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SKAGIT COUNTY, Wash. — Malachi Larsen is launching his sneaker empire from his bedroom at his grandparents’ house in Skagit County.
“They’re cactus plant flea market Nike shoes,” he said, showing off his inventory.
It’s a business that is gaining plenty of traction.
A self-described “sneakerhead,” Malachi started his business, Pacific Kickz, when he was a sophomore in high school — just 15 years old — using Christmas money to buy an assortment of shoes online.
“But a lot of the shoes were not my size so that forced me to sell them and I made a little money. I realized maybe I can make a business out of this,” he said.
Now 19, he has done just that, and then some.
“I’ve done $250,000 in sales roughly over the course of four years,” Malachi said.
That includes a pair of Louis Vuitton Air Force 1s.
“I won’t disclose how much they sold for, but it was over four figures, it was a high four-figure number,” he said.
The teen’s achievements are even more impressive when you realize Malachi went into the foster care system when he was 13.
Since then he’s been awarded a $5,000 youth entrepreneur of the year scholarship, and continues to grow his business.
Now living with his grandparents while he pursues a business degree, Malachi credits his success to his challenging upbringing.
“It was maturing at a younger age, having discipline myself, teach myself pretty much everything I know, honestly,” he said.
While Malachi is the sole proprietor of Pacific Kickz, his right-hand man is his younger brother, Josiah, who does the packaging and take the pictures for big brother’s social media sites.
“Yeah I make him do the boring stuff,” Malachi jokes.
The two hope to follow in each other’s footsteps once Malachi finishes college, and open their own store.
“There are definitely tons of opportunities that have come out of this and there’s more to come,” Malachi said.
