May 16, 2024 • 31 mins
Kristin speaks with Melissa Carnegie, Charlotte-based content creator and Founder of Kicks and Fros, to discuss how she turned her social media page into a full-time business and community. Melissa goes in depth on her goals of creating a sneaker community for women, who are a vital piece of the industry through their support, innovation, and style. The duo breaks down how to deal with burnout, going all in on opportunities, and how to prioritize your work, life, and community.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:03):
I thrive off of community, and I just knew that
it was more people out there like me that had
this love for sneakers, that might have felt misunderstood a
little bit because you were told as a woman, you're
supposed to do this and dress like this, and act
this way and be presented this way. So I knew
it had to be other women that felt the same way,
or that had this love for sneakers.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Just like me.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
I knew I would find them.
Speaker 3 (00:30):
Welcome to the Inspire Podcast presented by Atriam Health. This
is a podcast series for Panthers fans where we highlight
admirable women from across the Carolinas as they share stories
and lessons from their lives and careers. I'm your host,
Kristin Balboni, and today my guest is the founder and
CEO of Kicks and Froze. I'm such a fan, Melissa Carnegie.
(00:51):
Thank you so much for doing this.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
Thank you for having me. I'm so excited to be.
Speaker 3 (00:55):
And you're here like we are in Bank of America Stadium.
I appreciate you taking time of what I know is
a very very busy schedule to be here. So I
am just gonna to jump right in So, for anyone
who hasn't heard of Kicks and FROs, can you tell
us a little bit about it and then where your
vision for it came from. Yes.
Speaker 1 (01:16):
So, Kicks and Froze is a digital online community that
we created to entertain, support, help assist women in the
sneaker space. Women who love sneakers, have a love of
sneakers and trying to find a community in sisterhood, or
women who are looking for their sneaker style, their new moms,
they're just out of college, you know, they're tired of
(01:38):
the heels and they want to find something more comfortable.
So Kicks and FROs is created for all of those
women and women who are inspired by other women and
just want to find that sisterhood and community as well.
We started off as a digital platform online just kept
getting this urge to create something. I've been a content
(02:00):
creator for over ten years and that's where I would
share my love for sneakers. And at first I didn't
share it a lot, and women would be like, why
I love your sneakers When you wear sneakers, I love
your style.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
Can you share those more? Where'd you get these sneakers?
Speaker 1 (02:14):
So I saw that there was interest there, and I
wanted to just start something.
Speaker 2 (02:19):
Whether it was just an.
Speaker 1 (02:20):
Online community to help women find their sneaker style or
find some sneakers that they were looking for, and it
was just an Instagram page. I wanted to just be
inspo and I started there and I was like, Yeah,
this is it. This is a fun hobby that I
can do. And then it kind of turned into a business.
But we started with just inspiring women to find their
(02:41):
sneaker style, and that grew into merch, and then that
grew into in person events, and that grew into a
newsletter and a website, and now we have a sneaker
cleaner and we sell different types of merch. We just
had a brunch here in Charlotte last Saturday. So it's
grown so much over the past few years. I'm super
(03:03):
thankful and super excited. But it just started as a
way in an outlet to share sneaker style with other
women who may be like minded.
Speaker 3 (03:11):
And you're so humbled because you say it was an
Instagram page and then it turned into merch, it turned
into a newsletter, whereas I know that's not the case.
Speaker 2 (03:20):
You turned it into all of those things.
Speaker 3 (03:23):
So for anyone who is maybe in that space or
wants to explore that space. How did you go from
an Instagram page to figuring out, okay, the next thing
is this, and then we are going to turn it
into a business.
Speaker 2 (03:38):
I think I kind of just let it flow. Honestly, I.
Speaker 1 (03:43):
Decided, Okay, I went to I actually went to a
sneaker ball in Atlanta, and I wore this sneaker money
pouch that I created, and so many women asked me
about it. I wanted it to be a conversation starter
because I wanted to meet people, and so many women
asked me about it, and they were like, no, we
don't want to learn how to make it, we want to.
Speaker 2 (04:01):
Buy it from you.
Speaker 1 (04:02):
And so I kind of sat down and said, okay,
well maybe you know, we can sit and figure out
how to create a merch store for kicks and FROs,
and we'll start there again.
Speaker 2 (04:13):
Started where I was.
Speaker 1 (04:14):
Didn't go and spend a ton of money and trying
to build a website and do all these crazy photo shoots.
I just started where I was in my living room
with my phone and a big Cartel account that I
created myself. I started there. I started with that sneaker
Money pouch. I added a T shirt to the mix,
(04:35):
and women loved it. Men loved it as well. They
wanted to wear the merch. They loved our T shirts,
they loved our logo, which is made out of a
shoe string. So I kind of just started there. I
went and got an LLC, so I made sure I
trademark Kicks and FROs. I was able to get an LLC,
and I started with our merch. I always said like,
(04:56):
I wasn't going to get in over my head. I
wasn't going to to become too big too soon. I
just wanted to create little by little and build my
business break by break.
Speaker 3 (05:08):
And that's amazing because I feel like that's the opposite
of what a lot of people do. A lot of
people come in and they're like, Okay, got this great idea.
It's something I'm you know, I feel like there's a
space for it, and I'm gonna try to monetize it immediately.
And sometimes we all get into something that we bite
off more than we can chew. Right, were you working
full time in the midst of this, whether it was
(05:30):
content creation or something else.
Speaker 2 (05:31):
And how did you balance all of that?
Speaker 1 (05:34):
Yes, So I worked full time as head of Community
and Communications for Canto Beauty, which is a natural hair
care brand, and I just let that job go three
months ago. So I'm just a entrepreneur. Thank you, thank you.
It's been three months. It's been a wild, crazy ride.
I feel like God's been telling me, like, girl, I've
been just waiting on you.
Speaker 2 (05:54):
What have you been doing. It's very scary, very scary,
but oh balancing. They love. So they loved kicks and FROs.
They loved what I did.
Speaker 1 (06:03):
It kind of merged together a little bit and kind
of made sense for me to talk about when I
was doing, you know, kind of canto gigs or jobs
out in the community. So I kind of worked together
a little bit. But managing my time, it was a
lot of early mornings spent on kicks and FROs, a
lot of late nights spent on kicks and FROs because
nine to five had to be dedicated to my full
(06:26):
time job. I would take meetings on lunch breaks. I
would take calls early in the morning or get out
work early in the morning, schedule our social content, try
to get off on days I needed to do big
shoots or campaigns or travel as a content creator. So
I tried to bank in that time, but I talked
with them. I talked with my management team, let them
(06:48):
know what I was doing, what this was, was it
going to be flexible? Am I okay with doing both?
And they supported me wholeheartedly one hundred percent. So I'm
super thankful. And I always tell people, well, you know,
when you're you're you have a side gig and you're
really trying hard to make it work with a nine
to five, you can do it. You just have to
manage your time properly, but also be straight up with
(07:12):
your company, be honest with them. You never know if
they'll one hundred percent support you and what you do.
We just had a brunch the other day and can't
do as one of our biggest supporters and sponsors of
that brunch. So I'm super thankful for my opportunities and
I learned a lot with them.
Speaker 2 (07:27):
Do you Yeah?
Speaker 3 (07:27):
And I feel like you don't hear that when we
talk to people, or we listen to people or whatever
it is that have these really inspiring stories and are
working when they first start out. I don't think I've
heard a lot of people say like, hey, just you know,
be honest with your company, especially if they're if you
feel like they're receptive, You've worked for them long enough
to know if you think that they would be into
(07:49):
this or not. And I think that's just that straightforward
approach is really really cool. So I admire you for
doing that and for sharing that with the.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
Rest of us. Yes, thank you, Thank you so well.
