What does it take to turn grief, depression and a student project into a national sneaker-care empire? In this episode, Kojo Baffoe sits down with Lolo Ndlovu, founder and CEO of The Sneaker Shack, to unpack the story behind South Africa’s leading sneaker cleaning retail chain.

Lolo traces his journey from losing his mother at four and being raised by a present, devoted father, to chasing football dreams in Switzerland and the US, and hitting a deep depression that left him staring into “the void”. Out of that darkness came a simple idea: disrupt old-school laundry by building a sneaker cleaning service for a new, convenience-driven generation.

We talk about grief that never quite goes away, learning to “feel the feeling” instead of running from it, and how sport taught Lolo more about business, teamwork and leadership than any lecture hall. He breaks down the early days in a 10m² container in Maboneng, the moment a Springbok and a tired mother validated the concept, and why he believes The Sneaker Shack is really in the business of behaviour change and saving people time.

If you’re building something from scratch, juggling mental health, or just trying to make peace with your own story, this conversation offers practical insight and a lot of quiet courage.

Listen, subscribe and share this episode with a founder, sneaker lover or friend who needs to hear that you can start exactly where you are. Leave a review to help more listeners discover African stories like this.

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