Adikoggz: Yorkshire entrepreneur goes viral after trainer customisation company used as GCSE business exam case study

Keilan Kogut, 26, has sold thousands of pairs of customised trainers to almost every country in the world since starting his business in 2019 when he was just 21.

Keilan struggled in school and at University and decided to drop out without a degree, with his career plans at a halt.

Keilan, from Pudsey, Leeds, has always had a huge passion for trainers and had many pairs which were starting to look tattered and ruined.

During his time at University, he decided to start cleaning and dyeing the shoes to be able to continue wearing them.

When he realised how much he loved the end result, he decided to set up his ‘little business; doing the same for other people.

However, what was originally a bedroom desk business to help out friends who wanted customised trainers has now turned into a global success with thousands sold around the globe.

The business - 'Adikoggz trainer customisation' - is now run from a Pudsey based office.

Last week, Keilan logged on to his website as usual to see a huge surge in traffic with more than 40,000 viewing the site within 24 hours.

He then discovered his company had been used as a case study within the GCSE business exam sat by thousands of pupils last week.

Speaking exclusively to the Yorkshire Post, Keilan said he had received hundreds of messages of support from teenagers “amazed” the business was real and not a fictional case study.

Many have now placed orders and his followers have skyrocketed in the past seven days, Keilan said.

“I couldn’t believe it”, he said.

"We gained about 8,000 new followers all from people spotting it on the exam and going straight to try and find us.

"Engagement on the business Instagram tripled and we had more than 8,000 direct messages on there too.

"Many of the messages have been really great but some were negative and people out to criticise for no reason.

"Most of the direct messages were positive though and people praised me, many couldn’t believe the business was real.

"It feels great to be a bit of a role model in the business sense for pupils sitting the exam.”

However, Keilan said he did receive some hateful messages and had hoped to be contacted by the exam board prior to his business being mentioned last week.

"The business phone was rang many times by people after the exam”, he added.

"I got 2,800 friend requests on Facebook as my name was used in the exam.

"How I explained it to some people, the business could have been done for as some of the messages I got were horrible.

“I massively appreciate the customer base it has given and the followers I've gained but to not be notified has well and truly annoyed me to be honest.”

A spokesperson for exam board Pearson said ‘real-life’ examples were used in exams to be engaging for students.

The statement said: “We include real-life examples in exam papers so that questions are as relevant and engaging as possible for students.

"Any information we use is already in the public domain or we seek prior approval for use.”

His business now continues to grow monthly with thousands of regular customers.

Trainers Keilan customises include wedding customs, music customs, business customs and football customs.

To see more, search Adikoggz.