Speaker 3 (08:00):
Not only is this business, but you talked first and
foremost about it being a community, and that has not
changed since it became a business. And you talk about
it being a community, not just for women, but especially
highlighting black and brown women.
Speaker 2 (08:14):
Why is it so.
Speaker 3 (08:16):
Important to continue that community atmosphere and for people to
have these communities.
Speaker 1 (08:21):
So I grew up in a very small town Camden,
South Carolina.
Speaker 2 (08:25):
Okay, South Carolina.
Speaker 1 (08:26):
People and community was everything, Like everything, everyone knew everybody.
The Walmart was the mall, Friday night lights, football games.
I was a cheerleader, Like I was just engulfed in
community from birth. I feel like and I wanted to
I thrive off of community. I joined a sorority in college,
(08:47):
Like I just love bringing people to gut together. I
love helping people, I love supporting women, and I just
knew that it was more people out there like me
that had this love for sneakers that might have felt
misunderstood a little bit because you were told as a woman,
you're supposed to do this and dressed like this and
act this way and be presented this way. So I
(09:10):
knew it had to be other women that felt the
same way or that had this love for sneakers just
like me, and I knew I would find them. I
think it came early on of you know, wanting all
the fly kicks that my brother.
Speaker 2 (09:21):
Got and my mom got me the little cute girly.
Speaker 1 (09:23):
Ones, and I was like, no, I want those Jordans
that came out last week, and just wanting to you know,
continue to cultivate that community and support those women who
I knew that were out there with that were similar
to me. And then as a content creator sharing my
content around sneakers and not really getting any you know,
(09:44):
support or recognition from a lot of these larger brands
that were said to be community channels for you know,
just people in general and sneakers, And I was like, no, like,
why it's so many amazing women doing great things.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
Why aren't they highlighted? Why don't they support it?
Speaker 1 (10:02):
Why don't we hear their stories not only just from
sneaker culture as collectors, but in board rooms that are
vps of Nike and Jordan and all these great companies,
Like why don't we hear about them? So I wanted
to cultivate cultivate that community not only for you know,
women and sneakers that are collectors and lovers and supporters,
(10:22):
but also those doing great things that we don't often
see or hear about that work for these larger brands
and larger companies within sneakers too.
Speaker 2 (10:31):
That is so interesting.
Speaker 3 (10:33):
And I wouldn't say this is the Carolina Panthers, but
being a woman in sports, right, you know, I've been
in sports for thirteen fourteen years, and I can definitely
tell the difference. Like I said, the Panthers have been
incredibly supportive of women in sports. We have a lot
of women on our leadership team. They go out of
their way to I mean, we're doing this right now, right, Yeah,
this is our third season of Inspire Podcasts, which is
(10:55):
specifically focused on women. But you know, you start out
in an industry that is typically male domin and you're like, oh,
she's doing something amazing, you know, across the league or
in sports or whatever, and we haven't heard about it.
So I completely am on the same wavelength of why
you really wanted to highlight this space and highlight women
(11:16):
of this space. And you talked about brands being a
little bit slower on the uptake, but I feel like,
right now you have yes, right.
Speaker 2 (11:25):
Now, right the women are it.
Speaker 1 (11:27):
And I feel like, especially you know, black and brown
women when it comes to culture, when it comes to sneakers,
when it comes to style, we bring it. We bring
all of that to the sneaker community. And like men
do a great job. Of course, we love the fellas
and they bring great things to sneakers as well. And
the knowledge and the support has been real from men
(11:47):
as far as kicks and FROs. They want to come
to everything, they want to be at everything, they want
to purchase everything. So super thankful. But I feel like
we bring that flavor in that style and we show
how sneakers just don't have to be worn with hoodies
and sweatsuits. It can be worn with ball gowns, it
can be worn with you know.
Speaker 2 (12:07):
Business suits.
Speaker 1 (12:08):
You can go I would go in business meetings all
the time with the suit and sneakers.
Speaker 2 (12:11):
They're like, what wedding dresses.
Speaker 1 (12:13):
This works wedding dresses like everything, and I think that
was important to showcase and show and now brands are
on it. They're like, yes, the women's sneaker heads, we
need them, we love them, we support them. So we
share a lot of information. We research a lot, We
get a lot of information from the women who follow
us digitally, who come to our events, and we were
(12:34):
able to share this info with a lot of the
brands that support us, which I think is always helpful.
I'm always telling them, you know, come to us when
you're looking for color ways or trying to decide on
colorways or clothing items. You know, I'd be more than
happy to help. So I really appreciate that support from
a lot of the bigger companies now that they know
(12:55):
who kicks and Frozen.
Speaker 2 (12:56):
Yeah, as they should. Yes, thank you.
Speaker 3 (12:58):
So in addition to these these brand partnerships, you've also
I just want to read some of these things and
I am truly just scratching the surface. You're on the
Jennifer Hudson Show recently featured in Black Enterprise, where you
did something good Morning America again. I am just like, truly,
these are just a few things that you have been doing.
I want to know how you prioritize all these amazing
(13:19):
things coming your way, because they are amazing.
Speaker 2 (13:22):
But it's a lot, right, I work a lot.
Speaker 1 (13:25):
I'll probably work a little too much, but I try
to decompress. I try to travel a little bit, try
to go on walks. I try to just My family
keeps me humble and like a girl, you're just a.
Speaker 2 (13:37):
Girl from South Carolina. But they keep me very humble.
Speaker 1 (13:41):
But I'm super thankful for the opportunities, so I always
jump on them, try to find time, try to figure
out how I can make things work. But I'm just
so thankful that this was like something I thought of
in my living room, and like you know, so many
people want to hear about it, they want to support it,
they want to learn more about it. So I'm super
(14:02):
thankful my pr she actually was pitching me to Jennifer
Hudson and they were reaching out at the same time.
Speaker 2 (14:08):
Wow, And I was like, that was just mind blowing
and crazy.
Speaker 1 (14:13):
And we were featured on Love is Blind, which is
a show that I love.
Speaker 3 (14:16):
I'm behind, I'm just now catching up, so I can't
wait to see Yeah.
Speaker 1 (14:21):
So yes, that was like super cool and a really
cool opportunity. And that came from an event we did
hear at be Social at Social Status where we customize sneakers.
I saw that, I think in a different city, and
I thought that would be so cool. Why can't we
have that in Charlotte. So we put it together. We
(14:41):
had one and we shared it. I shared it on
my TikTok, which I have like three thousand followers, And
I always tell people it doesn't matter for how many
followers you have, share the content. Because they saw that,
they saw that one post and was like, what is this?
We want, you know, this couple.
Speaker 2 (14:59):
To be involved. How can we do this secretly?
Speaker 1 (15:02):
And we were able to, you know, create this moment
for them to be featured on the show. So I
always tell content creators, like, share your content. It doesn't
matter who you think follows you or doesn't follow you,
or how many followers you have.
Speaker 2 (15:16):
You never know who's watching. You never know.
Speaker 3 (15:18):
I think that if we talked again in a couple months,
that number on TikTok would be a lot different. So
talked about the ways in which you are able to decompress.
But I feel like burnout is something that affects a
lot of people, especially women, and I you know, especially
founders or people that are getting something off the ground.
Do you ever experience it and if so, how do
(15:39):
you deal with it?
Speaker 2 (15:41):
I do?
