Fila / Rise of The Independents Episode 11

It’s one of our favorite lines in the entire series and Lester Wasserman, owner of NYC’s UWS staple WEST, couldn’t be more disarming or charming. Throughout the RISE OF THE INDEPENDENTS series we've learned that each owner may seem similar on paper, but all have traveled very different roads to get where they are today. Lester brings a unique perspective growing up in the family footwear business - fourth generation, to be exact. His connection to the lifestyle culture, deeply rooted in sports, includes a love for Bjorn Borg that first drew him to FILA as a kid and continued throughout the years thanks to the Wu Tang Clan. But perhaps it’s that waitress in a diner when he was ten years old whom we really have to thank for instilling in Lester a passion for all things sneaker. After all, without her wise words, he may never have seen the power of being unique...