Doctor Skoon, Super Skoon

Meet DR Skoon Also known as Twelvy or Skamza. Grew up in the streets of Diepkoof, Soweto. His passion for mini-independence developed at a young age when he started selling snacks and sweets in high school. His ability to interact and network with everyone was just the icing on the cake. “I had the privilege to travel overseas and all provinces in South Africa. So that also helped shape my character and showed me the endless possibilities” he added. Skamza shows us that his growth had multiple influences.

Super Skoon is a sneaker-cleaning business that started in Skamza's first year of varsity. When it initially started it was him and his three other friends. Picture it - four students from different backgrounds coming together with one goal, which was to tap into the creative space. It's giving sensational.

How did it all start ?

We have a look-see of how and when things came together for the quad squad “One of my business partners was getting free Redbulls so we sold them at a cheaper price at the student accommodation we lived in at that time – South Point in Braamfontein.” The revenue they generated was the start of something life-changing for all four of them. “We had the capital to do something else with it” he said. With being an Engineer student, his problem-solving skills kicked in – you get it.

Many students not having an opportunity to wash their own kicks or only washed them when they went home or would get someone else to wash them. Skamza and his business partners saw an opportunity they could not miss out on. In 2018 they kicked it off with their first event, Afro Punk. An event that hosts different artists in and from different countries. “We knew that on the day of the event it would rain so we sold shoe-shaped plastics for people to cover their shoes.” He mentioned.

One of his business partners being Lindelani – the owner of Swank. Both growing up in the same hood, they knew that their business name had to have a touch of vernac to also reflect its authenticity. Then the name “Super Skoon” was born. “A general name that could help us expand into a lot of things” he added

What are some challenges you had to go through?

We all know building something from the ground up is never easy, so Skamza gives us a glimpse of some of the internal challenges they faced. “With being an Engineer student people looked at me sideways. That I was a future Engineer who washed his peers’ kicks. And as a business, we had to knock on a lot of doors for us to keep the momentum going.” Skamza shows us that it doesn’t only stop when things are up and running but the constant effort and hard work are required to keep it together.

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE HIGHS FOR SUPER SKOON?

We look at Super Skoons’ cloud 9 moments. “We have a YouTube channel that hosts different artists to give advice on how to start your own sneaker-washing business. Hosted artists like OkmalumkoolKat and Young Stilo. We won a competition where we had to pitch our business idea and came second place.” Its accolade after accolade, and when it was time for their winning season, they took all the W’s home. Wait there’s more! “We also collaborated with Puma and gave away free kicks to people who entered and won a competition. Had activations at Groovenheim with OkmalumkoolKat.” Super Skoon had their eyes on always keeping the momentum going, they have receipts to show it