Brad Vernon, a 35-year-old from New Brighton now living in Egremont, has turned his lifelong passion for trainers into a full-time business, cleaning and restoring up to 70 pairs a week. The Trab Lab has grown from a small side hustle into a thriving operation with thousands of followers.
From family hobby to full-time business
Brad’s passion for looking after trainers began when he was growing up in a family where money was tight. He learned from an early age to take care of the things he owned, particularly his trainers, which quickly became one of his biggest passions.
His ability to bring dirty and worn trainers back to life soon caught the attention of family and friends, who began asking him to clean their footwear. Brad’s results regularly left people amazed at how he could make heavily worn trainers look almost brand new.
Launching The Trab Lab
In 2022, Brad decided to turn his skills into a way of making extra money and launched The Trab Lab as a side hustle. After setting up an Instagram page to showcase his work, demand grew rapidly and eventually gave him the confidence to leave his job as a postman and concentrate on the business full time.
Brad has since invested in specialist cleaning equipment and now cleans and restores between 50 and 70 pairs every week. The Trab Lab works on a range of footwear and accessories, including trainers, Ugg boots, shoes and hats, with the service sometimes saving customers hundreds or even thousands of pounds on replacement footwear.
High-profile customers and community support
Some of the most popular trainers Brad works on include 110s and designer Diors, with customers often looking to rescue expensive footwear damaged by bad weather, accidents or everyday wear. Brad says his specialist equipment allows him to take the cleaning process further, while his full restoration service can bring footwear back to life.
The business has also attracted a growing list of high-profile customers, including Liverpool FC player Lewis Koumas and MMA fighter Joe Ryan. Brad says festival season recently saw him clean more than 70 pairs in a single week, with customers appreciating being able to wear their favourite footwear to events knowing he can restore it afterwards.
Brad has also used The Trab Lab to support his local community, working with customers last Christmas to raise more than £700 for Charlotte’s Brightside Christmas gift appeal. He plans to support the initiative again this year, with the success of his business bringing his childhood passion for caring for his trainers full circle.
