Jayden Permaul

November 22, 2024

Building Heatcheck:
The Journey of Trust, Dedication, and a Team That Has Your Back

The moment my life changed was when I learned that having a strong team around you—people you can treat like family—will take you further than you could ever go alone.

I started selling shoes online in 2020, primarily over Instagram during COVID, and met a lot of people, both customers and fellow sneaker resellers, who were in the same business as me.

One of these people, Jacob, who I’m now happy to call my business partner, approached me about forming a team to take sneaker reselling to a new level. We spoke for hours, and after that conversation, we knew we had something big on our hands. Not long after that late-night conversation in my driveway, we started putting our plan into action.

We pooled our resources and reinvested every dollar we made. We were selling shoes out of Jacob’s basement, and that summer, we hosted our first pop-up event, which was a huge success. Over 200 people showed up, with a lineup around the block—all thanks to our social media presence.

At that moment, I realized that this was 100%
something I wanted to pursue as my career.

Combining my love for sneakers and fashion with my passion for connecting with people was the perfect mix, and doing it alongside friends made it even more enjoyable.

In 2021, we added a new member to our team, Mathus, who we felt was the final missing piece to take Heatcheck Toronto from a basement operation to a physical store location. Shortly after Mathus joined us, we acquired our first “warehouse,” which was actually an apartment in Scarborough. At that point, we knew that our goal of opening our own store was more than possible. After months of hard work and dedication, we finally saved enough to afford our first official location.

Heatcheck Toronto opened its doors for the first time on August 13, 2022.

That day felt magical;

everything our team had worked so hard for had finally paid off. The support we received from friends, family, and the community was incredibly motivating and showed us that we could take this much further. We went through a lot as a team but always stuck by each other.

Now, we have one of the largest followings in Toronto and are well-known across Canada—
not just as a sneaker shop, but also for our contributions to the community.

Our team strongly believes in giving back, which is why we offer free items in our store weekly, like shoes, clothes, bags, and more! We also host events for youth, such as ping pong and video game tournaments and mini basketball games, to help keep them engaged and out of trouble.

None of this would have been possible if we hadn’t fully trusted each other. Our whole team treats each other like family. I strongly believe that with the right mindset, determination, and a supportive team, you can achieve anything. We hope to inspire others to pursue their own business ventures, no matter how intimidating it might seem.