A sneaker cleaning service that restored football stars’ trainers is launching its own NFTs for customers to purchase a service - and get a chance to make money.
Box Fresh Glasgow, based in Rutherglen, claims to be the UK’s “original” and “biggest” sneaker cleaning service.
With a huge Instagram following of over 20,000, the business has become popular among Rangers and Celtic players, like James Tavernier and Greg Taylor.
Now, the company has created its own NFTs, offering sneaker enthusiasts free top cleaning service through the purchase of a unique digital artwork.
Buying the NFT for a cryptocurrency value of approximately £48 will secure customers a free Box Fresh cleaning worth £55.
If the digital artwork then increases in value, they might be able to make the money back and more.
Box Fresh owner Chris Ward first announced the launch on social media last week, saying the company “made history” as the first UK business to implement the model.
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He said: “NFTs is kind of a buzzword at the moment and it is something that we want to be at the forefront of.
“I'm not aware of any other businesses in the UK doing what we are doing, so hopefully this will get more people in the industry involved.”
NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, are a way of owning an original digital image, one-of-a-kind assets that can be bought or sold online but have no tangible form and cannot be interchanged with something else.
The company’s model is based on a utility NFT, meaning the customer purchases the artwork - in this case the iconic Box Fresh logo - for less than the cost of a top shoe cleaning service.
Chris added: “It’s an incentive for the customer to buy the NFT, or if they're interested in crypto and they want their shoes cleaned, they basically get one with the other.
“If the customer then wants to sell that NFT, they can make a profit from that, hopefully covering the cost of shoe cleaning or even more.”
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Despite widespread confusion on the topic, NFTs became extremely popular in 2021, with some of them selling for millions and celebrities buying into the craze.
One of the latest making headlines was Eminem’s $460,000 purchase of a BoredApe artwork bearing the rapper’s resemblance.
Chris and his team got the idea after hearing about the trend online and from a similar initiative by Adidas, who allowed its customers to purchase its NFTs to access exclusive products.
They are initially releasing a 10-piece collection of NFTs to test the market, but they are hoping to issue more in the future as a form of currency for customers to buy services.
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“Seeing the calibre of people who are getting involved with NFTs and how much they are selling for, I thought we should get in quickly and just see where it takes us,” said Chris.
“I appreciate that a lot of people don't really understand the ins and outs of it, but I don't think anybody does at this stage.
“I think it's going to be the future, it'll become easier to use, allowing more and more people to become involved, and eventually it could be how people will buy some things in the future.
“The model that we're using to start off, we've made it as simple as possible: you buy the NFT, you get your shoes cleaned.”
Chris started Box Fresh in 2018 as a mobile service, repairing and cleaning any shoe from sneakers and football boots, to high heels and formal footwear.
It works with a system of couriers collecting and delivering the shoes in and around Glasgow.
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The business has since expanded and has recently opened a store at its location in Rutherglen.
Over the years, it has repaired the shoes of footballers and celebrities, like Rangers’ James Tavernier, Calvin Bassey, and Ryan Jack, and Celtic’s Greg Taylor.
Other high-profile customers include Scotland players Che Adams, Billy Gilmour and Nathan Patterson, as well as Airdrie singer Nathan Evans.
The Box Fresh NFTs are available to purchase on the OpenSea marketplace.
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