Christina Faith Built a Creative Empire. Sneakers Were Never the Plan.

On this episode of the Sneaker History Podcast, Mike sits down with Christina Faith, filmmaker, entrepreneur, sneakerhead, and founder of The Grindhouse, for a Coffee Time Kicks conversation that goes way deeper than the shoes. Christina has been building for 20 years. She started with a DSLR in 2006, ran a record label, launched her first business in college, and has now opened a 2,500 sq. ft. creative production space that's also becoming a live music venue. She's self-taught, faith-driven, and genuinely one of the most grounded voices in the creative space right now. They get into how Christina grew up not being able to afford sneakers — getting sent to Payless in Camden, making her own money by 7th grade just to grab a pair of Penny Hardaways — and how everything she posts today is pure love, no brand check required. They also talk about what it really takes to build something that lasts, why consistency beats everything, and why creating for a bag instead of a purpose is the thing that stops most people before they ever get started. In this episode: How The Grindhouse went from Creative Thought Media (2008) to a full production studio and live music venue Why sneakers have never been Christina's income stream... and why that's the point The Payless story that lit the fire Self-education vs. formal training ("I got my MFA from YouTube") What makes a podcast survive in an oversaturated market Scaling a business without losing the creative at the center of it Why art is