Speaker 1 (15:41):
I experience burnout a lot, probably sure, y'all could you not?
Speaker 2 (15:46):
Yes? And I just try to decompress.
Speaker 1 (15:47):
Like I said, go for walks, spend time with my
husband and my bonus daughter, chill, go to South Carolina
and just be around my family and hang with them
for the weekend and just you know, love on them
and laugh with them and hang out. I think that
kind of helps me. Also, writing, writing my to do
lists lately have been helping me. I feel like burnout
is just when everything is clogged in my brain and
(16:09):
I don't just get it out. So just writing things
down a lot, making sure I get things out and
down on paper, asking for help, which is something that's
tough for me to do. I don't know if it's
the LEO and me or what, but asking for help
has been hard. But doing that more has been very
helpful with burnout. And I love to travel, so going somewhere,
(16:31):
just hearing ocean sounds, being near a beach where you
travel always my number one. I love Miami. I love Charleston,
South Carolina. I love the Bahamas. Those are like three
places that I really enjoy. LA is really like a
cool space, a place for me to go to as
well when I just want to hang out and just
(16:51):
enjoy the beautiful weather. So those are like some places
I like to hit. But Charleston close. If I'm like
just trying to do a quick getaway, Elston is usually
my number one spot.
Speaker 3 (17:01):
We would vacation well together because all those spots, I'm like, yes, absolutely.
I'm wondering about on this journey, what setbacks have you faced,
especially starting this community where there wasn't one, you know,
with women and sneakers. What setbacks have you faced, if any,
and how did you handle them?
Speaker 1 (17:21):
I think just you know, like trying trying to figure
it out, trying not to do too much too soon.
Speaker 2 (17:28):
I think a lot.
Speaker 1 (17:28):
I've learned a lot with merch so that was like
a setback of learning, like.
Speaker 2 (17:33):
Oh, okay, this is what this is.
Speaker 1 (17:36):
Yeah, you may have liked all of these things, but
that doesn't mean other people will like them. So I
think that probably was my biggest learning, Like you know,
spending dollars when it comes to merch, what works and
what doesn't. Researching a lot of that to know what
to put on our website for our consumers and what
they love and what they like, and then also learning,
(17:56):
you know, event styles and different things when it comes
to events, who's going to show up. It doesn't matter
if ten people show up, if five people show up,
you did it. You brought it to life. I think
setbacks there were just like you know, understanding Charlotte. I
think Charlotte is a totally different market from other cities
we go to. So understanding what days work best, what
(18:17):
times work best, what does does this look like for women,
especially you know, moms who can't make it out during
a week, you know, what does that look like? As
far as the event space for them? I would think,
you know, those two were kind of like my setback
starting out and then doing it alone or asking leaning
on my family a lot, I think at the beginning,
(18:39):
trying to do it myself cause a lot of burnout,
but leaning on my husband, who's a huge help and supporter,
and so thankful for him because a lot of you
guys probably wouldn't get your merch if you were put
on me.
Speaker 2 (18:51):
So I'm thankful for all his.
Speaker 1 (18:52):
Help, but yeah, just you know, making sure I'm leaning
on the right people and not burning myself out or
I'm not overspending when it comes to merch and making
sure I have my dollars or using them in the
right places.
Speaker 2 (19:06):
I think starting out were.
Speaker 1 (19:08):
Like kind of my biggest hurdles I had to jump,
or biggest setbacks that kind of like, Okay, Melissa Paul's think.
Speaker 2 (19:14):
About this, are you doing this right?
Speaker 1 (19:16):
You know, do a survey, make sure people understand what
they get, what they're getting if they're liking it. So
I think those were two of my biggest setbacks. But
I do feel like because I didn't just go too
far or jump ahead of myself too soon and kind
of took baby steps that helped me a lot to
(19:37):
not get a ton of setbacks in the beginning or
not get a ton of a nose in the beginning.
I kind of set myself up because I saw that
in my full time job, Okay, I need to create decks. Okay,
I need people to understand what this business is. Okay,
I need to make sure, you know, I have these
meetings with them before I put on this event. What
(19:58):
sponsorship dollars mean, and why do I need those dollars?
Why don't I need to just blow through my savings
to make you know, this event happen. Why it makes
sense to partner with brands or other small business owners
to you know, bring things to life. So I think
those that business and working you know for that haircare
(20:18):
brand kind of helped me understand business in general. And
I didn't set myself back a ton when it came
when it came to creating kicks and FROs, which I'm
super thankful for.
Speaker 3 (20:29):
I feel like you're the model of you know, if
anyone wants to start a business, this is what they
should listen to.
Speaker 1 (20:33):
And I listened to a lot of podcasts about business
and what was done wrong and what not to do.
So it was so I researched a ton before starting
because I didn't want to, you know, start and then
burn out or start and then fail very fast.
Speaker 2 (20:47):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (20:48):
So you're in all of these different verticals, events, brand partnerships,
content creation, as you said, newsletter, merch Which one has
been you know, maybe I don't know if it was
like the most foreign to you when you started, but
which one, which part of the business has been the
most rewarding, or maybe something that you didn't think you
would like, and you're like, oh my gosh, I love
(21:09):
events or I'm loving merch because I mean, you had
to go out and get an LLC, you had to
do all of these things, So what has surprised you.
Speaker 1 (21:17):
I think merch was something I didn't think I would
love as much as I do. Like I love toe bags,
I love pouches, I love socks. I love coming up
with these different ideas and concepts and people loving them
as much as me. So I really didn't think I
was gonna love merch as much as I do events.
That was something I did for my full time job,
something I was brought into a lot as a content creator.
(21:41):
So I love events. I thrive off of events. I
love meeting people. I love seeing the event come to life.
And I just think that's just a part of me.
I like in person versus like you know, virtual or digital.
I just feel like you can feel people's energy in person.
So in person events there are always my jam they
(22:03):
forever will be.
Speaker 2 (22:04):
But I think that merch.
Speaker 1 (22:05):
Is like I dove into and I loved it, and
I wanted to learn more and I'm talking with like
manufacturers and I'm finding out about all these different fabrics
and you know how much and making deals.
Speaker 2 (22:19):
It's so much fun.
Speaker 3 (22:20):
Yeah, I can see that in relation to your love
for sneakers, and then also it scratches that creative.
Speaker 2 (22:25):
Itch too, I would imagine.
Speaker 3 (22:27):
So I feel like you've given us a ton of
great advice already. But say there is a young woman
or anyone who is listening to this and is like,
I want to start my own thing, what kind of
advice would you give them?
Speaker 1 (22:42):
I think we oftentimes get stuck in our own heads
a lot. So my advice is always just start.
Speaker 2 (22:49):
Just begin.
Speaker 1 (22:50):
You don't have to have a shiny new camera, you
don't have to have a shiny new office space. Just
start in your living room with what you have. You
have to grow too big too soon, take baby steps.
I always say that research a lot, learn a lot,
ask questions, read a lot. I always tell like younger
(23:13):
women kind of coming up in this space, like find
a mentor learn from someone, whether that's like a mentor
that you sit with in person or someone virtual, like
someone that's in business and you love their podcasts and
they share so many great gems. Like, listen to those dissected,
write notes, learn from your peers and those around you,
(23:35):
and create a community of accountability partners. I think that's
something that's helped me a lot along the way. I
have friends who have started businesses. I have friends who
helped me out with my business, but they are all
my accountability partners, and they always check on me. Like
you said he was gonna have this done this week, Melissa,
did you make it happen? So I think that's important.
