Ezekiel Natorilla ’24, also known as Zeke, is a sophomore at Riordan and repairs shoes to resell.

Zeke came up with the idea of repairing shoes by making a business to make his own money: “I just kept asking my parents for money and thought of making my own business, which is repairing and selling shoes, so I can stop asking and begging my parents for money. I started off selling one of my old pairs of shoes then went from there.”

Zeke’s passion is collecting shoes, particularly Kobes and Jordans. Because he has a large collection, he was inspired by other shoe collectors to sell new and refurbished shoes. The process of refurbishing shoes includes buying a pair of shoes for a reasonable price; restoring it by cleaning, repairing, or icing them; then selling them by posting on various platforms such as Facebook marketplace, Offerup, and Instagram.

Hector Castaneda ’24 said, “@dripp.reportt on Instagram, also known as Zeke, is a very good shoe cleaner and reseller. I trust him with cleaning my shoes and hitting me with some steals that are 100 percent authentic shoes. Zeke always has my shoes looking clean and icy with his new icing machine.”

He added, “I would 100 percent recommend him to anyone looking to get their shoes cleaned or to buy shoes.”

For him, repairing shoes is both a business and a hobby. Zeke not only has a shoe repair business, but also a clothing business.

“My other business is called KlutchSF, my clothing brand,” he said. ”I started off by making that to help my parents pay for my tuition. So far it’s going pretty well. It’s mainly based on basketball so making clothing based off of shorts and shirts.”

Since he plays basketball, he needs many basketball shorts, which inspired him to sell shorts and shirts since his friends like to buy them.

Samuel Sales III ’24 said, “The KlutchSF shorts I bought had amazing quality along with a great feel. The shorts have nice-looking designs to go along with the great feel. They are great for sports and great for casual and everyday wear. I recommend it to anyone looking for an affordable and comfortable pair of shorts.”

His friends have also been inspired to start selling shoes online, particularly on Instagram and other platforms.”

Zeke has assisted them in learning how to source and refurbish shoes, as well as sharing some marketing strategies for selling shoes online.

He said, “It makes me happy that I am able to inspire and help my friends make money on their own.”

With KlutchSF, he’s starting small and hopes to grow the business in the future. To do so, he ensures that his Instagram interaction is active and engaging.

Zeke said, “It’s challenging at first to start an online business, but with determination and hard work, there is no way but up.”