From the small town of Richmond, Virginia to the streets of Japan, you can find sneaker culture almost anywhere. Now thanks to Sole DXB, it's time to add Dubai as a budding destination to that list. Founders Hussain Moloobhoy, Joshua Cox, Kris Balerite, and Rajat Malhotra created a progressive festival in 2010 dedicated to streetwear and hip-hop that has evolved into the 3-day melting pot it's known as today, where the international community can meet up and exchange ideas along with possibly a pair of sneakers, or two. To explain exactly how he and his partners were able to bring creatives from all over the world together, Malhotra, who handles sales and operations, shared with Forbes their impressive story. 

"The culture has always been here," he told us. "It just needed a platform to support it and ever since we started, the growth was organic. Initially, this was something we were doing on the side. At that point, we were making decisions that weren't commercially driven and taking risks other promoters wouldn't do. We booked acts people hesitated to bring in and we quickly realized there was a need for that."

As locals of the luxury city, the masterminds behind the annual event were determined to bring their shared interest to the forefront of the Middle East. "We all moved here at different points in our lives and didn't want to hop on a plane every time we wanted a slice of what we grew up on," Malhotra said. Every year, they stay true to themselves and consistently combine what inspires them to deliver a carefully curated lineup festival goers won't find anywhere else. "We don't book artists or brands we don't personally like," he revealed. "Mobb Deep was the first international act we booked and though we were nervous about getting a less contemporary duo from our childhood, we ultimately didn't care because all we wanted was someone we love on-stage. To our surprise, their set was rammed and everyone knew the lyrics to every track."

When it comes to shoes and music, the fan base never runs low no matter the location. In a few years, the cofounders were able to grow Sole DXB from a 15-minute screening of a short film, The Mystery of Flying Kicks, to a gathering of over 16,000 people, including the President of Kanye West's GOOD Music, Pusha T, and one of the most influential streetwear stars, Hiroshi Fujiwara — who are both headlining this year. To take the festival to the next level, attendees will have access to exclusive footwear drops and even a chance to create their own custom Nike Air Force 1's. "We're also excited to see luxury coming our way," Malhotra added. "This is the first year Dior Homme and Kenzo will be participating. From the beginning, my team and I were careful to only work with brands designing in a space that was credible for our audience and didn't see this as a passing trend."

As if new kicks and standout sets weren't good enough, there's still so much more to come. "We've always got some new itch to scratch," the cofounder mentioned. "We're working on Audio, a new festival we hope to launch in the near future. It's a platform for us to work with live music only, but to a smaller audience. Josh and Hussain have a clothing label launching called Haraamis. They'll be showcasing their first complete collection at the event. As for me, I've been working on a project called Panda, which is a card game, that I'm launching with Scott and Hisham at Sole DXB this year, too." 

Official festivities begin tomorrow at Dubai's Design District (d3), so stay tuned here or follow the festival's Instagram account for updates.