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Ever since the 2010s boom of the secondary sneaker and streetwear markets, the word “reseller” has had negative connotations. People picture greedy, dollar sign-eyed hawkers with stacks upon stacks of limited-edition shoeboxes. They might recall stories about children of Nike executives running up tabs on their parent’s accounts. Others may have more personal experiences with the aftermarket, remembering instances when they tried to track down hard-to-find footwear, only to find out that the only way to get the shoes would be to plunk down ten-times their retail cost.
But there are some resale stores that are breaking the stereotype and reaching beyond transactional relationships to create genuine communities. One such business is Syndicate, located in the Chinatown district of Downtown Los Angeles.
Founded in 2021, even Syndicate’s location was carefully considered by co-owner Cristian Rodriguez, who told Footwear News it was important for the store to have its own identity compared to the cluster of sneaker store doors that populate Melrose Avenue.
Rodriguez, along with partners Daniel Castaneda and Matthew Lopez, had been working in the industry for nearly a decade. The trio cut their teeth early on at pioneering resale enterprises such as Rif and Round Two, with Rodriguez deciding to leave the latter business and venture out on his own shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic.
From left: Rodriguez, Castaneda and Lopez.
“One of my good friends told me, she’s like, ‘You’re always going to have that itch. You’re always going to be like, what if I opened my own store? It’s always going to be in the back of your mind, no matter what you do.’ So I listened to her,” Rodriguez tells FN.
Within months of that conversation, Syndicate debuted in October 2021. Rodriguez says there were slow days early on, but staying consistent, keeping a positive mindset and finding new ways to separate themselves from the competition has helped the young shop thrive.
“It was post-COVID, everybody had a store,” Rodriguez says. “There were so many stores in LA., an insane amount, like every mall had a store, every block had a store. Everybody coming from Southeast LA is going to pass five stores that are just like us. What’s going to separate us from the other stores they are driving by, and why are they going to bring their product to us instead of this store or that store?”
For starters, the team focused on the customer experience, seeking to break the stigma of snooty streetwear stores that can make shoppers feel unwelcome. “Let’s treat every customer like we want to be treated,” Rodriguez says, likening it to a giant clubhouse where everyone is welcome.
Longtime customer Edwin Belen credits Syndicate with rekindling his interest in sneakers, giving him a new perspective on the resale business. “What I really appreciate about them was they never pushed anything and would even sometimes [take positions] at their cost. Meaning like, ‘Hey, I don’t think you should get that, here’s why,’ or, ‘I think this is actually [priced] too high.’”
In a space where it can often feel like everyone is out for themselves and their bottom line, Belen found Syndicate’s approach to be refreshing. Friendly, even. One day while visiting the store, he spotted a pair of shoes he had been coveting for years: 2011’s Air Jordan 4 Retro Doernbecher. They were in brand new condition and priced around $2,000.
“Chris goes, ‘Don’t buy this.’ I would have bought it, but he goes, ‘Don’t buy it, because it will crumble,’” warning Belen that due to the shoe’s age and the fact that it had never been worn, its fragile foams would quickly break down once someone did decide to wear it. “He goes, ‘You can’t wear these. Or if you do, you’re going to be very, very upset in a day.’”
Belen says it’s this personable approach combined with Syndicate’s LA representation that won him over. He cites the store’s merch, inspired by Rodriguez’s varied interests growing up and produced by Syndicate graphic designer Jose Santana, as another factor that made him a regular.
“I’d ask Chris, ‘Hey, why did you make this shirt? Why was that important to you?,’” Belen says. “And he would always answer the questions. I started realizing, I go, ‘Man, all your merch is kind of your life living in LA.’ And he’s like, ‘Yeah,’ Whether it’s a movie he liked, whether it’s a building that he remembered. That’s just dope to me because I’m an LA native, and you don’t get a lot of that.”
A scroll through Syndicate’s Instagram account reveals the usual resale shop staples: hyped-up Nike collaborations, the latest Air Jordan Retros, on-trend streetwear and vintage T-shirts. But poke around a bit more and you’ll soon find there’s much more to the shop than just product.
On a daily basis, short video clips offer a behind-the-scenes glimpse of staff hanging out and prepping the next day’s selections. You’ll find updates on store events, like a recent live screen printing session where customers were invited to customize clothing on the spot. Explore some more and you may come across Syndicate’s tell-all podcast, Store Credit, where no trade secrets are spared — or its burgeoning fitness and run club, Syndi Fit.
What started as a way for Rodriguez to tap into his own physical fitness quickly became a community of its own. In 2023, the Syndicate co-founder headed to a local high school to train with a friend. He posted the location on social media and to his surprise, people asked to come join the workout.
“The next week, five or six people showed up,” Rodriguez says. “Then the next week, 10, and it slowly started building up to where, in peak summer, we get up to 80 people…On Instagram, I think we’re a little over 1,500 [followers].”
The very location that has made Syndicate such a destination for locals and tourists alike has also put it directly in the heart of Downtown LA’s anti-ICE demonstrations.
On Friday, June 13, Syndicate announced it would close the next day during the nationwide “No Kings” protests. “As a Latino owned space, everything we do is rooted in culture, people, and purpose. We’re stepping away from business for the day not to sit still, but to stand up,” read the caption.
“My goal with Syndicate was just to show a kid from Southeast LA that they can make it, too,” Rodriguez says when asked about the significance of being one of the most visible Latin-owned sneaker stores in the area. “Like, hey, it’s not easy, but if you put your mind to something, you’re gonna end up getting somewhere, you know? Shoot for the stars and you’ll get somewhere close is what I always say. [Representing our community] is very important, the immigrants here are very important. It’s not even just being Mexican, I feel like it’s the wrong thing going on. People’s families are getting separated. It’s just an inhumane thing.”
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