Exploring Life & Business with Kade Martinez of Fits La Sneakers LLC

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kade Martinez.

Hi Kade, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’ve always had that hustle in me. Even as a kid, I loved the idea of selling something and having money that I earned on my own.

The first “business” I ever started was probably in second or third grade, when Rainbow Loom bracelets were huge. I would make bracelets and have my mom take me to the park to sell them, and I would sell them at school too. The funny part is that I donated all of the money I made to the ASPCA, so technically my first business was a nonprofit, haha.

In middle school, I moved on to fidget spinners and fidget cubes when those became popular. My mom would take me downtown, where I’d buy them in bulk for around $3 each and sell them for about $7. I was selling out almost every day. What makes that even crazier to think about now is that years later, my warehouse is in that same downtown area where my mom used to take me to buy inventory.

By my sophomore year at Fairfax High School, I was selling snacks at school. I sold pretty much everything — chips, cookies, gum, candy — and I was making around $50-$80 a day just from snacks.

At the same time, I was becoming really interested in streetwear and sneaker culture. After school, I would constantly go up and down Melrose and visit stores like Supreme, RIPNDIP, Golf, Cool Kicks, Foot Locker, Shoe Palace, and many more. I got to know as many of the employees as I could, and a lot of them really showed me love when I was young and just getting started. Looking back, those relationships and being around that culture every day helped me learn a lot about sneakers, clothing, releases, and the business behind it all.

One day, RIPNDIP announced a sample sale on Instagram. I begged my parents to take me because I told them I could buy some of the clothing and resell it to friends at school or online. I spent around $100, flipped everything I bought for a profit, and something immediately clicked for me. I remember realizing, “This is what I need to be doing.”

Sneaker resale culture was huge at the time, so I started learning everything I could about the business from friends and through experience. At first, I would buy sneakers from retail stores and resell them for a profit. It was exciting, but I quickly realized there was a problem with that business model: most of the time, I could only get one or two pairs of a release.

That pushed me toward pre-owned sneakers. I started buying shoes anywhere I could find an opportunity — Goodwill, thrift stores, people’s old collections, and other sources. I would clean the shoes up, list them online and resell them. I kept reinvesting the money back into inventory, and over the next several years, the business continued to grow.

Throughout all of this, my family has played a huge role in helping me get to where I am today. They’ve supported every version of the business, even when it was just me trying different hustles as a kid. As the sneaker business grew, it became a family effort. They would help me package hundreds of orders after sales, make trips to the post office, and take me to sneaker events like Sneaker Con and Got Sole so I could buy, sell, network and keep growing. They did this with me for years, and even today, my family is still heavily involved and helps me with the business. I genuinely couldn’t have built Fits LA to where it is now without their support.

In 2022, I was introduced to live selling through Whatnot. I tried it for a couple of months, but initially I didn’t see enough profit in it, so I stopped. A few months later, Whatnot reached back out and offered me a month with 0% commission. I figured I had nothing to lose, so I decided to give it another shot.

That decision completely changed the direction of my business.

Once I came back, things started clicking. I learned how to entertain an audience while selling, how to move inventory at scale, and most importantly, how to build a community of customers who kept coming back. Instead of just listing individual products and waiting for them to sell, live selling gave me the ability to connect directly with hundreds of people while doing what I already loved.

Whatnot also helped me expand Fits LA beyond primarily sneakers and much deeper into the clothing resale business. I started sourcing and selling more apparel, experimenting with different brands, styles and sizes, and eventually clothing became a major part of what we do. That expansion allowed me to reach a much bigger customer base and move significantly more inventory than I could when I was focused mainly on sneakers.

Fast-forward to 2026, and at 22 years old, I’m now running Fits LA Sneakers out of a 4,000-square-foot warehouse. Today, Fits LA regularly generates six figures in monthly sales, and we’ve surpassed $1.2 million in total sales on Whatnot alone.

Sometimes it’s crazy for me to think about the progression — from making Rainbow Loom bracelets, to selling fidget spinners and snacks at school, to spending my afternoons on Melrose learning the culture, to flipping my first streetwear pieces, to sneakers and clothing, and now running a full operation out of my own warehouse.

