Her business, The Shoe Game Co., started as a hobby before evolving into a side hustle and, eventually, a full-time gig. Sneakers didn't reappear on her radar until the Covid pandemic when work became stressful and her girlfriend encouraged her to reconnect with her childhood hobby as a way to decompress. It was a once-in-a-blue-moon deal that wouldn't have been possible if Zapata didn't know her niche as well as she does. AdvertisementFor a while, however, she says she stuck to what she knew best, which were retro Jordan sneakers: "We didn't veer off. I didn't sell the Nike SB until maybe six months ago because I didn't understand what a Nike SB really was.

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Persons: —, Val Zapata, Zapata, Everything's, I'm, Zapata didn't, She's, Holly, Kobe Bryant Organizations: Service, Business, Facebook, GAP, Adidas, Nike, Kobe Locations: Colombia, New York, Texas, Las Vegas, Boston