ALTOONA, Pa. (WJAC) — A former Penn State Altoona student is making waves in the shoe industry. Since graduating in 2020, his shoes have been worn by celebrities and on the catwalk.
But these aren't your regular shoes.
Not all business ideas seem like a shoo-in, at first. But Nick Unis shows that you got to just keep running to make that idea a reality.
We initially spoke with him in 2018, when he was raising money through Kickstarter for his company, Unis Footwear.
He told 6 News on Friday that Unis Footwear's guiding mission is "to create the most sustainable sneaker using 3D printing and 3D knitting technology."
"Our shoes are a hundred percent recyclable," said Unis. "So, when you're done wearing the shoe, you can actually send it back to us for a discount. We rip it apart, make a new pair of shoes, and you get a discount off of that. And that keeps your shoes from ending up in either the ocean or the landfill."
He said he started off by reselling limited-edition shoes from brands like Nike, Adidas, and Under Armour. He then shifted, partially, toward making custom products.
"We did one custom with a rapper named Riff Raff, and we put that shoe on eBay. And within 24 hours, it hit a little over a million dollars, and Nike hit us with a cease and desist because it was over top of a [Air] Jordan shoe."
He then launched his own company, and now wants to beat Nike at its own game.
"We're hoping to really be able to stick it to some of the bigger companies like Nike, Adidas, and Under Armour," Unis said.
By 2018, Unis Footwear released its first shoe. Since then, it's been featured in Tatler Magazine and on the New York Fashion Week catwalk, among other things.
"We were able to take over the biggest billboard in Times Square for a day, which was a super cool opportunity, especially to kind of be in New York City and be in Times Square and be able to see our product on one of the biggest billboards in advertising," said Unis.
Most recently, they were part of the Grammys gift bag.
"So, everyone that attended and was a part of the Grammys got a free pair of our shoes," he explained.
These included celebrities like Taylor Swift and Billie Eilish.
"I would like to tell you that we planned everything out, but that's not the case," Unis said. "And I don't think that'll ever be the case."
"You're gonna experience failure in your everyday life, and you have to take that failure as a learning opportunity to make yourself better. And as long as you're learning from it, it's not a failure."
Unis told 6 News he wants to eventually launch more manufacturing hubs across the country.
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