Meet 21-year-old Chandigarh-lad who sells rare sneakers to B-town
What were you doing at the age of 21? Because, Viraj Datt, a Chandigarh-based young entrepreneur who is just 21 is successfully running a business of sneakers. Specifically, the young lad has a start-studded list of clients, including Rappers Raftaar and Divine, actress Parineeti Chopra, musicians KR$NA and daughter of Aditya Group Chairman- Ananya Birla.
Viraj Datt delves into details about the start. "I have always loved sneakers. But I never wanted to ask my parents for money to get a pair of shoes. When I was in Bengaluru for my badminton training, I used to visit sneakers showrooms to check the various articles displayed there," Datt said.
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He further said, “To earn some money I used to buy these sneakers and sell them to make money and buy my own sneakers. Eventually, my collection grew quite big and was stacked with a good mix of unique and exciting pairs. People kept asking me where I got my shoes from, and requested if I could get them the pair. That was the start of my business namely ‘VJ Kicks’.”
The young lad shared that when he discovered that rapper Raftaar loves wearing different sneakers, he approached him to buy sneakers from his collection. That was the best moment of his life when Raftaar liked his collection and purchased sneakers from him.
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“Raftaar was so kind that he paid the entire money of the sneakers he bought. Meanwhile, he also promoted my business on his social media handles and that too for free. I was not expecting such a big support from him,” said Viraj.
Talking about how he met Parineeti Chopra and made her like his sneakers collection, the 21-year-old said, “I met the actress during the shooting of her one movie. She loved my collection and purchased sneakers from me. At that time, I was super excited as a renowned actress became my client,” he said.
It all seemed like a simple and straight forward origin story, but in an attempt to dig deeper Viraj worked hard to make celebrities as his clients.
When these renowned faces asked you to get them these sneakers, where did you get them if they were so limited and hard to find?
Just like a chef or a magician, Datt doesn't reveal any of his trade secrets. "I can't really reveal that. We all have our special links. It's all about connections but the thing is that I am recognised in the sneaker community and I know whom to go to once somebody asks me to get them a pair, I ask my friends in the community if anyone is looking to sell this shoe, or knows of anyone who will have it,” Datt said. The entrepreneur is leaving no stone unturned to take his business on its peak.
-PTC News
