DOWNEY – A shoe is not just part of an outfit.

“It is the outfit.”

Sneaker and streetwear store Brick Los Angeles opened its doors on Firestone last month. Owners Tony Ramirez and Sebastian Valencia, both 22, have been friends – and to a certain extent, rivals - since high school.

“To be honest, he kind of started as my shoe plug; he was the one getting me all my shoes,” said Ramirez. “I’ve known him quite a while, since high school. We played sports against each other; I’m from Downey, he’s from Warren. There’s always been that friendly competition between us.”

Valencia said that he started “buying and flipping shoes” in high school.

“I felt like I really couldn’t afford to keep them,” said Valencia. “I’d buy them, wear them, and then sell them. I realized I could make more money selling them, and then I just let it roll from there...I just turned it into a business”

The friend’s mutual interests in the sneaker game and like-entrepreneurial minds were the catalyst to the idea of the store “piecing together.”

Now open for business, Ramirez and Valencia are hoping to appeal to the younger crowd.

“We deal with, at the moment, a lot of trendy kicks,” said Valencia. “Being right next to the high schools, that’s our main audience right now, is trying to get connected with the kids.”

“We went to the high schools right here, so we kind of know what the kids like, what’s trending, Instagram, Tik Tok, that stuff.”

With that in mind, Ramirez says that they do try to keep prices reasonable.

“On shoes, anywhere else these prices would be extremely, way higher. A lot more steep as well,” said Ramirez. “We do try to provide a legitimate option to the people at a reasonable price.”

“Compared to our prices, say if you were to go out to LA, Melrose…one of our shoes here – the University Blues – cost $450. You go over there, they’ll charge you $600, $650 if not higher. Yeah, it is a little pricey, but we do try to take into consideration that not everyone is willing or capable of paying what these big-name stores are asking.”

Still, even sneaker heads on a budget might find themselves intrigued at the front case, where Brick has rare shoes that cost upwards of $2000.

Ultimately, they hope to bring the sneaker culture experience into “the small town where they both came from.”

“We see the growth, the potential the city has, and we want to be a part of it,” said Valencia. “We think we have something to contribute to the city, and we want to watch it grow.”

“I was born in 1999; I’ve seen all the steps. I’ve seen (Downey) before The Gateway, The Promenade, The Landing, I still remember the Downey Studios,” added Ramirez. “To me, it feels good to see the value of where I came from increase, but also it feels good to provide something to my community and where I came from.”

Brick Los Angeles is located at 8331 Firestone Blvd. They can be found on Instagram at @brick.la.