Life and career
Kapelushnik was born in Brooklyn, New York [9] and grew up in Miami, Florida. He is the son of Russian immigrants. [10] His father is a real-estate broker and his mother is a stay-at-home parent. [10] Kapelushnik has a younger brother who he features on his social media. He keeps kosher [10] . Kapelushnik attended Fort Lauderdale High School but was later homeschooled.
Kapelushnik first gained an interest in sneakers after his mother purchased him a pair of Nikes in middle school. Shortly after, Kapelushnik used some of his bar-mitzvah money to purchase additional sneakers and began consulting sneaker magazines and the sneaker resale market. [10] Using the profit from some of his initial sales and from his parents, Kapelushnik began to buy shoes in bulk, including 85 pairs of Air Jordan 1s. [11] [12] According to Kapelushnik, he managed to find friends with contacts to Nike and Adidas, often referred to as "plugs," and formed a partnership with an out-of-state sneaker store in order to acquire sneakers before their release date. [13]
In 2014, Kapelushnik's reselling business gained momentum when a customer introduced him to record producer DJ Khaled. [11] Kapelushnik began a close relationship with Khaled and is frequently featured on Khaled's Snapchat. [10] [11] After meeting Khaled, Kapelushnik's clientele went on to include a number of prominent rappers, athletes, and celebrities, including Drake, Travis Scott, Floyd Mayweather, Kevin Hart and others. [11] [14] Kapelushnik acknowledged that P. Diddy is his biggest customer. [15] In an interview with New York magazine, Kapelushnik noted that he planned on signing up for a reality TV show and that he desired to open his own brick and mortar stores. [2] [10]
Kapelushnik has been featured on Complex, [13] Great Big Story, [16] Closing Bell, [17] Business Insider, [15] [18] The Daily Show, [19] [20] and CNN. [21] In 2018, Kapelushnik appeared on an episode of Most Expensivest, hosted by rapper 2 Chainz. [22] [23]
Kapelushnik was a finalist for the 10th annual Shorty Awards for the Best in Fashion category. [24] [25]
Kapelushnik is signed with Brillstein Entertainment Partners. [26] In 2020, Kapelushnik released a single titled "Let You Go," featuring Gunna. [27] [28]
On January 7, 2021, Kapelushnik was arrested for strongarm robbery, a second-degree felony, according to the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office. [29] [30] Prosecutors alleged that on New Year's Eve in the lobby of the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach, Kapelushnik and his entourage attacked a 19-year-old male for taking of a picture of him, an act which the attacked man denied, without his consent. [31] [30] [29] Prosecutors said that the victim subsequently required hospitalization and surgery. [32] Following the incident, Kapelushnik entered a diversion program for first-time offenders. [33]
A year after the altercation, a member of Kapelushnik's entourage was arrested in connection to the incident in Indianapolis on a fugitive warrant. The man is charged with aggravated battery and strong-arm robbery and is awaiting extradition to Miami-Dade. [33]
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