(23:56):
So if you're just starting out or you want to
start research, just.
Speaker 2 (24:00):
Begin, just do it.
Speaker 3 (24:03):
That's kind of cliche, No, we all have these great
ideas in our head, right, and like if they're not
getting put down and there's no action, it's just an idea.
Speaker 2 (24:11):
It's just an idea. So you just have to start.
Just begin, Just do it, and just know that.
Speaker 1 (24:17):
I always tell people you go into Target, you go
into any grocery store and it's five million different bread
brands or soda brands. No one's gonna do it like you,
but we get this specific one for a reason because
that's what we like. So no one's gonna do it
like you. No one's gonna tell a story like you
tell it. No one's gonna create space like you create it.
(24:38):
All of our energies are different, so just do your thing.
Speaker 2 (24:42):
Oh my gosh, that is such good advice. Wow, when
is your ted talk coming out?
Speaker 3 (24:48):
Since you are the founder of Kicks and Froze, I
have to ask, can you give me? I'll give you
the choice either your top three favorite sneakers of all
time or of right now, because I don't know if
all time t is like making you ask like it
for a favorite child.
Speaker 2 (25:02):
But just give me. Give me a top three of
some sort I can do with all times.
Speaker 1 (25:07):
So I have air Force ones. Love air Force ones.
They've always been my favorite. They've what they started my
love for sneakers. I have an air Force one tattooed
on my arm. Like love air Force ones or not
classic white, classic white, classic white, but I love the
different color ways that they're making as well. So I'll
dibble and dabble, but classic white, low top or mid
(25:29):
top are my jam.
Speaker 2 (25:31):
I would also say a Jordan one. I love a
Jordan one.
Speaker 1 (25:35):
I love how classic the silhouette is, how sleek it is,
how you can dress it up or dress it down
with different outfits and I'm a Jordan three girl. Recently
i've been a Jordan three girl. I don't know what
it is, but I just love how simple the sneaker is.
It's not a whole lot, It's like one additional color.
Speaker 2 (25:54):
So I think that's what I like. I can wear
it with a lot.
Speaker 1 (25:57):
I love the versatility when it comes to sneakers, so
I'm always choosing silhouettes that I can wear repeatedly with
a ton of different outfits. So I think those of
my top those are my top three, like all time.
But for right now, I'm obsessed with Niki Va Maos.
They are so comfortable. If you are anyone, it doesn't matter.
(26:18):
You can be a woman, a man, whatever. Get you
a pair of a Maros for the summer, okay, I
willuper cooky.
Speaker 2 (26:24):
Super stylish.
Speaker 1 (26:26):
You can wear them on errands, you can wear them
to the gym, you can wear them as a lifestyle
sneaker with your day to day outfits. They are just
the most comfortable sneaker I've put on recently. So for
right now, I would say the Niki Vamero. But you
have my my top three of all time.
Speaker 2 (26:42):
All right, I'm gonna buy me a.
Speaker 1 (26:43):
Pair two and not dirty Air Force ones we have
to keep, Oh yeah clean. I was going, we have
a sneaker cleaner that helps with that.
Speaker 3 (26:50):
Okay, I might need that because I was gonna wear
a pair of my Air Force ones in honor of
you today, and then I looked at them and I
was like, no, these need to be clean first, you.
Speaker 2 (26:57):
Know what I mean. I was like, I can't do that.
Like that's worson not wearing something good.
Speaker 3 (27:01):
So I appreciate you saying that I made the right
decision there.
Speaker 1 (27:04):
Yes, And we always always say, like, you know, we
spend money on our sneakers, especially sneaker lovers, sneaker collectors,
sneaker historians, whatever we want to call ourselves these days,
but we spend so much money on our sneakers, and
no one tells us how to properly clean them. We
don't properly clean them or our little ones. We buy
sneakers for them and they just take their foot and like,
(27:25):
I don't know, but my bonus daughter, I think she
just takes her foot and just scrapes it across the yep,
the dirt or whatever it is. So like even learning
how to clean their sneakers. So they can last longer.
As we know, they grow a lot. So we've developed
a sneaker cleaner last October and we wanted to just
be able to provide share you know, how to clean sneakers,
(27:45):
but also provide a cruelty free sneaker cleaner that will
clean all fabrics for moms, for you know, the everyday
woman or male on the go and need something to
wipe off their sneakers.
Speaker 2 (27:58):
Or clean them.
Speaker 1 (27:59):
So I'm super excited about that product. That's our first,
like wet Good, and I'm super excited about it that
we were able to develop that with you know, a
friend that I've met in the in the beauty space
and I reached out to her, She's like, let's do it.
So super excited. So we have sub to keep those
air force ones clean.
Speaker 2 (28:18):
That's amazing too.
Speaker 3 (28:19):
Like my brother is a sneaker head and he has
all these uses because they're investments, but they're also meant
to be worn, and I feel like he's keeping them
in his closet and I'm like, you gotta, like, you
gotta wear these. So it is important to like you said,
you want to protect your investment and you want to
make sure that you can wear it and enjoy it.
That's what they're there for, exactly where you want to
looking dirty.
Speaker 1 (28:37):
I don't want to look at.
Speaker 2 (28:38):
Dirty, but wear your kicks. I do say that too.
Speaker 1 (28:40):
They can crumble, and you know having them stored you
A lot of people don't know, like you want to
low lit area, especially when you have a lot over
a certain amount. You want to make sure you have
them in low light. You want to make sure it's
like an air conditioned area because they will crumble, especially
if you have a ton. I'm going through through a
little challenge with my husband of like wearing trying to
(29:04):
wear all of our sneakers, not repeating, just taking some
out of the closet that we hadn't worn in a
while because of that very reason. They can crumble. You know,
they don't last forever if you know you have to
wear them. So I always tell people like, we are
your sneakers. They aren't looking cue just sitting in your closet,
my share selling them or something. But I definitely want
to wear them.
Speaker 3 (29:24):
Look, I could talk to you all day, but like
I said, I know you are busy, So I want
to end on a question of what is next for
Kicks and FROs and what is next for you?
Speaker 1 (29:35):
Ooh, that's a good one. What's next for Kicks and FROs.
We want to continue creating community events, cultivating community, especially
here in Charlotte, putting together awesome events. We have a
Queen City Kickback this Friday, yes, and a customization class
on Saturday. So I'm super excited about just you know,
when we started events, we went on a brunch tour
(29:59):
and we went to all these different cities to kind
of introduce them, the Kicks and FROs. And this year,
I really wanted to focus on Charlotte and cultivating you know,
more community at home. So I'm so excited to you know,
do more community related events here in Charlotte, you know,
create more sisterhood here in Charlotte when it comes to sneakers,
(30:21):
and yeah, I want to keep that going here in
our office space we have in Camp North End, so
we want to do some more exciting pop ups there
throughout the summer. So I think that's that's really next
for Kicks and FROs.
Speaker 2 (30:35):
And for me, I don't know.
Speaker 1 (30:36):
Just staying focused on my business, growing more as a woman,
growing more as a content creator. I still love creating
content for women to find their personal style, to find
their sneaker style, sharing my story, more doing podcasts and
more interviews like this. I think that's something that I love.
(30:59):
I know, notice the more I do it, the more
I love it. So I want to definitely do more
of that and share, you know, just hopefully be inspiration
to women coming after me and showing them.
Speaker 2 (31:09):
That you can do anything that you put your mind into.
Speaker 3 (31:11):
I think there is a podcast in your future, whether
it is advice or sneaker advice or whatever. But until
that happens, I feel very grateful that we had you
here because you just shared so much amazing insight.
