Upon graduating from high school, quite a few years ago now, and wanting to find some work, I had two main options. Hospitality offered the chance to be elbow deep in a murky kitchen sink with wrist-height rubber gloves or, worse yet, a clogged toilet bowl. Retail work meant a chance to sell sneakers for a living, but occasionally dealing with Karen – who, of course, wanted to speak to the manager. The choice was obvious. I cut my teeth on the shop floor of a high street sneaker retailer and, needless to say, it got me to where I am today.
I’m not here to vent about the trials and tribulations of working in an industry that requires talking to a wide variety of other human beings. In fact, this is a case of the exact opposite: everyone should work in footwear retail... at least once.