Dustin’ Off Kicks A Shoe-In For Sears

 By Brett McMahon

Since he was around nine or ten, Dustin Sears has loved sneakers.

It started while watching his favorite basketball players on the court and has turned into a hobby that could one day lead to a full-blown business.

One night, Sears started thinking to himself “What is something I can do that brings me joy and allows me to provide others with a service?” With his love of shoes, he hatched a plan to offer services to help clean, repair, and restore footwear.

 A friend suggested the name “Dustin’ Off Kicks,” which Sears opted to run with. The name is a play on both his name and his love of shoes.

Sears provides a range of services from simple shoe cleaning to full finitizing, crease correction, waterproofing, and soul icing/whitening. Prices start at $15 for a basic cleaning with each additional service adding on to that.

Dustin’ Off Kicks is based in Mahomet, and those interested can reach Sears through the Facebook page of the same name. The page includes contact information along with the option to direct message him.

Sears does not have set hours of operation at this point, as he is currently working on a Master’s Degree in Special Education.

Currently, a “one-man show,” Sears said his teenage daughter may one day soon start helping him with the business. Eventually, he and his wife envison the venture becoming a business where he would buy, sell, repair ad refurbish shoes on a full-time basis.

A three-year stint in the Army in the Infantry division was another contributing factor to the creation of Dustin’ Off Kicks. Military regulations require boots to be clean, and that process was one he enjoyed. Sears spent time at Fort Campbell, Ky., and also did a tour in Afghanistan. As a result, he now battles attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHS) and post-traumatic stress Syndrome (PTSS).

Still, working with shoes helps distract him from those challenging issues and provides a clearing of his head and a sense of calm. Sears’ slogan is “I make shoe contact before eye contact,” as he feels there is a level of confidence in having clean shoes and that is yet another benefit his services can provide.

Dustin’ Off Kicks also accepts shoe donations. Those donated shoes are cleaned up and repaired, then given to those in local communities in need. He particularly tries to focus on the youth in need of new shoes. He says giving a pair of shoes to a youth in need makes him feel especially good because he can remember a time he would have loved to be on the receiving end of that type of gesture.

Sears still gets excited when he receives the notification that new shoes are arriving. He hopes he can provide some of that joy to others.

In addition, he knows some people spend a lot of money on shoes, even to the point of collecting them. With Dustin’ Off Kicks, those shoes can be cleaned or repaired, returning to them to a form where they can be worn with style and confidence.