Speaker 2 (31:25):
I really really appreciate it. Mosa, Thank you so so
much for your time. Thank you, thank you for having me.
Go Panthers. Yeah,
I thrive off of community, and I just knew that
it was more people out there like me that had
this love for sneakers, that might have felt misunderstood a
little bit because you were told as a woman, you're
supposed to do this and dress like this, and act
this way and be presented this way. So I knew
it had to be other women that felt the same way,
or that had this love for sneakers.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Just like me.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
I knew I would find them.
Speaker 3 (00:30):
Welcome to the Inspire Podcast presented by Atriam Health. This
is a podcast series for Panthers fans where we highlight
admirable women from across the Carolinas as they share stories
and lessons from their lives and careers. I'm your host,
Kristin Balboni, and today my guest is the founder and
CEO of Kicks and Froze. I'm such a fan, Melissa Carnegie.
(00:51):
Thank you so much for doing this.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
Thank you for having me. I'm so excited to be.
Speaker 3 (00:55):
And you're here like we are in Bank of America Stadium.
I appreciate you taking time of what I know is
a very very busy schedule to be here. So I
am just gonna to jump right in So, for anyone
who hasn't heard of Kicks and FROs, can you tell
us a little bit about it and then where your
vision for it came from. Yes.
Speaker 1 (01:16):
So, Kicks and Froze is a digital online community that
we created to entertain, support, help assist women in the
sneaker space. Women who love sneakers, have a love of
sneakers and trying to find a community in sisterhood, or
women who are looking for their sneaker style, their new moms,
they're just out of college, you know, they're tired of
(01:38):
the heels and they want to find something more comfortable.
So Kicks and FROs is created for all of those
women and women who are inspired by other women and
just want to find that sisterhood and community as well.
We started off as a digital platform online just kept
getting this urge to create something. I've been a content
(02:00):
creator for over ten years and that's where I would
share my love for sneakers. And at first I didn't
share it a lot, and women would be like, why
I love your sneakers When you wear sneakers, I love
your style.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
Can you share those more? Where'd you get these sneakers?
Speaker 1 (02:14):
So I saw that there was interest there, and I
wanted to just start something.
Speaker 2 (02:19):
Whether it was just an.
Speaker 1 (02:20):
Online community to help women find their sneaker style or
find some sneakers that they were looking for, and it
was just an Instagram page. I wanted to just be
inspo and I started there and I was like, Yeah,
this is it. This is a fun hobby that I
can do. And then it kind of turned into a business.
But we started with just inspiring women to find their
(02:41):
sneaker style, and that grew into merch, and then that
grew into in person events, and that grew into a
newsletter and a website, and now we have a sneaker
cleaner and we sell different types of merch. We just
had a brunch here in Charlotte last Saturday. So it's
grown so much over the past few years. I'm super
(03:03):
thankful and super excited. But it just started as a
way in an outlet to share sneaker style with other
women who may be like minded.
Speaker 3 (03:11):
And you're so humbled because you say it was an
Instagram page and then it turned into merch, it turned
into a newsletter, whereas I know that's not the case.
Speaker 2 (03:20):
You turned it into all of those things.
Speaker 3 (03:23):
So for anyone who is maybe in that space or
wants to explore that space. How did you go from
an Instagram page to figuring out, okay, the next thing
is this, and then we are going to turn it
into a business.
Speaker 2 (03:38):
I think I kind of just let it flow. Honestly, I.
Speaker 1 (03:43):
Decided, Okay, I went to I actually went to a
sneaker ball in Atlanta, and I wore this sneaker money
pouch that I created, and so many women asked me
about it. I wanted it to be a conversation starter
because I wanted to meet people, and so many women
asked me about it, and they were like, no, we
don't want to learn how to make it, we want to.
Speaker 2 (04:01):
Buy it from you.
Speaker 1 (04:02):
And so I kind of sat down and said, okay,
well maybe you know, we can sit and figure out
how to create a merch store for kicks and FROs,
and we'll start there again.
Speaker 2 (04:13):
Started where I was.
Speaker 1 (04:14):
Didn't go and spend a ton of money and trying
to build a website and do all these crazy photo shoots.
I just started where I was in my living room
with my phone and a big Cartel account that I
created myself. I started there. I started with that sneaker
Money pouch. I added a T shirt to the mix,
(04:35):
and women loved it. Men loved it as well. They
wanted to wear the merch. They loved our T shirts,
they loved our logo, which is made out of a
shoe string. So I kind of just started there. I
went and got an LLC, so I made sure I
trademark Kicks and FROs. I was able to get an LLC,
and I started with our merch. I always said like,
(04:56):
I wasn't going to get in over my head. I
wasn't going to to become too big too soon. I
just wanted to create little by little and build my
business break by break.
Speaker 3 (05:08):
And that's amazing because I feel like that's the opposite
of what a lot of people do. A lot of
people come in and they're like, Okay, got this great idea.
It's something I'm you know, I feel like there's a
space for it, and I'm gonna try to monetize it immediately.
And sometimes we all get into something that we bite
off more than we can chew. Right, were you working
full time in the midst of this, whether it was
(05:30):
content creation or something else.
Speaker 2 (05:31):
And how did you balance all of that?
Speaker 1 (05:34):
Yes, So I worked full time as head of Community
and Communications for Canto Beauty, which is a natural hair
care brand, and I just let that job go three
months ago. So I'm just a entrepreneur. Thank you, thank you.
It's been three months. It's been a wild, crazy ride.
I feel like God's been telling me, like, girl, I've
been just waiting on you.
Speaker 2 (05:54):
What have you been doing. It's very scary, very scary,
but oh balancing. They love. So they loved kicks and FROs.
They loved what I did.
Speaker 1 (06:03):
It kind of merged together a little bit and kind
of made sense for me to talk about when I
was doing, you know, kind of canto gigs or jobs
out in the community. So I kind of worked together
a little bit. But managing my time, it was a
lot of early mornings spent on kicks and FROs, a
lot of late nights spent on kicks and FROs because
nine to five had to be dedicated to my full
(06:26):
time job. I would take meetings on lunch breaks. I
would take calls early in the morning or get out
work early in the morning, schedule our social content, try
to get off on days I needed to do big
shoots or campaigns or travel as a content creator. So
I tried to bank in that time, but I talked
with them. I talked with my management team, let them
(06:48):
know what I was doing, what this was, was it
going to be flexible? Am I okay with doing both?
And they supported me wholeheartedly one hundred percent. So I'm
super thankful. And I always tell people, well, you know,
when you're you're you have a side gig and you're
really trying hard to make it work with a nine
to five, you can do it. You just have to
manage your time properly, but also be straight up with
(07:12):
your company, be honest with them. You never know if
they'll one hundred percent support you and what you do.
We just had a brunch the other day and can't
do as one of our biggest supporters and sponsors of
that brunch. So I'm super thankful for my opportunities and
I learned a lot with them.
Speaker 2 (07:27):
Do you Yeah?
Speaker 3 (07:27):
And I feel like you don't hear that when we
talk to people, or we listen to people or whatever
it is that have these really inspiring stories and are
working when they first start out. I don't think I've
heard a lot of people say like, hey, just you know,
be honest with your company, especially if they're if you
feel like they're receptive, You've worked for them long enough
to know if you think that they would be into
(07:49):
this or not. And I think that's just that straightforward
approach is really really cool. So I admire you for
doing that and for sharing that with the.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
Rest of us. Yes, thank you, Thank you so well.
