Once you own a pair of sneakers that you truly adore, and are your everyday go-to, you’ll understand how Los Angeles-based Jason Angsuvarn first launched his line of premium sneaker cleaning products, Jason Markk. Known as the Holy Grail for sneakerheads, Angsuvarn launched the company after cleaning his shoes one night using a homemade remedy. “I realised that there wasn’t a specialized shoe cleaner that was made with the sneaker enthusiast in mind,” he says. “There were shoe cleaners on the market, but they were all very generic and I didn’t trust them to use on my kicks.”

He hired a chemist to help design a shoe cleaner that was designed specifically for today’s sneakers, taking into account the concerns of the sneaker culture and the different types of modern materials found on sneakers today. The formulas are all free of harsh ingredients so not to damage any materials. The rest as they say, was history.

Both for sneaker fanatics and those looking to look after their lone weekend pair, Jason Markk has quickly become a must-have for “squeaky clean kicks.” We speak to the founder of the cult cleaning label on sneaker culture.

How did you being your life-long love affair with sneakers?

Basketball and hip-hop definitely played a major role in my interest in sneakers at a young age. Seeing basketball players like Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, and AI rock dope kicks on court only made me and my friends want - actually need - those same kicks to play in or rock with our latest outfit. Same goes for hip-hop artists such as The Fresh Prince, Run DMC and Jay-Z.

Why do you think sneakers have suddenly exploded into the mainstream?

We can thank the Internet and the several limited edition drops for creating the hype. Sneaker culture has been around since the early ‘80s, but pre-Internet, it was confined to an in-the-know subculture. With the Internet, the craze of limited edition sneakers were blasted on blogs and social media worldwide and quickly became the must-have thing.

How does sneaker culture differ from the West to the East?

In my opinion, I tend to see the latest limited edition drops heavy on foot in the East. Whereas in the West, yes you do see the latest drops on foot, but you also see a lot of older, classic models still being rocked.

What’s the biggest shoe care mistake you’ve seen?

Probably throwing your kicks in the washing machine and/or even worse, in the dryer.

What’s the rarest sneaker you own?

I don’t really consider myself a hardcore collector, but have a few gems such as ’94 AJ Chicago 1s, Fragment AJ1s and Patta x Asics Gel Saga.

What does your sneaker wardrobe look like?

I have a sneaker room that maybe has 400+ pairs. I’m blessed to have pairs sent to me, but I also still buy kicks that I really love. The funny thing is I probably keep only about 10 of those pairs in regular rotation!