There was never really one moment where I suddenly became an entrepreneur. Looking back, I think I was always wired this way. Every little hustle, every relationship I built, and every lesson along the way eventually helped build Fits LA into what it is today. But none of it would have been possible without the people around me, especially my family, who believed in what I was building and were willing to put in the work alongside me.

And I still feel like we’re only getting started.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road. I think from the outside, especially through social media, entrepreneurship can look a lot easier than it actually is. People usually see the warehouse, the sales, the inventory and the success, but they don’t always see everything that happened behind the scenes to get there.

One of my biggest challenges early on was sourcing inventory and learning who I could trust. Over the years, I’ve been scammed multiple times. I’ve bought inventory that turned out to be fake, dealt with resellers who took my money and never shipped what I paid for, and made purchases that simply turned out to be bad investments. Sneakers can also be unpredictable — I’ve bought pairs expecting them to hold or increase in value, only to watch the market change and their value drop. Every one of those situations cost me money, but they also taught me lessons about authentication, relationships, managing risk and doing business with the right people.

Finding enough inventory to keep growing was another challenge. When I first started reselling sneakers, I might spend hours trying to get a release just to end up with one or two pairs. That pushed me toward pre-owned sneakers, thrift stores, buying collections and finding other creative ways to source. Eventually, the challenge completely changed. Instead of figuring out how to find a few pairs, I had to figure out how to consistently source hundreds or thousands of pieces of inventory.

Whatnot itself wasn’t an instant success either. When I first started live selling in 2022, I tried it for a couple of months and didn’t see enough profit to justify continuing, so I stopped. When Whatnot reached back out a few months later and gave me an incentive to try again, I decided to take another chance on it. That second chance ended up changing my life.

Around that same time, I was also facing one of the biggest decisions I’ve ever made. I attended CSUN for two years studying business, but as Fits LA and Whatnot started growing, I realized I couldn’t give 100% to both college and the business. I had to make a choice.

When I saw the momentum Whatnot was gaining, I begged my parents to let me take the risk and give the business my full attention. Dropping out of college wasn’t a decision I took lightly. There was no guarantee that the business was going to work, and I knew I was walking away from the traditional path. But I believed in what I was building and knew that if I was ever going to find out how far I could take it, I had to fully commit. Thankfully, that risk paid off.

Another struggle that people don’t always see is how much time building a business can consume. When it’s your business, there isn’t really a clock-out time. There have been nights where I started streaming around 9 PM and streamed for 10 hours straight. By the time I got home and went to sleep, it could be 8 in the morning — and then I still had to wake up and help package and ship 400 orders from the night before.

There have been countless late nights, early mornings and days where the business was basically my entire life. Finding a balance between building Fits LA and having personal time has probably been one of my biggest ongoing struggles. When something goes wrong, there’s no manager or owner above me to call. Ultimately, it comes back to me, and the business is on my mind pretty much 24/7.

As we’ve grown, I’ve also had to learn that being good at selling products and being good at running a company are two completely different skills. Now there are employees, warehouse expenses, shipping, customer service, sourcing, inventory management and hundreds of orders to keep organized. I’ve had to learn how to build systems, delegate and trust other people instead of trying to personally handle everything.

One thing that always makes me laugh is when someone tells me how “lucky” I am to have such an easy job, or assumes I don’t understand hard work because I’ve never had a traditional “real job.” I definitely consider myself fortunate to be in the position I’m in, but luck doesn’t show the full picture. It doesn’t show the years of work, the money I’ve lost, the scams, the mistakes, the 10-hour streams, the sleepless nights or waking up to hundreds of orders that still need to be packed and shipped.

None of this has ever been easy. I’ve put everything I have into this business, and I’ve sacrificed a lot of my time to build it. But I would never look back and regret the time I’ve spent on Fits LA because I genuinely love what I do.

There are hard days, but even on those days, I know this is what I want to be doing. Every struggle has taught me something, and every new level of the business has brought a new challenge to figure out. I’m still learning every day, and I think that’s part of what keeps me hungry.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
My business is Fits LA Sneakers LLC, better known simply as Fits LA.

Fits LA started primarily as a sneaker resale business, but today we’ve expanded heavily into clothing and live commerce as a whole. We specialize in authentic sneakers, streetwear and clothing at affordable prices, with the majority of our business happening through live selling.