Speaker 3 (08:00):
Not only is this business, but you talked first and
foremost about it being a community, and that has not
changed since it became a business. And you talk about
it being a community, not just for women, but especially
highlighting black and brown women.
Speaker 2 (08:14):
Why is it so.
Speaker 3 (08:16):
Important to continue that community atmosphere and for people to
have these communities.
Speaker 1 (08:21):
So I grew up in a very small town Camden,
South Carolina.
Speaker 2 (08:25):
Okay, South Carolina.
Speaker 1 (08:26):
People and community was everything, Like everything, everyone knew everybody.
The Walmart was the mall, Friday night lights, football games.
I was a cheerleader, Like I was just engulfed in
community from birth. I feel like and I wanted to
I thrive off of community. I joined a sorority in college,
(08:47):
Like I just love bringing people to gut together. I
love helping people, I love supporting women, and I just
knew that it was more people out there like me
that had this love for sneakers that might have felt
misunderstood a little bit because you were told as a woman,
you're supposed to do this and dressed like this and
act this way and be presented this way. So I
(09:10):
knew it had to be other women that felt the
same way or that had this love for sneakers just
like me, and I knew I would find them. I
think it came early on of you know, wanting all
the fly kicks that my brother.
Speaker 2 (09:21):
Got and my mom got me the little cute girly.
Speaker 1 (09:23):
Ones, and I was like, no, I want those Jordans
that came out last week, and just wanting to you know,
continue to cultivate that community and support those women who
I knew that were out there with that were similar
to me. And then as a content creator sharing my
content around sneakers and not really getting any you know,
(09:44):
support or recognition from a lot of these larger brands
that were said to be community channels for you know,
just people in general and sneakers, And I was like, no, like,
why it's so many amazing women doing great things.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
Why aren't they highlighted? Why don't they support it?
Speaker 1 (10:02):
Why don't we hear their stories not only just from
sneaker culture as collectors, but in board rooms that are
vps of Nike and Jordan and all these great companies,
Like why don't we hear about them? So I wanted
to cultivate cultivate that community not only for you know,
women and sneakers that are collectors and lovers and supporters,
(10:22):
but also those doing great things that we don't often
see or hear about that work for these larger brands
and larger companies within sneakers too.
Speaker 2 (10:31):
That is so interesting.
Speaker 3 (10:33):
And I wouldn't say this is the Carolina Panthers, but
being a woman in sports, right, you know, I've been
in sports for thirteen fourteen years, and I can definitely
tell the difference. Like I said, the Panthers have been
incredibly supportive of women in sports. We have a lot
of women on our leadership team. They go out of
their way to I mean, we're doing this right now, right, Yeah,
this is our third season of Inspire Podcasts, which is
(10:55):
specifically focused on women. But you know, you start out
in an industry that is typically male domin and you're like, oh,
she's doing something amazing, you know, across the league or
in sports or whatever, and we haven't heard about it.
So I completely am on the same wavelength of why
you really wanted to highlight this space and highlight women
(11:16):
of this space. And you talked about brands being a
little bit slower on the uptake, but I feel like,
right now you have yes, right.
Speaker 2 (11:25):
Now, right the women are it.
Speaker 1 (11:27):
And I feel like, especially you know, black and brown
women when it comes to culture, when it comes to sneakers,
when it comes to style, we bring it. We bring
all of that to the sneaker community. And like men
do a great job. Of course, we love the fellas
and they bring great things to sneakers as well. And
the knowledge and the support has been real from men
(11:47):
as far as kicks and FROs. They want to come
to everything, they want to be at everything, they want
to purchase everything. So super thankful. But I feel like
we bring that flavor in that style and we show
how sneakers just don't have to be worn with hoodies
and sweatsuits. It can be worn with ball gowns, it
can be worn with you know.
Speaker 2 (12:07):
Business suits.
Speaker 1 (12:08):
You can go I would go in business meetings all
the time with the suit and sneakers.
Speaker 2 (12:11):
They're like, what wedding dresses.
Speaker 1 (12:13):
This works wedding dresses like everything, and I think that
was important to showcase and show and now brands are
on it. They're like, yes, the women's sneaker heads, we
need them, we love them, we support them. So we
share a lot of information. We research a lot, We
get a lot of information from the women who follow
us digitally, who come to our events, and we were
(12:34):
able to share this info with a lot of the
brands that support us, which I think is always helpful.
I'm always telling them, you know, come to us when
you're looking for color ways or trying to decide on
colorways or clothing items. You know, I'd be more than
happy to help. So I really appreciate that support from
a lot of the bigger companies now that they know
(12:55):
who kicks and Frozen.
Speaker 2 (12:56):
Yeah, as they should. Yes, thank you.
Speaker 3 (12:58):
So in addition to these these brand partnerships, you've also
I just want to read some of these things and
I am truly just scratching the surface. You're on the
Jennifer Hudson Show recently featured in Black Enterprise, where you
did something good Morning America again. I am just like, truly,
these are just a few things that you have been doing.
I want to know how you prioritize all these amazing
(13:19):
things coming your way, because they are amazing.
Speaker 2 (13:22):
But it's a lot, right, I work a lot.
Speaker 1 (13:25):
I'll probably work a little too much, but I try
to decompress. I try to travel a little bit, try
to go on walks. I try to just My family
keeps me humble and like a girl, you're just a.
Speaker 2 (13:37):
Girl from South Carolina. But they keep me very humble.
Speaker 1 (13:41):
But I'm super thankful for the opportunities, so I always
jump on them, try to find time, try to figure
out how I can make things work. But I'm just
so thankful that this was like something I thought of
in my living room, and like you know, so many
people want to hear about it, they want to support it,
they want to learn more about it. So I'm super
(14:02):
thankful my pr she actually was pitching me to Jennifer
Hudson and they were reaching out at the same time.
Speaker 2 (14:08):
Wow, And I was like, that was just mind blowing
and crazy.
Speaker 1 (14:13):
And we were featured on Love is Blind, which is
a show that I love.
Speaker 3 (14:16):
I'm behind, I'm just now catching up, so I can't
wait to see Yeah.
Speaker 1 (14:21):
So yes, that was like super cool and a really
cool opportunity. And that came from an event we did
hear at be Social at Social Status where we customize sneakers.
I saw that, I think in a different city, and
I thought that would be so cool. Why can't we
have that in Charlotte. So we put it together. We
(14:41):
had one and we shared it. I shared it on
my TikTok, which I have like three thousand followers, And
I always tell people it doesn't matter for how many
followers you have, share the content. Because they saw that,
they saw that one post and was like, what is this?
We want, you know, this couple.
Speaker 2 (14:59):
To be involved. How can we do this secretly?
Speaker 1 (15:02):
And we were able to, you know, create this moment
for them to be featured on the show. So I
always tell content creators, like, share your content. It doesn't
matter who you think follows you or doesn't follow you,
or how many followers you have.
Speaker 2 (15:16):
You never know who's watching. You never know.
Speaker 3 (15:18):
I think that if we talked again in a couple months,
that number on TikTok would be a lot different. So
talked about the ways in which you are able to decompress.
But I feel like burnout is something that affects a
lot of people, especially women, and I you know, especially
founders or people that are getting something off the ground.
Do you ever experience it and if so, how do
(15:39):
you deal with it?
Speaker 2 (15:41):
I do?
Speaker 1 (15:41):
I experience burnout a lot, probably sure, y'all could you not?
Speaker 2 (15:46):
Yes? And I just try to decompress.
