Mohamed “Moe” Hassan started MO3SOLES in his bedroom in 2020, and now has a storefront in downtown Newberry.
                                 Andrew Wigger | The Newberry Observer

Mohamed “Moe” Hassan started MO3SOLES in his bedroom in 2020, and now has a storefront in downtown Newberry.

Andrew Wigger | The Newberry Observer

<p>MO3SOLES owner, Mohamed “Moe” Hassan, said they have a large variety of shoes in all sizes and prices.</p>
                                 <p>Andrew Wigger | The Newberry Observer</p>

MO3SOLES owner, Mohamed “Moe” Hassan, said they have a large variety of shoes in all sizes and prices.

Andrew Wigger | The Newberry Observer

NEWBERRY — At 19 years old, Mohamed “Moe” Hassan opened MO3SOLES in downtown Newberry, selling shoes, some clothing and other items. He is the youngest downtown business owner.

MO3SOLES, located at 1405 Main Street, opened in Newberry on Dec. 4, 2021, and in that short time, he has already sold approximately 650 pairs of shoes.

“I know in December we sold 400 pairs, January we sold about 200-250 pairs. So, we’ve sold about 650 pairs of shoes. When we started, we had 900 shoes, now we have 1,200; we have been consistently buying while we are selling. We had to put a new shelf because we have already outgrown what we had,” Hassan said.

Before even beginning his business, Hassan said he has always liked shoes. When he was younger, he said his family did not have much money. He said he got his first pair of Nikes in the eighth grade and wore them for three years straight.

“My brother, he flipped a pair of shoes, that’s when he told me about flipping shoes. After I saw that, I tried it and made some money. I kept buying cheap shoes, started making a little bit more money; I realized I could take it seriously and stop working fast food,” Hassan said.

He then began selling shoes in August of 2020, he started by selling in his bedroom, but quickly outgrew the space and moved into his mother’s living room. He then outgrew that space as well.

“It really felt unreal (getting a storefront) still does feel unreal. I’m liking it, it’s fun, I’m still in school so when I’m not doing anything I just do my schoolwork. I just like being around shoes,” he said.

When deciding a name for his business, the name MO3SOLES is a direct reference to Newberry, where Hassan grew up. He said Newberry is in the 803 (area code) so he went with Mo3 as a reference to 803.

In pricing his product, Hassan says there is a whole stock market for shoes. He uses the site, Stockx, he says it shows the market value of a wide variety of shoes. Then, if he can get a pair cheaper, he will and sell it for the market value.

“That’s how I make my flips and decide my profits,” he said.

While Hassan said they will purchase shoes in the store, he said they have travelled to places like Atlanta and New York to purchase and online.

Anyone who walks in to MO3SOLES will see a variety of brands, from Jordans, Nike, Yeezys.

“We have a lot of older shoes and a lot of newer shoes,” he said.

Hassan said the oldest pair of shoes they had was from 1985, but has already sold that pair. Currently, the oldest pair they have is from 2000, but you will also find shoes made this year.

MO3SOLES also offers a wide variety of sizes, from 7.5-17, grade school 3.5-7 and preschool sizes.

Prices for shoes will be anywhere from $20 to $1,000.

“Since we opened up, some say prices are really high. We have had shoes for $20, $60, $80, but also for $1,000. We have different shoes for different people. We have used pairs in here for $80 in almost every size, you can get a few more years out of them,” he said.

The prices of the shoes are based on supply and demand, Hassan said if a manufacturer did not make many of a particular shoe, and the demand is high, the price will go up.

“Time goes by, and there were only 1,000 shoes made, and the price was $200, and they get bought up. Then 10 of those people want to sell them, they can sell for whatever they want,” he said. “Even after you wear a pair, if you are done after a year, you can sell it used for just as much as you bought it for.”

Since opening the doors of MO3SOLES, and even before, Hassan said the support from the community and beyond has been incredible.

“They’ve been showing a lot of support, even when I was selling out of my mom’s living room, I would sell locally. When I got the store, the grand opening line was wrapped around the building. People came from Charlotte, Clinton, Greenwood, Augusta, Atlanta and a lot of locals,” he said. “On opening day, younger kids telling me this is what they want to do; four people asked me to sign something on opening day, made me feel bigger than I was because I don’t feel accomplished yet because there is so much I want to do. However, that made me feel like I did something.”

Something Hassan would like to do is another storefront, he said he is trying to get inside a busy mall.

“Want this to be our headquarters because we are all from Newberry,” he said. “I want to get more sales here, working on a website right now, grow our Instagram, start our YouTube back up, growing all our social media. I’m not trying to get comfortable where we are.”

Along with shoes, MO3SOLES offers clothing items, like streetwear, according to Hassan, and collectibles like cards and cereals and customers can even purchase a PS5, when available.

MO3SOLES is open seven days a week from 12-6 p.m. You can find them on all major social media networks: Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and TikTok.

Hassan said they try to post often, but if you have any questions you can direct message them.

Along with Hassan, he has help from some close friends and his brothers, Marwan and Mazen.

Reach Andrew Wigger @ 803-768-3122 or on Twitter @TheNBOnews.