SSCA Co-Founder Sean Williams on Tackling Current Industry Challenges and Why 2025 Is the Year of the Women’s-Exclusive Course
If you’re looking to learn about the multi-billion-dollar sneaker industry, there’s a hidden gem you can attend within the charming Dumbo neighborhood of Brooklyn, N.Y.
Though Sean Williams and Dee Wells have long offered some form of sneaker-related education since 2011, the duo founded Solecial Studies Community Academy (SSCA) — which is located at 155 Water St. — in July 2023. SSCA also counts Ali Shaheed Muhammad of the iconic rap group A Tribe Called Quest and Heeling Soles Inc. president and co-founder Steve Muir Sr. as co-founding partners.
The SSCA team has provided valuable insights to many, however, Williams believes it could be an even greater asset to the industry.
“Before opening the academy, the only people that saw value in what we teach were the partners at the colleges and universities that gave us residency, hyper-curious sneaker lovers and folks outside the industry that take our classes when we offer them to the public,” Williams explained to FN. “The footwear industry and its related companies would only hear of our work in a very short-winded and casual sense. On occasion, some of the bigger brands would work with us due the expertise of being into sneakers for 40 years, but it would only be through the lens of a specific sneaker model.”
He continued, “No one at the brands took a pause for a second to actually see the real value of teaching the business and culture of sneakers to people in a way that applies across the board.”
To date, Williams stated there are more than 150 people working in the footwear industry today who have attended SSCA.
Here, Williams offers FN a look at what’s to come, which includes upcoming women’s-specific curriculum, and reveals how SSCA pivots to tackle the industry’s greatest challenge as they happen.
Why is SSCA an asset to the industry?
“There are more than enough resources and people dedicated to the design aspect of the sneaker industry. It’s the cool stuff, it’s celebrated. We get it and we live it. Our mission is to educate, empower and support all the future business professionals who are just as important to the sneaker industry. Even the designers that take our courses see how valuable it is to do their jobs with the business knowledge and cultural respect we provide to them. We do that in a way that’s genuine and curated with care. There’s no hyperbole in what we teach. Everyone that takes our courses sees the value in our 40-plus years of lived experience with sneakers. We are the sneaker industry ‘X-Factor.’ We’ve been that since 2011 since teaching the first class at MTV’s headquarters in Times Square.”
SSCA, to me, feels like an understated necessity, something that hasn’t yet been discovered by the industry broadly. How would you describe SSCA through the lens of the footwear industry?
“The beauty of this question is that the answer in my head has changed a few times, but you’re the first one to get me to actually verbalize it. Here it goes. The Solecial Studies Community Academy is the education and empowerment zone for footwear industry professionals, both seasoned and aspiring. We’re also a safe space for people who work in the industry to come and seek refuge from the stresses and burnout from their jobs. We’re a place where people come to fall in love with sneakers again. We have so many resources here that allow for anyone that comes through our doors or our virtual windows to do that.”
How many people have gone through SSCA and found jobs within the industry?
“Man, when the numbers kick in, that’s when it truly hits me how long we’ve low key been doing this. Since the first course was taught in June 2011, we’ve taught over 3,500 students representing over 200 countries across the globe. Within the means of who and what we can keep track of on our own, over 150 people are working right now in the footwear industry in various capacities. I’m sure the number we’d be able to share would be higher if we were able to access that from our college and university partners. Regardless of that fact, it’s a number that grows all the time based on the increased frequency of our educational offerings now that the academy is open. Our level of effectiveness among the students themselves is our true barometer for success. We give our students knowledge and resources that are transferable to other industries as well. A clutch attribute to have given the current climate in our industry. People want to feel like they have the power to change their situation. It’s another aspect of our work we take pride in.”
You won the 2025 Best of Brooklyn Education Award for Adult Continuing Education Programs. Who is the SSCA student? Is there a common demographic characteristic that they share?
“The incredible thing is no, for the most part. My youngest student was 13 years old and our oldest student to date has been 62 years old in 2017. If I had to pick one thing, it would be the desire to learn more about sneakers in general because deep down, the people who sign up know that sneakers have a whole lot more to them than meets the eye. Something in them has always told them that, and that’s the magnet that draws them to our offerings once they find out we exist.”
What is the SSCA curriculum?
“Our educational offerings have expanded since opening in 2023 to include lessons about IP and trademark matters, celebrity masterclasses from people in the worlds of music and fashion. We teach a very eye-opening course called ‘Fashionably Wrong’ about the history of offensive products and advertising by companies that make footwear, fashion, and accessories. That course is taught in partnership with Terrence Floyd, brother of the late George Floyd. We also teach a course called ‘Cinema Sole’ about the history of sneakers in major motion pictures. All of this in addition to our usual education about the business and culture of sneakers. We’ve truly been able to use that as the core and DNA for many of the other educational offerings I just mentioned.”
Industry-wide challenges come and go, most recently with tariffs becoming the center of discussions. How often do you alter your curriculum so you can address what’s current?
“The great thing about what we do is it allows us to update our curriculum in real time and share some of the current issues that affect the industry at the time. We’ve had lessons and discussions around tariffs since 2020. This isn’t the first time we’ve experienced this if anyone wants to choose to remember. IP has also been a very popular hotbed issue that we’ve weaved into the learning experience lately.”
What are the greatest challenges the industry is currently up against? And what’s to come?
“The sneaker industry’s greatest challenges are all the ones they know exist but they choose to ignore or not give their best efforts to fix. Diversity in the industry is still bad. Storytelling that isn’t based on algorithms on social media needs to come back. A lot of people say sneakers are lacking innovation, which poses a new problem. Many of the people complaining about a lack of innovation in sneakers don’t even know what innovation looks or feels like. A lot new and innovative footwear is already here or in the pipeline. You can add the SSCA to the list of people creating it in 2025. The next latest and greatest battle the sneaker industry will need to deal with is how to rapidly implement new tech in the design and manufacturing aspects of making sneakers — VR, AI, 3D, etc.”
What is SSCA working on for 2025 and beyond?
“2025 is the year of our women’s exclusive course. The first being ‘Solecial Studies: Strictly for the Ladies.’ This course is the first time a man is not teaching the business and culture of sneakers. One of our esteemed female alumni, Ms. Jeneene Bailey-Allen, will be the lead teacher instructing an all female cohort of students from around the world. (The first course will take place in August.) More celebrity masterclasses, and we’ll be jumping further into our educational alliance with Gravity Sketch and New Arc [AI design site] to make sure people really experience the tech. In addition to that we’re currently building our sample 3D-printed sneaker lab as well. Truly exciting times on deck.”