Speaker 1 (15:47):
Like I said, go for walks, spend time with my
husband and my bonus daughter, chill, go to South Carolina
and just be around my family and hang with them
for the weekend and just you know, love on them
and laugh with them and hang out. I think that
kind of helps me. Also, writing, writing my to do
lists lately have been helping me. I feel like burnout
is just when everything is clogged in my brain and
(16:09):
I don't just get it out. So just writing things
down a lot, making sure I get things out and
down on paper, asking for help, which is something that's
tough for me to do. I don't know if it's
the LEO and me or what, but asking for help
has been hard. But doing that more has been very
helpful with burnout. And I love to travel, so going somewhere,
(16:31):
just hearing ocean sounds, being near a beach where you
travel always my number one. I love Miami. I love Charleston,
South Carolina. I love the Bahamas. Those are like three
places that I really enjoy. LA is really like a
cool space, a place for me to go to as
well when I just want to hang out and just
(16:51):
enjoy the beautiful weather. So those are like some places
I like to hit. But Charleston close. If I'm like
just trying to do a quick getaway, Elston is usually
my number one spot.
Speaker 3 (17:01):
We would vacation well together because all those spots, I'm like, yes, absolutely.
I'm wondering about on this journey, what setbacks have you faced,
especially starting this community where there wasn't one, you know,
with women and sneakers. What setbacks have you faced, if any,
and how did you handle them?
Speaker 1 (17:21):
I think just you know, like trying trying to figure
it out, trying not to do too much too soon.
Speaker 2 (17:28):
I think a lot.
Speaker 1 (17:28):
I've learned a lot with merch so that was like
a setback of learning, like.
Speaker 2 (17:33):
Oh, okay, this is what this is.
Speaker 1 (17:36):
Yeah, you may have liked all of these things, but
that doesn't mean other people will like them. So I
think that probably was my biggest learning, Like you know,
spending dollars when it comes to merch, what works and
what doesn't. Researching a lot of that to know what
to put on our website for our consumers and what
they love and what they like, and then also learning,
(17:56):
you know, event styles and different things when it comes
to events, who's going to show up. It doesn't matter
if ten people show up, if five people show up,
you did it. You brought it to life. I think
setbacks there were just like you know, understanding Charlotte. I
think Charlotte is a totally different market from other cities
we go to. So understanding what days work best, what
(18:17):
times work best, what does does this look like for women,
especially you know, moms who can't make it out during
a week, you know, what does that look like? As
far as the event space for them? I would think,
you know, those two were kind of like my setback
starting out and then doing it alone or asking leaning
on my family a lot, I think at the beginning,
(18:39):
trying to do it myself cause a lot of burnout,
but leaning on my husband, who's a huge help and supporter,
and so thankful for him because a lot of you
guys probably wouldn't get your merch if you were put
on me.
Speaker 2 (18:51):
So I'm thankful for all his.
Speaker 1 (18:52):
Help, but yeah, just you know, making sure I'm leaning
on the right people and not burning myself out or
I'm not overspending when it comes to merch and making
sure I have my dollars or using them in the
right places.
Speaker 2 (19:06):
I think starting out were.
Speaker 1 (19:08):
Like kind of my biggest hurdles I had to jump,
or biggest setbacks that kind of like, Okay, Melissa Paul's think.
Speaker 2 (19:14):
About this, are you doing this right?
Speaker 1 (19:16):
You know, do a survey, make sure people understand what
they get, what they're getting if they're liking it. So
I think those were two of my biggest setbacks. But
I do feel like because I didn't just go too
far or jump ahead of myself too soon and kind
of took baby steps that helped me a lot to
(19:37):
not get a ton of setbacks in the beginning or
not get a ton of a nose in the beginning.
I kind of set myself up because I saw that
in my full time job, Okay, I need to create decks. Okay,
I need people to understand what this business is. Okay,
I need to make sure, you know, I have these
meetings with them before I put on this event. What
(19:58):
sponsorship dollars mean, and why do I need those dollars?
Why don't I need to just blow through my savings
to make you know, this event happen. Why it makes
sense to partner with brands or other small business owners
to you know, bring things to life. So I think
those that business and working you know for that haircare
(20:18):
brand kind of helped me understand business in general. And
I didn't set myself back a ton when it came
when it came to creating kicks and FROs, which I'm
super thankful for.
Speaker 3 (20:29):
I feel like you're the model of you know, if
anyone wants to start a business, this is what they
should listen to.
Speaker 1 (20:33):
And I listened to a lot of podcasts about business
and what was done wrong and what not to do.
So it was so I researched a ton before starting
because I didn't want to, you know, start and then
burn out or start and then fail very fast.
Speaker 2 (20:47):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (20:48):
So you're in all of these different verticals, events, brand partnerships,
content creation, as you said, newsletter, merch Which one has
been you know, maybe I don't know if it was
like the most foreign to you when you started, but
which one, which part of the business has been the
most rewarding, or maybe something that you didn't think you
would like, and you're like, oh my gosh, I love
(21:09):
events or I'm loving merch because I mean, you had
to go out and get an LLC, you had to
do all of these things, So what has surprised you.
Speaker 1 (21:17):
I think merch was something I didn't think I would
love as much as I do. Like I love toe bags,
I love pouches, I love socks. I love coming up
with these different ideas and concepts and people loving them
as much as me. So I really didn't think I
was gonna love merch as much as I do events.
That was something I did for my full time job,
something I was brought into a lot as a content creator.
(21:41):
So I love events. I thrive off of events. I
love meeting people. I love seeing the event come to life.
And I just think that's just a part of me.
I like in person versus like you know, virtual or digital.
I just feel like you can feel people's energy in person.
So in person events there are always my jam they
(22:03):
forever will be.
Speaker 2 (22:04):
But I think that merch.
Speaker 1 (22:05):
Is like I dove into and I loved it, and
I wanted to learn more and I'm talking with like
manufacturers and I'm finding out about all these different fabrics
and you know how much and making deals.
Speaker 2 (22:19):
It's so much fun.
Speaker 3 (22:20):
Yeah, I can see that in relation to your love
for sneakers, and then also it scratches that creative.
Speaker 2 (22:25):
Itch too, I would imagine.
Speaker 3 (22:27):
So I feel like you've given us a ton of
great advice already. But say there is a young woman
or anyone who is listening to this and is like,
I want to start my own thing, what kind of
advice would you give them?
Speaker 1 (22:42):
I think we oftentimes get stuck in our own heads
a lot. So my advice is always just start.
Speaker 2 (22:49):
Just begin.
Speaker 1 (22:50):
You don't have to have a shiny new camera, you
don't have to have a shiny new office space. Just
start in your living room with what you have. You
have to grow too big too soon, take baby steps.
I always say that research a lot, learn a lot,
ask questions, read a lot. I always tell like younger
(23:13):
women kind of coming up in this space, like find
a mentor learn from someone, whether that's like a mentor
that you sit with in person or someone virtual, like
someone that's in business and you love their podcasts and
they share so many great gems. Like, listen to those dissected,
write notes, learn from your peers and those around you,
(23:35):
and create a community of accountability partners. I think that's
something that's helped me a lot along the way. I
have friends who have started businesses. I have friends who
helped me out with my business, but they are all
my accountability partners, and they always check on me. Like
you said he was gonna have this done this week, Melissa,
did you make it happen? So I think that's important.
(23:56):
So if you're just starting out or you want to
start research, just.
Speaker 2 (24:00):
Begin, just do it.
Speaker 3 (24:03):
That's kind of cliche, No, we all have these great
ideas in our head, right, and like if they're not
getting put down and there's no action, it's just an idea.
