Inside Anchit Kapil’s Relentless Rise

ANCHIT KAPIL HAS BEEN PART OF THE streetwear conversation since 2019. The face of Crepdog Crew is the man who turned a weekend itch into India’s most talked-about sneaker and streetwear destination today, where invite-only drops and rare collabs have become prized lore among the country’s most obsessive collectors. A self-described “vibe curator,” Kapil doesn’t chase trends so much as he engineers them.

Today, his flagship store in Delhi and his online presence aren’t just places where culture and commerce meet, it’s truly become a place that sneakerheads call home. But Kapil remains oddly unhurried; he’s less interested in chasing relevance and more inclined towards defining the temperature of the market. Not a mogul in the traditional sense, not a legacy surname either, he’s something closer to a modern regal today: self-made, bold and very aware of what it takes to break the mold.

In a conversation with Esquire India, Kapil talks about his journey and everything it took for him to get where he is today.

Looking back, when was the first time you felt like you had earned authority in your field—and what did it cost you to get there?

The Delhi store was that moment. It wasn’t just a retail space—it became a landmark for Indian sneaker and streetwear culture. At that time, nothing of that scale existed: over 30 homegrown brands under one roof, the biggest sneaker wall in the country, a basketball court, a café and even a pet-friendly space where people could hang out, not just shop. It changed how people looked at the category.

As for the cost, an insane amount of drive and obsession. There were sleepless nights, non-stop work and blind belief, even when there were no guarantees.

Your career isn’t built on lineage or privilege. What did you have to build from scratch to claim your place?

What we built from scratch was trust. Before us, there wasn’t a platform where people felt secure listing products without fear of being scammed, or where consumers could buy without worrying about authenticity. That didn’t exist. We also created a real home for Indian homegrown brands—a space where they could be nurtured, scaled and taken seriously. No one was doing that in an exclusive, experience-led retail format. Putting trust, culture and retail together, I think that’s what we built differently.

Talent gets attention; discipline sustains power. What does discipline look like in your daily life when no one is watching?Discipline for me is simple: I don’t stop. I don’t believe in chasing balance while you’re building something. Balance comes after the foundation is strong, not during. I’m a contrarian when it comes to much of what’s preached today. For me, discipline is staying relentless—showing up every day, doing the work, until the work speaks for itself.

Every trailblazer has a moment where the risk outweighed the safety. What was the decision that changed the scale of your life and how close were you to walking away?

Crepdog Crew is my baby, so walking away was never an option. I was never one for getting the highest marks; I was horrible at studies. I knew I had to do something in my life to be successful, so really there was no backing down for me. Who would hire me? I’ve never thought in terms of safety. If anything, the challenges should feel unsafe—because they’re dealing with me. Scaling Crepdog Crew wasn’t about choosing comfort; it was about choosing belief, every single time.

In the face of doubt or rejection, what belief kept you moving forward?

Whenever I faced confirmation or rejection, I asked myself one thing: Does this feedback actually hold value? If it did, I introspected and improved—skills, communication, whatever was needed. If it didn’t, I genuinely didn’t care. I’ve always believed I understand the path better than people judging from the outside. And no amount of money in someone else’s bank account was ever going to shake that belief.

Today, how do you decide when to push, when to pause and when to walk away?

For me, it’s simple. When you truly love what you’re building, you don’t think about stopping. You don’t pause loving your own child—and this feels no different. As long as the passion is real, I push forward. The idea of walking away doesn’t even cross my mind.

How do you keep things real today?

By staying true to my roots. No matter how the business scales, I stay the same person—grounded with my family, my friends, my colleagues and my peers. I evolve with the company, but I don’t lose myself in the process. Family first though, always.

If regality is earned, not inherited, what responsibility comes with it? How do you want to be remembered?

The responsibility is to change the game. I want Crepdog Crew to become the biggest fashion company globally—not because we’re great traders, but because we’re the strongest creative thinkers. Changing how products are presented, how experiences are felt and what people take back—consciously and subconsciously, tangible and intangible. If I’m even 1% successful in building what I imagine, I want people to remember that this was the mad genius, the mad hatter, behind it all.