At CoolKicks, the shop also became a setting. Visits, conversations about pairs and customers’ choices circulated in videos, allowing people far from Los Angeles to encounter the environment before ever walking through its door.
That audiovisual dimension is part of the story, but not the whole of it. Before Melrose and the cameras came a personal collection and a retail experiment near a university campus.
Richmond before Los Angeles
A 2023 Virginia Commonwealth University profile records how Adeel Shams and friends turned their collections into a buy-sell-trade shop called Wavy Kickz. It opened in Richmond as Shams began studying at Brandcenter after completing his undergraduate degree in 2014.
The university connection is more than a biographical footnote. It places the business among students interested in fashion and streetwear before the move into a larger market.
Shams completed Brandcenter in 2016 and moved to Los Angeles soon afterward. VCU also identifies Davon Artis and Bereket Abraham as his CoolKicks partners. The trajectory developed in stages, rather than appearing fully formed and already surrounded by celebrity visitors.
A collection becomes inventory
In his 2024 Maxim interview, Shams recalled buying used Jordans, cleaning them and reselling them. CoolKicks’ own presentation preserves that origin in caring for and recirculating previously worn pairs.
This matters when understanding physical resale. Inventory need not follow the same logic as an official store supplied only according to a manufacturer’s current calendar. A shoe from another season can return to circulation beside a recent release.
For enthusiasts, that creates opportunities to compare different periods. For buyers, it also makes each item’s condition, provenance and transaction terms important. Knowing a retailer’s history does not replace those individual checks.
The shop travels through video
VCU described athletes and artists visiting the store and those visits appearing on its YouTube channel. Speaking to Maxim, Shams connected a stronger focus on media with the pandemic period.
Retail space and content production consequently overlapped. A conversation in front of a sneaker wall could interest both the people in the room and those watching remotely.
The distinction remains useful: a video is an edited selection of moments, not a complete account of every customer experience. Its cultural role is in making certain collecting habits visible, from comparing versions to sharing memories and deciding what still deserves a place in a rotation.
Melrose as a physical reference
The official page checked in October 2026 continues to list 7565 Melrose Avenue and a Farmers Market location. These addresses anchor the physical presence behind the content brand.
CoolKicks occupies a particular position in this conversation by bringing in-person resale together with an audiovisual format. Its history helps explain how a shop can be both a place where pairs change hands and a setting where stories about footwear find an audience.
Sources and further reading
Virginia Commonwealth University: Adeel Shams, 2023
Maxim: Adeel Shams interview, 2024
CoolKicks: About Us and stores
Related store histories
RIF LA
YankeeKicks
