Allen Gabriel was in first grade when he started drawing sneaker designs that would pop into his head. Around that time, his father walked out, leaving his mother to raise three kids in Asbury Park.
Those experiences — one enlightening, the other jarring — planted seeds for a dream that is on the verge of coming true.
Gabriel, now 32 and living in Neptune City, has started his own brand of luxury sneakers. He has samples, the interest of at least one high-end boutique and plans to start taking orders online in the coming weeks.
And there is a twist: His new company’s long-term goal is to employ local teenagers, especially the ones he encounters at his day job as a drug-addiction counselor, through internships and other resume-building positions.
“I want to be able to go into rehabs and get kids — kids who I know are going back into negative environments, and let them be a part of something like this,” said Gabriel, a Rutgers University alum. “I want to give them an opportunity that wakes them up and helps them say, ‘I don’t have to do drugs. I don’t have to be in a gang. You know what, there are opportunities for me out there.’ ”
He also wants to donate 10 percent of profits to three teenage drug recovery units in New Jersey. As a result, Gabriel said, he has rebuffed potential investors who didn’t see eye-to-eye with his vision.
A vision comes alive
To do that, though, Mascavii shoes have to take off. It’s not an easy market to break into. Gabriel spent four years researching and making the right connections.
He found a designer, Mario Sagastume, to bring his vision to life. Then he lined up a manufacturer, which produced eight samples.
“I bootstrapped it,” Gabriel said. “I was working as a counselor, making $30,000. So I would pay whatever bills I had and the rest went toward this project.”
The first sneaker, the Mascavii Prospect, is on the way. It’s a high top that will retail for $450 in luxury boutiques like New York-based Kix and Stylz. Gabriel said a forthcoming Kickstarter campaign will offer them for $105 to those who donate.
‘Possibilities are endless’
When asked how he reconciles pricing a pair of shoes at $450 with his mission to help kids in need, Gabriel stressed that “our target consumer is 21-35 years old, not the teenagers we’re helping.”
He added, “I’m more focused on kids learning to create products, so they can gain the tools to create financial freedom for themselves.”
Otherwise, Gabriel said, poverty’s vicious cycle will keep chewing up young lives.
“The only people they see with money are people on the street, and they gravitate toward that,” he said. “I want to show them there’s another way to be successful and it doesn’t involve hurting anybody.”
It took Allen Gabriel 25 years to bring his daydreaming doodles to life. He doesn’t want others to wait that long.
“If there were more people like Allen, Asbury would be a very different place,” Clancy said. “If everyone tells you that you can do something and they believe in you, the possibilities are endless.”
For more information on Mascavii shoes, visit www.mascavii.com or the Facebook page www.facebook.com/mascaviishoes/.
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