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Keith & Kevin Chan from Unwanted FC | #546

• Nathan Bush • Episode 546

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In this Checkout chat, we go behind the scenes with Kevin and Keith Chan, twin brothers and co-founders of Unwanted FC. From the weirdest thing they’ve ever bought online (spoiler: it’s socks), to the tools that power their Shopify site, to the podcast playlists fuelling their growth, this is a quick, fun and revealing look at what makes their ecommerce brains tick. 

Today, we’re discussing:

  • How a vintage pair of Nike kids’ socks sparked a brand idea
  • The creative process behind turning unwanted football kits into streetwear
  • Lessons from Aesop’s in-store experience and how they apply them online
  • The tech stack powering Unwanted FC without a dev team
  • Why podcasts beat playbooks for creative inspiration
  • Their biggest challenge: cutting through the noise in global sportswear

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Speaker 1:

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Speaker 1:

Welcome to the Checkout. We catch up with previous Add to Cart guests and ask them five quick questions to get to know them better and leave you with a little extra inspiration to get through your friday. Here's your host, bushy. Today's checkout features kevin and keith chan, the identical twins behind one of the most unique and purpose-driven e-commerce brands in australia.

Speaker 1:

Unwanted f. Their story starts in Germany, where both were interning at Adidas, one designing football kits, the other crafting football boots. It was their dream job, but what they saw behind the scenes stuck with them Mountains of samples, unused gear being tossed aside, a waste problem that no one was really solving. So when they returned to Australia, they didn't just complain about it, they got sewing. What began as a single tote bag made from an old football jersey has grown into a fast-moving, upcycled accessory brand with global momentum. Today, unwanted FC takes unwanted football kits and transforms them into boot bags, bum bags, wallets, even pieces made from old football boots themselves. They've collaborated with major clubs, starred in Nike's Women's World Cup campaign and turned match-worn kits into gear for the next generation of players. But they haven't lost their roots. They still co-design patterns with local tailors, they still test ideas themselves and they still run the brand with the energy and the humility of two brothers just trying to make football and fashion a little more circular.

Speaker 1:

Now, in this checkout, we get to know Kevin and Keith a little more personally, from the weirdest things they've ever bought online to the retailer that left the biggest impression on them. Here's how the twin founders behind Unwanted FC think, shop and stay inspired. Let's jump in, kevin and Keith. Welcome to the Checkout. It is brilliant to have you both here.

Speaker 1:

Now on our main episode, we dug into Unwanted FC, which is one of the most unique retail models that I've come across, where you're taking old football kits and giving them new life by turning them into things such as bags, football boot carriers, even toiletry cases, and it's incredible to hear what you're doing, but also your mission to change how we think about scalable upcycling. So thanks for that. And on top of that, we mentioned you're the first identical twins we've had on the show. So there you go. First all around. But what I've got here for you guys is five quick questions to get to know you better. Number one what is the weirdest thing that you've ever bought online? Keith, I'm going to start with you, sure has to be kids socks.

Speaker 3:

That was designed by nike 15 years ago and what we did with the kids socks was upcycle them into little side bags and the sock material was actually so fun to work with and it's probably our second or third bestseller. So, yeah, quite weird to buy kids socks that's unworn from 15 years ago, but then this design actually made an amazing upcycled product how did you find kids socks from 15 years and why did you?

Speaker 3:

find these from 15 years. It's such an iconic design right, you're a football fan, right? Yeah, the early 2000s Nike designs just was different, and it just wasn't that I was looking for kids' socks. It just popped up on a marketplace. So then the idea came to our mind that we wanted to upcycle that into a new side bag, because obviously the socks were sitting there for so long, probably, yeah, unworn as well for 15 years. So we wanted to give it a new life.

Speaker 1:

When you watch football, you must watch it through a whole new lens now, because you like looking at the uniforms and the kits and going what could I make out of that? All right, Kevin, I'm going to throw the second question which retailer has inspired you most recently?

Speaker 2:

The first brand that comes to mind is Aesop. I did a lot of Christmas shopping there last year and the experience was just phenomenal. You go in there, you forget about time. Beautiful incense burning, localised design. The interior design is very localised, and then the service is amazing as well. They let you try whatever you want. They pour you a cup of tea as you're converting and paying. At checkout over the counter they give you a whole bunch of samples whatever samples you want, to test out their products. And then on your way out, they spray the Aesop bag that they put it in with their latest cologne or perfume, whatever you call it, and that scent just sticks with you all the way home. What a great experience. I fell in love with the brand after that.

