Ambitious Daniel Looney aims to take giant steps forward with his sole business venture.

Daniel, 22, admits he is known by people around the island, including some of his neighbours, as the ’shoe man’.

That’s because he’s the inspiration behind Sneakercleaner IoM - his one-man business that appears to be taking the island by storm.

Daniel firmly believes ’you can’t put your best foot forward with dirty shoes’.

He works full time from home in Union Mills and his parents Joanna and Steve have not been able to park their cars for more than a year because the double garage is their son’s workshop.

Daniel said he hopes he can be an inspiration to other would-be entrepreneurs looking to follow their dream of going into business.

And he also told how social media plays a big role in his business.

Daniel cleans and restores shoes of all shapes, sizes and value. And ’before and after’ pictures of shoes he has worked on are plastered on his social media pages along with many glowing reviews.

He says his skills are all self-taught.

And he says he has always had a soft spot for shoes, and it all really began after he watched the sci-fi film sequel Back to the Future II in which Marty McFly, played by Michael J. Fox, discovered self-lacing shoes on a trip to the future.

Speaking from his home in a break from work, Daniel said he began the business about 18 months ago ’purely out of a passion for footwear’.

He owns dozens of shoes that he has amassed over the last few years.

But he stresses his business is more than just working on footwear.

He said: ’I have found that people are spending a lot of money on shoes and also accessories such as hats and handbags.

’I get anything in from your standard pair of shoes that may cost £50, all the way up to people over here in the island coming to me with shoes costing £600 to £700.’

He adds that some well-heeled customers ’will also send me shoes costing in excess of £1,000, big name designer shoes.

’I also take in accessories such as designer handbags that can be very expensive.

’I had one in the other day, a Louis Vuitton bag, I am pleased to report that I was able to successfully clean and restore that bag.’

These sorts of designer accessories can be worth easily in excess of £1,000.

Daniel said that ’thankfully’ he had been able to teach himself the skills involved and there had been a ’lot of trial and error’ before he finally took the big step forward to launch his own business.

Daniel said that after leaving school at 16 he held jobs in retail and offices.

But he said his ’passion and drive for footwear’ was always there and he spotted a market opportunity.

He said: ’I would buy a pair of shoes and I would wreck them playing football or on a night out. Then my friends would come to me with the same problem. Then it was my mum’s friends, it kind of clicked and it all fell into place.

’Not only could I pursue a passion but it was a case of then helping other people.

’I’ve had people with shoes they needed for their wedding day and all sorts of things.

’This is a job I absolutely love.

’I love being able to work on a pair of shoes and then return them to their owner and they will say: ’’Wow they look amazing. I never thought I would see them in that condition again.’’ ’

Daniel said the proof of the success of his work comes when customers returned with several pairs of shoes.

He started on a part time basis in the evenings in addition to office work.

’But then I decided I really wanted to run with this and see how it goes.’

Asked why he loves shoes so much he replied: ’It’s almost like an addiction, it’s just my thing, to be honest with you.’

Daniel said he was grateful to the Department for Enterprise’s micro business scheme for its advice on running a business.

’I used that purely for the knowledge of things like knowing how to run a business legitimately. I found them to be brilliant and taught me things like how to deal with my accounts , and marketing .

’The scheme was definitely a big thing for me. I would suggest anyone going on such a course, I recommend it.

’I’m still at a relatively early stage with my own business but I have already helped a number of other businesses myself with some advice.’

The power of the worldwide web has meant Daniel has been contacted by people in other countries.

For instance a customer in the United States sought help over a pair of Nike shoes and Daniel was able to oblige.

Daniel said that as a child he briefly wanted to be a chef when he grew up.

But that all changed after watching the second Back to the Future film and Marty McFly’s experience with the self-lacing Nike Air Mags.

’As soon as I saw that film for the first time my passion for footwear started.’

With the business attracting favourable reviews on Facebook Daniel said: ’I have loved this job since day one.’

Daniel said the Isle of Man is a great place to run your own business and he urged others who want to follow their dream in business to get cracking

’It’s a nice friendly place, I’m not sure what it is like anywhere else but I do know the island is a gem.’

Daniel says he developed his own cleaner - and has his own secret formula. Asked for his favourite shoe brands he says straightaway: ’Nike and Yeezy.’ And as for his hopes for the future he is going one step at a time. He does hope to one day have his own shop.