Meet Julien Gasca | Entrepreneur, College Student, Real Estate Agent, and Art Teacher

We had the good fortune of connecting with Julien Gasca and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Julien, have there been any changes in how you think about work-life balance?
Besides from my shoe customizing business, I am also a full time college student at FSCJ. I am currently on the path of receiving my Bachelors in financial services. I am also a real estate agent with Watson Realty Corp. here in Jacksonville, Florida. Recently, I have started to host shoe customizing classes in Jacksonville to teach people how to customize their shoes. For the balancing aspect, I am constantly on the go. I always try to divide my days evenly to make sure I am working on all of the things listed above even if that comes with me having to sacrifice: Sleep, quality time with my girlfriend, and time with my family. Being successful is something I want to accomplish in my life and I will do anything it takes to accomplish my goal. My perspective on work-life balance is 100% evolved as it puts a strain on the majority of my relationships as I am constantly working. I feel that now with everything that I do, it really opened my eyes on how important time is and how important it is to use your time wisely. There are only 24 hours in a day and it is up to us on how we utilize our time. I’m not going to lie, it is hard and rough trying to balance everything evenly in my life but being an entrepreneur comes with a heavy price with potentially a high reward. At 20 years old, I am working for a successful future and always thinking ahead.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I started my shoe customizing business, Custom Kicks By King, in 2020 when I was 16. To be honest, I did not believe in my skills at the time and didn’t believe that anyone would buy my first pair of customs. However, after creating my first pair, it sold within 30 minutes after posting the shoes on my social media and from that, I knew I had something on my hands. Since then, I was able to make custom shoes for many special individuals such as Mark Lamping who is the president of the Jacksonville Jaguars, retired NFL players such as Jeremy Mincey, and many more.

With all my shoes, I hand draw and Hand paint my artwork and I am constantly coming up with new ideas to revolutionize the shoe customizing game.

The most important part of my business that I am EXTREMELY proud of and is the foundation of my business and that is giving back to my community. I want the world to know that Custom Kicks By King is a different from the other shoe customizing brands and that is because with the profit I make from my orders, I set a portion of money aside to then buy shoes and customize them to donate them to the homeless, kids in children’s hospitals, and kids within low income families.

No, this journey of entrepreneurship is not easy and I dont think its going to get easier anytime soon. I really plan on changing the shoe customzing game with the ideas I have and to eventually step into the luxurious fashion industry by creating my own luxurious brand.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
To be honest, I don’t really have an answer for this. I don’t have friends and I don’t go out. I spend all my days working. However, If I were to recommend a few locations here in Jacksonville, I would definitely recommend the beaches such as Jax Beach and Fernandina Beach. Also, Jacksonville is relatively close to St. Augustine which is a very beautiful location with tons of history and numerous shopping areas. Another cool spot I would take visitors would be St. John Town Center, which is an outdoor mall with numerous storefronts such as Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Lululemon, and many more. Now, the main spot here in Jacksonville would be the Jacksonville Jaguar football stadium which gets a lot of traffic during the football season and off season due to numerous concerts being hosted there. There are a lot of unique areas and locations to visit here in Jacksonville!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would 100% dedicate my shoutout to my family. They are the ones who push me and motivate me whenever I’m feeling down and when times get rough. I am so grateful and blessed to be born within a loving family who always have my back no matter what and would do anything for me to help me accomplish my goals. Yes, being successful is one of my goals, but retiring my parents is my MAIN goal in life.

I would also like to shoutout my girlfriend who has been by my side for nearly 3 years now. She has helped me out a lot and I can’t thank her enough for it. Whether its helping me with school or attending pop ups with me that start very early in the morning, she is truly amazing and I can always rely on her support.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/customkicksbyking/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/customkicksbyking/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVktXPOKtbY3WPyVj8b847g

Other: TikTok – customkicksbykingjulien

Image Credits
The picture of me was taken by Chase Elliot.