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SALT LAKE CITY — Chase Stoner never had time for a regular 9-to-5 job.
Growing up as an avid tennis player, Stoner spent a good chunk of his time traveling around to play tennis, devoting time to honing his craft.
"I knew I could never really have a proper job just because I was on the go so much being a student-athlete," Stoner said. "I kind of needed a unique job to make some money on the side."
Similar to his tennis pursuits, Stoner had a passion for shoes since he was 16 years old. But not just any style of shoes. The Utah native was — and still is — enamored with unique, vintage shoes that can't be found at your average sneaker or sporting goods store. The type of shoes that take work to track down and acquire.
"Vintage sneakers are special because of unique colorways and collaborations that will never be done again. I love that each pair has a history and story behind them," Stoner said. "Nowadays, sneakers are mass-produced with multiple drops a month with 10,000 to 100,000-plus pairs per release."
Eventually, Stoner realized that his passion for collecting vintage sneakers could also function as a side hustle.
"I was just collecting and slowly but surely I started selling some things and then I started selling more and more," he said.
This venture into the world of reselling soon grew and Stoner realized that he wanted to move his business model beyond selling sneakers via his personal social media pages and eBay. He needed a brand.
"That's when I came up with the idea for Outkits," he said.
Born in 2020, Outkits is a popular online platform — its Instagram page has garnered over 24,000 followers — selling vintage sneakers and clothing.
Since finishing school — Stoner attended the University of Utah and Montana State University for his undergraduate degree and was also a Division I athlete on both schools' tennis teams before returning to the U. to get his master's degree in business creation — he's been able to devote himself to Outkits in a full-time capacity.
In the last couple of years, Outkits has taken off. And with nine years of experience in the vintage reselling market, he considers himself an "expert in the market."
"I'm really searching everywhere looking for specific pairs because we try to focus on, you know, rare ones (and) not ones that are mass-produced or anything like that, so I'm really looking everywhere," Stoner said, adding that he gets a lot of his sneakers from online and in-person sources.
He credited the U.'s Master of Business Creation program and the Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute with providing him with mentors that helped him "professionalize" his business through the creation of a financial model, marketing plan and structuring his business to take it to the next level.
As a sneakerhead, Stoner said sometimes it's a struggle to let rare shoes go, especially if they're in his size. That's not to say that all of the shoes he comes across make it to the Outkit website, though.
"There's definitely some pairs, if they're in my size, I'll keep them for sure for my personal," Stoner said. "But honestly, so many shoes come through now that I'm able to pick and choose."
Contrary to what one might expect from a vintage sneaker website, Outkits has a wide range of shoes and price points available to satisfy every palate, from someone who's just looking to get into the sneaker game to the most extreme aficionado — anyone can find something they like on Outkits.
Some shoes on the website go for as low as $99 while others, like the pair of 2008 Nike Dunk Teen Wolfs (there are only 72 in existence) are listed at $5,000.
"I do have a large price range. ... Kind of a range for everyone," he said.
Still, even a pair bought at a lower price point, Stoner said, is a "pair that not everyone has." Building his brand to the point where it is now took a lot of time and a lot of hard work and consistency.
"One of the big challenges that I have is my inventory is so limited, which is kind of a blessing and a curse. I'm constantly looking for ways that I can offset that," he said, adding that he is now branching out and getting into selling vintage clothing and accessories to optimize his inventory.
Compounding his limited inventory, Stoner is running Outkits as a one-man band — something he hopes to change as he devotes more and more time to his business.
"It's still just me doing everything, (so) I'm looking to expand to a team in the near future," he said. "With a team, I can do so much more."
Despite his success, Stoner isn't satisfied with where Outkits is at. He wants to continue expanding into vintage clothing and accessories and also work on building Outkits' other social media channels.
"Those things will help Outkits reach the next step," Stoner said. "People come to Outkits to find shoes they've never seen before. Outkits is trusted for unique high-quality selection, service and authenticity."
As far as the end goal for Outkits, Stoner said it's "to become the go-to platform for vintage sneakers, clothing and accessories."
And if prior success and trajectory are any indication, Stoner appears to be well on his way to realizing that end goal.