Speaker 2 (24:11):
It's just an idea. So you just have to start.
Just begin, Just do it, and just know that.
Speaker 1 (24:17):
I always tell people you go into Target, you go
into any grocery store and it's five million different bread
brands or soda brands. No one's gonna do it like you,
but we get this specific one for a reason because
that's what we like. So no one's gonna do it
like you. No one's gonna tell a story like you
tell it. No one's gonna create space like you create it.
(24:38):
All of our energies are different, so just do your thing.
Speaker 2 (24:42):
Oh my gosh, that is such good advice. Wow, when
is your ted talk coming out?
Speaker 3 (24:48):
Since you are the founder of Kicks and Froze, I
have to ask, can you give me? I'll give you
the choice either your top three favorite sneakers of all
time or of right now, because I don't know if
all time t is like making you ask like it
for a favorite child.
Speaker 2 (25:02):
But just give me. Give me a top three of
some sort I can do with all times.
Speaker 1 (25:07):
So I have air Force ones. Love air Force ones.
They've always been my favorite. They've what they started my
love for sneakers. I have an air Force one tattooed
on my arm. Like love air Force ones or not
classic white, classic white, classic white, but I love the
different color ways that they're making as well. So I'll
dibble and dabble, but classic white, low top or mid
(25:29):
top are my jam.
Speaker 2 (25:31):
I would also say a Jordan one. I love a
Jordan one.
Speaker 1 (25:35):
I love how classic the silhouette is, how sleek it is,
how you can dress it up or dress it down
with different outfits and I'm a Jordan three girl. Recently
i've been a Jordan three girl. I don't know what
it is, but I just love how simple the sneaker is.
It's not a whole lot, It's like one additional color.
Speaker 2 (25:54):
So I think that's what I like. I can wear
it with a lot.
Speaker 1 (25:57):
I love the versatility when it comes to sneakers, so
I'm always choosing silhouettes that I can wear repeatedly with
a ton of different outfits. So I think those of
my top those are my top three, like all time.
But for right now, I'm obsessed with Niki Va Maos.
They are so comfortable. If you are anyone, it doesn't matter.
(26:18):
You can be a woman, a man, whatever. Get you
a pair of a Maros for the summer, okay, I
willuper cooky.
Speaker 2 (26:24):
Super stylish.
Speaker 1 (26:26):
You can wear them on errands, you can wear them
to the gym, you can wear them as a lifestyle
sneaker with your day to day outfits. They are just
the most comfortable sneaker I've put on recently. So for
right now, I would say the Niki Vamero. But you
have my my top three of all time.
Speaker 2 (26:42):
All right, I'm gonna buy me a.
Speaker 1 (26:43):
Pair two and not dirty Air Force ones we have
to keep, Oh yeah clean. I was going, we have
a sneaker cleaner that helps with that.
Speaker 3 (26:50):
Okay, I might need that because I was gonna wear
a pair of my Air Force ones in honor of
you today, and then I looked at them and I
was like, no, these need to be clean first, you.
Speaker 2 (26:57):
Know what I mean. I was like, I can't do that.
Like that's worson not wearing something good.
Speaker 3 (27:01):
So I appreciate you saying that I made the right
decision there.
Speaker 1 (27:04):
Yes, And we always always say, like, you know, we
spend money on our sneakers, especially sneaker lovers, sneaker collectors,
sneaker historians, whatever we want to call ourselves these days,
but we spend so much money on our sneakers, and
no one tells us how to properly clean them. We
don't properly clean them or our little ones. We buy
sneakers for them and they just take their foot and like,
(27:25):
I don't know, but my bonus daughter, I think she
just takes her foot and just scrapes it across the yep,
the dirt or whatever it is. So like even learning
how to clean their sneakers. So they can last longer.
As we know, they grow a lot. So we've developed
a sneaker cleaner last October and we wanted to just
be able to provide share you know, how to clean sneakers,
(27:45):
but also provide a cruelty free sneaker cleaner that will
clean all fabrics for moms, for you know, the everyday
woman or male on the go and need something to
wipe off their sneakers.
Speaker 2 (27:58):
Or clean them.
Speaker 1 (27:59):
So I'm super excited about that product. That's our first,
like wet Good, and I'm super excited about it that
we were able to develop that with you know, a
friend that I've met in the in the beauty space
and I reached out to her, She's like, let's do it.
So super excited. So we have sub to keep those
air force ones clean.
Speaker 2 (28:18):
That's amazing too.
Speaker 3 (28:19):
Like my brother is a sneaker head and he has
all these uses because they're investments, but they're also meant
to be worn, and I feel like he's keeping them
in his closet and I'm like, you gotta, like, you
gotta wear these. So it is important to like you said,
you want to protect your investment and you want to
make sure that you can wear it and enjoy it.
That's what they're there for, exactly where you want to
looking dirty.
Speaker 1 (28:37):
I don't want to look at.
Speaker 2 (28:38):
Dirty, but wear your kicks. I do say that too.
Speaker 1 (28:40):
They can crumble, and you know having them stored you
A lot of people don't know, like you want to
low lit area, especially when you have a lot over
a certain amount. You want to make sure you have
them in low light. You want to make sure it's
like an air conditioned area because they will crumble, especially
if you have a ton. I'm going through through a
little challenge with my husband of like wearing trying to
(29:04):
wear all of our sneakers, not repeating, just taking some
out of the closet that we hadn't worn in a
while because of that very reason. They can crumble. You know,
they don't last forever if you know you have to
wear them. So I always tell people like, we are
your sneakers. They aren't looking cue just sitting in your closet,
my share selling them or something. But I definitely want
to wear them.
Speaker 3 (29:24):
Look, I could talk to you all day, but like
I said, I know you are busy, So I want
to end on a question of what is next for
Kicks and FROs and what is next for you?
Speaker 1 (29:35):
Ooh, that's a good one. What's next for Kicks and FROs.
We want to continue creating community events, cultivating community, especially
here in Charlotte, putting together awesome events. We have a
Queen City Kickback this Friday, yes, and a customization class
on Saturday. So I'm super excited about just you know,
when we started events, we went on a brunch tour
(29:59):
and we went to all these different cities to kind
of introduce them, the Kicks and FROs. And this year,
I really wanted to focus on Charlotte and cultivating you know,
more community at home. So I'm so excited to you know,
do more community related events here in Charlotte, you know,
create more sisterhood here in Charlotte when it comes to sneakers,
(30:21):
and yeah, I want to keep that going here in
our office space we have in Camp North End, so
we want to do some more exciting pop ups there
throughout the summer. So I think that's that's really next
for Kicks and FROs.
Speaker 2 (30:35):
And for me, I don't know.
Speaker 1 (30:36):
Just staying focused on my business, growing more as a woman,
growing more as a content creator. I still love creating
content for women to find their personal style, to find
their sneaker style, sharing my story, more doing podcasts and
more interviews like this. I think that's something that I love.
(30:59):
I know, notice the more I do it, the more
I love it. So I want to definitely do more
of that and share, you know, just hopefully be inspiration
to women coming after me and showing them.
Speaker 2 (31:09):
That you can do anything that you put your mind into.
Speaker 3 (31:11):
I think there is a podcast in your future, whether
it is advice or sneaker advice or whatever. But until
that happens, I feel very grateful that we had you
here because you just shared so much amazing insight.
Speaker 2 (31:25):
I really really appreciate it. Mosa, Thank you so so
much for your time. Thank you, thank you for having me.
Go Panthers. Yeah,
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