If I had to describe what I want Fits LA to be known for, I would say professionalism, trust and fair pricing. The resale industry can sometimes have a negative reputation when it comes to authenticity, pricing or people simply not doing good business. Having experienced some of those things myself coming up in the industry, it has always been important to me that customers feel comfortable buying from us and know that we’re going to stand behind what we sell.

Affordability is also a huge part of the brand. I love being able to give people deals. A lot of the sneakers and clothing we sell can be expensive at traditional retail prices, so being able to offer those same types of products at prices that are accessible to more people is something I’m proud of.

One of the things our live streams have become known for is our $1 starting bids. We regularly start sneakers, clothing and other products at just $1 and let the customers determine where the auction ends. It makes every stream exciting and gives people the opportunity to get some really great deals. For me, that combination of entertainment, community and value is a big part of what makes live selling — and Fits LA — different from traditional shopping.

I also think one of the biggest things that sets Fits LA apart is that people aren’t only coming to our streams to buy something. Live selling is completely different from shopping on a traditional website because there’s a real person and community behind it. I’m naturally a very social person. I love talking to people, meeting new people and making everyone feel welcome. Over time, I’ve realized that a lot of our customers come back not only because they like the products and prices, but because they genuinely enjoy being part of the stream.

That means a lot to me. Someone might originally find Fits LA because they want a pair of shoes or a shirt, but my goal is for them to stay because they trust us, enjoy the experience and feel like they’re part of the community we’re building.

I think another thing that separates us is the combination of volume and personality. We can move hundreds of items during a stream while still trying to keep that personal connection with the people watching. Behind the scenes, we’re building the systems and team necessary to operate at a much larger scale, but I never want Fits LA to lose the personality and customer relationships that helped build it in the first place.

Brand-wise, I’m probably most proud that Fits LA has grown from something I started on my own in my bedroom into a real operation. We now operate out of a 4,000-square-foot warehouse, my family is still heavily involved, we have people working alongside us, and we’ve built a community of customers who continue to support us. Seeing something that started with me buying and cleaning individual pairs of shoes turn into all of this is still surreal sometimes.

And I definitely don’t think Fits LA is anywhere close to its final form.

My long-term vision is much bigger than sneakers and clothing. Eventually, I would love to expand Fits LA into all kinds of product categories and across multiple live-selling and e-commerce platforms. I want to build a brand where, no matter what someone is looking for, there’s a good chance they can find a great deal from Fits LA. I envision having different streams, hosts and categories operating simultaneously and building Fits LA into a true live-commerce destination.

Eventually, I would also love to create some type of program or resource to help other people learn how to start and grow their own live-selling businesses. I’ve learned so much through trial and error, and I know how confusing it can be when you’re first starting. I’m not at the point where I have everything figured out — I’m still learning new things every day myself — and right now my focus is on continuing to build Fits LA. But one day, I’d love to take everything I’ve learned and use it to help someone else create an opportunity for themselves.

At the end of the day, I want people to know that Fits LA is about more than just selling products. I want to build a brand people trust, a community people enjoy being part of, and eventually a business that can provide almost anything our customers are looking for — while still keeping the same personality and values that got us here.

Alright so before we go can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
There are a lot of ways people can work with or support Fits LA. The easiest way is simply to follow us, tune into one of our live streams, shop with us and become part of the community. Every purchase, follow, share and recommendation genuinely helps us continue to grow.

We’re also always open to building new relationships within the industry. I’d love to connect with brands, wholesalers, distributors, suppliers, other resellers, content creators and anyone who sees an opportunity where we could work together. Whether that’s sourcing inventory, brand partnerships, collaborations, content or something completely new, I’m always open to hearing ideas.

For brands specifically, as Fits LA continues expanding beyond sneakers and clothing, I’m very interested in developing direct relationships with companies that want to get their products in front of an engaged live-shopping audience.

More than anything, I love meeting people and building genuine relationships. A lot of the opportunities that have helped me grow Fits LA started with a simple conversation, so I’m always open to connecting.

You can follow and support Fits LA here:

Whatnot: @fitslasneakers
Instagram: @fits.la.sneakers
TikTok: @fits.la.sneakers
Business inquiries: fitslasneakersllc@gmail.com

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fits.la.sneakers?stkn=MW1wbGYzOW9xcXhkYQ%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
• Other: https://www.whatnot.com/s/TPQN3kqz