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Vicky Hoppe graduated from Yellowbrick’s Sneakers Essentials online course. Because of the knowledge she gained and its practical assignments, she applied her learnings to her passion and found her calling at Nike. Most recently, she started working as a full-time associate at Nike Miami, where she specializes in women’s running and training. She also has had the opportunity to logistically organize their sneaker launches. Recently, Vicky hosted a webinar that talks through her experience with the streetwear course, the impact Yellowbrick has made, woman empowerment in the sneaker space, and her journey to date. She also answered over 20+ questions from a hundred students who were curious about her streetwear journey thus far. Watch the video to listen to her as she answers questions like:
- How did the experience of taking the Sneaker Essentials course change you, especially as a woman in a male-dominated industry?
- What are the roadblocks or frustrations you’ve faced? How were you able to overcome them?
- As a woman in streetwear, have you seen a lot of growth with inclusivity? How about with the sneaker market for women?
- How would you advise somebody trying to make a career change from corporate sales to the fashion industry?
- What is your favorite part of the sneaker industry?
- How do you know that sneakers were what you wanted to do for a career?
- How do you combat feeling like needing to catch up on the knowledge of other sneakerheads?
- What aspects can sneaker culture be improved?
- What are your favorite woman-owned boutiques and brands?
- How can someone give back to the community using their status or platform?
About Vicky
My name is Vicky Hoppe. I am 25 years old, based here in beautiful Miami, Florida. I want to talk to you guys today about my journey with Yellowbrick, which led me to my journey with Nike. And I want to talk to you guys today about the things that I’ve found that have made me successful in this industry.
To start you guys off with my journey, I went to college in Mississippi at the University of Southern Mississippi. I graduated with a BS in Hospitality and Tourism Management. My career history goes from being a production assistant for tours and music festivals throughout college until 2020 when we didn’t have a lot of events going on. So I found myself in the media and marketing world right out of college.
My first job was working for a company that did social influencer marketing and brand marketing. Then, I worked for Miami’s Best Graffiti Guide as the Media Marketing Director. I was able to help them with all of their marketing regarding all of the tours, which is something I love doing. I’d say, in October of 2020, when I was working in a social media marketing job, I discovered Yellowbrick’s Sneaker Essentials. When I saw this course, they talked about how I’d be able to learn things such as the history, the manufacturing, the design of the retail, and the marketing of sneakers.
And so, you know, I thought to myself, well, is this something I want to do? I love sneakers so much I had been looking to pivot my career at the time to do something that I loved. And this felt like a starting point for me. So I took the dive, and it truly was the beginning step for me to understand sneaker culture and give myself that foundation. I needed to be confident to have the career I’m now on today.
You can start from anywhere and get to where you want to be.
I began the Sneaker Essentials online course in October 2020. And a couple of months in, I felt like I understood what was going on. I loved what I was learning, and I really took the time to learn it. So I started stalking Nike’s career website for like two months. I mean, every single week, I’d go on there. And I’d see if there are any local job openings. And it was pretty hard to get a job in Nike, Miami. They didn’t have a lot of positions open. But I kept looking. And then one day, I saw that there was a seasonal position available, and I was like, “Oh my gosh, this is it.”
I had an internal battle with myself; I asked myself, “Well, you know, I’m a college graduate, do I want to go work essentially, in retail?” But then, I thought to myself, “That’s a very limiting mentality to have, right? There’s no wrong place to start.” So I did research, and I found that with these large brands, they really love it when people start on the ground there within the retail store and work their way up. And there really are many opportunities to grow and be promoted to wherever it is that you want to be. So I really want to clarify that you can start from anywhere and get to where you want to be — with that passion you have.
On Nike Miami
And so, you know, they did hire me, and here I am two years later, I work as a full-time associate with Nike, Miami. I specialize in women’s running and training as well as footwear. And I also have the really wonderful opportunity to work with their sneaker launches. We are the only inline store, which means we have in-season products. We’re the only one besides Atlanta, Georgia, right now. We have some of the heaviest traffic in the country with the locals and tourists and that we have. It’s a big two stories store with a very large staff. That is the absolute core as to why is such a successful store staff is truly amazing.
Nike has recently started releasing shoes that you might find on the SNKRS app in the inline stores through sneaker passes. So it’s similar to SNKRS, except it’s a reservation system. That reservation system allows our local customers to get their hands on sneakers that they may be taking an “L” on. And so, I have had the great opportunity to work on the rollout over the past year.
When you’re pursuing your career, it’s important for you to take that step and show that you want that opportunity. People aren’t going to approach you and go, “Hey, Vicky, do you want to do this?” You have to say, “This is something I care about.” So I approached our store about creating specialized training for launches. They gave me that opportunity to do that. I produced the training for all of our stuff that comes through this store regarding our sneaker launches. We’re fortunate enough to have been given by the brand.
Watch the full video to hear about Vicky Hoppe’s full journey and answers to questions. If you’re interested in learning more about how you can create a career from sneakers, download The Ultimate Sneaker Career Guide. And if you’re ready to take your career to the next level, check out the Sneaker Essentials course.
