Real People/No Business Like Shoe Business
The Cobbler Who Charms the Internet
How Jim McFarland found social media fame by sharing his family’s craft
McFarland is a fourth-generation shoe mender.
HE’S KNOWN online now as “America’s cobbler,” but in college, Jim McFarland had no interest in joining his father’s shoe repair business. The small chain of Lakeland, Florida, shops “felt like a family curse,” recalls McFarland, 61. “It’s not an easy way to make a living.” But then his father became ill, and McFarland left college at age 20 to lend a hand while he recovered. “I loved my dad more than anything in the world,” McFarland says. “I had no choice. I had to help him.”
McFarland eventually took over one of the shops, becoming his family’s fourth generation in the trade. Today that shop is the last part of the family business still standing, and McFarland has ridden his profession to social media success. As of this writing, his TikTok account, America’s Cobbler, has 1.3 million followers and over 26 million likes. (He also has large followings on Instagram and YouTube.) He’s a fierce advocate for investing in well-made shoes and learning how to take care of them.
“If more people bought good quality shoes, they could rebuild them many times over,” he says.
McFarland’s TikTok presence started a few years back, when his daughter, Victoria, decided to create an account for him. His first video, in which he shows how to put toeplates on a shoe, debuted in March 2021 and was an instant hit. (Victoria still shoots his videos.)
“I figured some people may just find the craft itself to be cool or informative,” Victoria says. “I definitely did not expect people to find it so satisfying to watch.”
The videos cover a lot of ground, demonstrating such skills as replacing soles and adding new heels. In comments, viewers compare McFarland’s repairs to “a piece of art” and claim the videos relax them.
“This really calms me down for hard times,” one person commented.
McFarland estimates that he has repaired close to half a million shoes during his career. But even he has encountered the occasional shoe that’s too far gone to save.
“I’ve got three pairs of boots in my shop right now that would take an absolute divine miracle to repair,” McFarland says with a laugh. “That’s the hardest part of my job sometimes, telling a customer that their shoes can’t be fixed.” People can get emotional when they learn it’s the end of the line for their treasured footwear, he says. “Sometimes the only hope I can give people is, ‘Well, at least your shoe has a sole, so it’ll probably go to heaven.’ ” —Eric Spitznagel
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To watch McFarland work, visit aarp.org/jimmcfarland.