Meet Brandon Benzel | All Access Kickss Co-founder

We had the good fortune of connecting with Brandon Benzel and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Brandon, how do you think about risk?
I think there’s a couple ways one can view risk. Running across the street when there’s cars coming is risky. Eating food a day after it’s expiration date is risky. Most of the “risks” we take in life are really just easy decisions tainted by a speck of doubt from “what if?” scenarios we make up in our minds. True risk is different. True risk is a decision to make that has no easy answer or outcome. A decision that, given 100 lives, you’d only make in 30 of them. Its something most will only experience a handful of times in their lifetime. My view is that true risk is nothing to shy away from. That’s not me saying to take your life savings and bet it on red either, just that in my personal experience the most fruitful outcomes have come from my highest risk decisions. Next time you’re faced with true risk, welcome it. It could be the last time you’re ever faced with a life changing experience.

What should our readers know about your business?
It’s all in the name. The “All Access” part of our brand name comes from our goal to make the hobby of sneaker collecting/trading available for everyone. In the day and age where sneakers have become nearly impossible to get for retail price due to absurd sellout times, and then get marked up double or triple the original cost, it becomes very difficult to get a sneaker you’ve had on your eye on. Because of this we like to make sure we have a selection of shoes for everyone, regardless of size, condition, and price. We’ve got shoes that would fit a newborn, shoes for women and youth sizes, all the way up to a size 18 (the largest shoe we’ve ever had in stock). If people want to come in and spend thousands on the latest and rarest releases, that’s fine with us- but It’s very important for us to let people know we also carry a large pre-owned inventory that will save them a lot of money as well. These pre-owned sneakers range in condition from “tried on and worn once” to very gently used. We aren’t selling shoes with half the sole falling off or anything of that nature, so not to worry.

Other goals include keeping a revolving inventory. We don’t want people coming in multiple times and seeing the same inventory they did previously. To do this we rely on our buying and trading program. Everyday we have people bringing us shoes to sell on the spot, or get a trade-in credit to put towards other shoes they want to own. People sell inventory to us for their own side hustles, to help make payments towards cars or rent, because they’ve outgrown their shoes, you name it. It’s a symbiotic relationship that benefits everyone because we’re helping people make or save money, and in turn they are helping us keep our inventory new and refreshing.

Above all we just want to let people know we’re here for the community. You can’t please everyone. Sometimes you have to let people know their shoes aren’t authentic, sometimes we can’t agree with someone on a price to buy or sell a pair of shoes at. It happens- just know we are always actively trying our best to stick to our values and make this something everyone can enjoy.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Our shop’s location in downtown Denver has provided a great opportunity to get to know the area better. There’s tons of fun places to go and plenty of hidden gem restaurants scattered around nearby. Personally, I don’t think you can go wrong catching a sports game to kick off an evening. We’re about a 5 minute walk from Ball Arena, home to the Denver Nuggets, Colorado Avalanche, Colorado Mammoths and more! We’re also just a short distance from Coors Field as well if you want to watch a Colorado Rockies baseball game. Just down the street a block from us is the 16th Street Mall which has tons of shops, restaurants, and bars. It’s always a good time walking around there and listening to street performers sing or play music.

Denver has a ton of electric scooters laying around that you can rent to get from point A to point B faster. Even if you don’t know exactly where you’re headed next the scooters are still a fun experience and are often times the fastest way to maneuver the streets of Denver.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
None of this would be possible without the support and efforts of the other co-founders and owners Daniel and Aron, our employees (past and present) and all of our family and friends.

I’d also like to give Nick, the owner of the SLCT Stock vintage store on the Hill in Boulder a huge shoutout for helping us find our footing. A little known fact about us is we got our start as a two-weekend pop up shop at the SLCT store on the Hill back in December of 2020. We were looking for a spot to test the waters and Nick welcomed us with open arms and let us split his shop space down the middle to put our name out there and make some sales around Christmas time. The funds and confidence gained through the pop-up helped lead us to our first permanent location in Denver.

Website: allaccess.shop

Instagram: @AllAccessKickss