Here's What Went Down With 1587 Sneakers After Shark Tank

When Adam King and Sam Hyun joined forces, something amazing happened in the footwear world. After quitting his job at a New York City law firm, King founded 1587 Sneakers in 2023 as a celebration of Asian-American culture. (The name is a nod to the year Asian people are first thought to have arrived in the States.) He'd previously worked for big names like Adidas and Reebok but felt his community had been largely ignored by major brands in the market. "Asian Americans are 8% of the population, yet we represent 14% of sneaker sales. They love sneakers and apparel, so the fact that people are not marketing to them was really weird," he told Sampan in 2024.

So, to fix that, he teamed up with Hyun to create a sneaker and apparel brand that properly represented Asian-American people and their experiences. The duo were determined to create pieces that went beyond stereotypical branding, with King sharing, "We want our voices heard in this space. Because if we don't tell our stories and you let other people do it, [it's] not good." Things moved quickly too, as they'd sold 1,000 pairs of shoes by April 2024.

Jose Vargas joined the team that same month, and, after counting the likes of Daniel Dae Kim and Daniel Wu amongst its clients, the trio decided "Shark Tank" was the next natural move to put it in front of the masses. "When we submitted, we were like, 'You know, they're crazy if they don't take us.' We have to have that kind of mindset, that delusion obviously," Hyun joked in 2024 to Everything International Property. "We just said, Let's give it everything we got and the chips will fall where the chips fall.'" But, unfortunately, they didn't fall in 1587 Sneakers' favor.

On "Shark Tank," Adam King and Sam Hyun wanted an investment of $100,000 for a specific 15.87% stake in 1587 Sneakers. They explained their focus on creating products for the Asian-American consumer, showing their products and the link to their history. They promised any Shark who got involved "would change the sneaker game forever" — but the bold statement didn't convince Kevin O'Leary, Mark Cuban, Daymond John, Lori Greiner, or guest Shark Rashaun L. Williams to part with their cash.

Things took a turn after King admitted he'd been part of two other sneaker start-ups, with one making millions and the other fizzling out. Though he was determined 1587 Sneakers would survive due to niche marketing, O'Leary let out an "Ugh!" after Hyuan admitted he had 250,000 social media followers compared to the brand's lacklustre 7,000 Instagram followers (which has since risen to more than 10,000). After talking profits and sharing plans to scale the brand, Greiner dropped out, rapidly followed by O'Leary, who thought the market was too competitive. Williams was also unwilling to invest due to the brand's lack of social media traction.

John shared he'd previously been involved in the industry (he invested in "Shark Tank" footwear brand Muvez) so knew the pitfalls. He was concerned 1587 Sneakers would sell out of popular sizes quickly and have too much leftover stock. "Good luck. Powerful idea and I love the sneakers," he told them, but wouldn't invest. Cuban was the last Shark to drop out, but not before steering them away from retail. "Control your own destiny. You need to just reel it in and follow the course that is organic for you," he said. The advice may have been invaluable, but King and Hyun didn't land $100,000.

The 1587 Sneakers team weren't too down about not landing an investment. In an Instagram post uploaded to Sam Hyuan and the company's accounts shortly after their "Shark Tank" episode aired in October 2024, Hyuan shared, "When we launched our brand, our goal was to inspire our community to be unapologetic and proud of who we are. We wanted to prove ourselves right that our stories, our culture, our community matters. That we don't need anyone's validation." He made it clear there was no animosity toward the show or Sharks, but noted, "Being on 'Shark Tank' is a massive honor, but it doesn't prove our worth or serve as validation. We already knew before we even applied."

The business continued to grow post-show, as the trio worked hard to make their sneakers a hot new trend. Within the business' first year, the entrepreneurs went from packing and sending out 1587 Sneakers from a small office to upgrading to a warehouse. The company increased its dedication to giving back, too. It launched a new T-shirt in collaboration with Welcome to Chinatown with 20% of proceeds being donated to the non-profit, which aids Asian communities in Manhattan.

Proving not every business that misses out on "Shark Tank" is destined to fail, things not going 1587 Sneakers' way certainly didn't mean the business folded. A lack of investment or Shark on-board didn't hinder profits, as Sam Hyun told Everything International Property in 2024 they'd amassed $500,000 in sales that year and planned to hit $1 million in 2025.

Not only is the company still in business, it's launched several other new products and collaborations in the wake of its appearance on ABC. In October 2024, 1587 Sneakers joined the ranks of companies supporting the LGBTQI+ community in a meaningful way during Pride month by launching a Pride t-shirt. That same month, it collaborated with the Fung Brothers and SMÁLÀ Sauce on a shirt, before launching a collection with Leo Chan the following month. But that wasn't all. In February, the company teased an upcoming team-up with Phở Da Culture, creating a Vietnamese coffee-inspired range. On Instagram, the companies asked customers to recommend Vietnamese charities that would benefit from a portion of the proceeds.

Adam King's sole focus is on 1587 Sneakers as founder and CEO – but his co-workers have a fingers in a few different business pies. As well as being the co-founder of the sneaker brand, Adam King is also a professional speaker, a member of the board of directors at National Association of Asian American Professionals, the minority owner of the Matsunori Handroll Bar, and director of government relations at The Asian American Foundation. Jose Vargas is also busy in addition to his role as co-founder. He serves as a member on the Board of Trustees at The California State University and as a founder and president at Define American.

King has shared some major plans for where his company will go next, too. "I would love to have my brand logo on water bottles, computers on every school and college campus. And then people don't even know exactly what it means, but just be like, 'Oh, it has something to do with Asian culture that makes it cool,'" he told Sampan in 2024. But the heart of the business will always be its important message and positive impact on the Asian-American community. "We want people to feel valuable. We want people to feel loved and accepted and be able to be their full self, unapologetically. So that's really what we're trying to build here," Hyun told WCVB Channel 5 Boston that same year.