"I can break the shoe down and put it back together if need be," Nash said regarding the process of how he restores shoes.
For his services, Nash charges $15 for a basic clean and if customers need to have their sneaker repainted depending on how much of the shoe needs to be painted. However, he typically charges anywhere from $20 to $80, which is the cost of fully restoring shoes.
Nash said the process of restoring shoes involves knowing the correct type of cleaners to use as certain cleaners don't work well on certain shoes. Furthermore, it also sometimes involves removing paint off of shoes and using finisher for the paint to make the shoe look dull or shiny.
"Over time a process called oxidation will happen to shoes turning them from white to yellow. The process to clean them can take a couple days to clean depending on how yellow it is," Nash said.
Nash also is able to soften suede on shoes, restore the color if it is fading on a suede shoe and he also cleans sneaker laces.