Speaker 1:

It's so great and so immersive that you forget about how much you've spent.

Speaker 2:

Yes, exactly, you forget about that.

Speaker 1:

Number three Keith, can you name a piece of tech that you or your e-commerce business couldn't live without?

Speaker 3:

Has to be one of the sponsors of your channel.

Speaker 1:

I didn't put you up to this.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, all organic, but honestly, Shopify, as we spoke in the episode, I think the fact that neither of us are web developers we could go on and make an amazing website and to actually go through the new technology there and make it amazing user experience Definitely Shopify has helped us a lot since going live for consumers to shop online Got to ask you have you been playing around on Shopify with Sidekick the AI assistant?

Speaker 1:

Not yet, not yet. No, I think it's interesting. I think there's a lot of retailers at the moment who don't understand or haven't had the opportunity to play around with it, because when on the previous episode with james he was talking about all the changes that's happened because it had mixed reviews up until now, but they're really trying to make it like an assistant that you can have. Hey, tell me about what our customers in central sydney are most likely to buy or when they're most likely to shop. So give that a go and try to throw out some random questions and see what you can pull out of your Shopify. Definitely All right, kevin. Number four Can you recommend a book or a podcast that our listeners should immediately get into?

Speaker 2:

More of a podcast guy. I have two favorite podcasts. One is Diary of a CEO by Stephen Bartlett. You listen to that one. Yeah, yeah, it's okay. A good range of different entrepreneurs and high-profile athletes, celebrities, going there. And then another one.

Speaker 1:

He's an absolute machine the way he gets that content out.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. And then there's an older one called Business of Hype by Jeff Staple. He's based in New York. He's stopped now because he has his own streetwear brand to run, but I think he was born out of COVID. He just invited other streetwear brands to talk about how they were founded. So really interesting podcast. I feel like a lot of people that listen to your podcast would resonate with them Also very e-commerce and brand driven.

Speaker 1:

Got to ask you have you ever met Simon Beard, who founded Culture Kings here?

Speaker 2:

I haven't met him, big fan of his work and his story.

Speaker 1:

I could imagine that if you do get this chance to meet you in both ways, you get a lot out of that conversation.

Speaker 2:

Funny Bushy. I used to work on the Culture Kings account when I was at Periscope doing SEO for them. It's a small world, isn't it?

Speaker 1:

You know all their secrets, don't you? They rank pretty well, they rank well, they do now because you worked on it. Yeah, exactly, all right, number five, keith. What is your biggest challenge today?

Speaker 3:

I think for both of us and for the brands navigating through the clutter Obviously we've both been in the sporting industry. It's getting bigger. Every day there's a new jersey, there's a new pair of football shoes, and these big brands spend millions on their marketing campaigns. So it really does flood into the faces of consumers, especially that younger generation and upcycling is still a niche. So definitely educating at scale is going to be a big challenge when we face up against these big brands dropping new products every day that global athletes would be wearing. So, yeah, that's the biggest challenge, for sure, but hopefully we can challenge that traditional way of thinking with consumers.

Speaker 1:

Now here, because you've got education on a couple of fronts there, don't you? You've got education around upcycling and why that's important and how to do it, but then you've also got education on how your business works, because it is a unique model around either being able to buy off the shelf or being able to send in your own kit to have something made out of that. So you're doing a great job at storytelling. You're doing an awesome job at collaboration, partnerships everything we heard about in that main episode. So keep going, guys. I love what you're doing. I can't wait to see where we are, hopefully in a couple of years' time, when you're over in Europe living the life and working with, you know, the biggest teams and the biggest stars in the world.

Speaker 2:

Thank you so much, bushy. Thank you, bushy, appreciate it.

Speaker 1:

If you want more from the Unwanted FC Amazing Twins, head back to episode 528. That's where we unpack the full story behind Unwanted FC how it all started in a German Adidas office, how a spam folder nearly cost them their biggest deal with Nike, and how they're scaling upcycled fashion without losing the soul of the brand. And hey, come and join the Addecar community. That's a personal invite for you. We've got almost 300 e-commerce professionals in there right now sharing insights, swapping templates and helping each other solve the real stuff in e-commerce. You don't have to do it alone. It's free, it's practical and it's where the conversation continues. Join us at addecartcomau or hit the link in the show notes. Thanks again to Kevin and Keith for the chat and for reminding us that a side hustle stitched with purpose can go all the way to the.