ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — David and Nina Goodlund were only planning to briefly store some of their most prized possessions collection into a CubeSmart storage unit, less than five blocks from their Englewood rental home, thinking they’d be safe in the meantime.
“Basically, our landlords wanted to do a little renovation in our basement, so we needed to move everything out of the basement,” David said. “We have a storage facility five blocks away. The reviews were good. We rented a unit.”
But the contents of the unit were stolen within hours of being put in.
Among the hundreds of items: David’s sneaker collection — 450 pairs amassed over 25 years.
“I have sneakers that are from the late 90s. I have sneakers that came out last week," he said. "For me, my identity has been my footwear. I get dressed in the morning, I start at the bottom.”
The Goodlunds rented the unit Nov. 1, 2025.
By Nov. 9, they had moved in all of their belongings — including sneakers, collectibles and sentimental items such as family photos.
“Two days later, I got a phone call from CubeSmart saying, ‘Hey, it doesn’t seem like your unit’s secure. Can you come by your earliest convenience?’” David said.
"We found out [the thieves] started coming Sunday evening, came again Monday, and then again on Tuesday morning. And we didn’t get the call till Tuesday afternoon,” Nina said. “Part of the employees' responsibilities is daily locker checks every morning… Why didn’t that happen? Or why wasn’t it reported on Monday morning?"
The couple immediately contacted Englewood police.
In the past three years, Englewood investigators reported 19 calls for theft at the CubeSmart at 1090 W. Hampden Ave.
A city spokesperson wrote "this CubeSmart location is notorious for NOT (sic) cooperating with law enforcement in instances like this one."
Initially, the facility did not release the video of the theft to the police, according to city officials.
The Goodlunds hired attorney Erin Victoria.
Victoria says Colorado law does not allow businesses to use liability waivers to protect themselves from negligence.
“Any business that damages someone based on negligence or intentional misconduct is not going to be able to use the limitation of liability as a shield,” Victoria said.
Weeks later, hope came from an unexpected place — a sneaker resale shop in downtown Denver called All Access Kicks. Owner Daniel Lim had purchased 39 pairs from Goodlund's collection — not realizing they were stolen — and posted them on Instagram.
“There were pairs in there that I haven’t seen in a decade,” Lim said. "He has a crazy collection."
After David Goodlund recognized the shoes online, Lim agreed to return them.
“It wasn’t fun giving up inventory we’d just paid for,” Lim said, “but it’s great to get some stuff back to somebody. … Try to be a good person and do the right thing, even if it hurts a little bit.”
Among the recovered pairs: a Nike SB Dunk “Yellow Curb” that had never been worn, a “Superman” SB, and a rare Brooklyn Projects x Nike SB inspired by the band Slayer.
Still, most of the collection remains missing.
Nina called it their “nest egg,” saying, “If we want to buy a house, or if we need money, we’ll sell some shoes… This is part of our long-term savings.”
She hoped telling their story would warn others: “Everyone I know has had a storage unit. People need to know that they’re really not secure. Even with all the security measures, there are ways around all of that.”
Police say no arrests have been made, but CubeSmart has released the video to police.
CubeSmart has not responded to repeated requests for comment.
