8C z FRIDAY, AUGUST 9, 2019 z USA TODAY SPORTS
With sneaker restrictions lifted by
the NBA last season, many players ex-
pressed themselves on the court by
wearing custom shoes. They turned to a
number of designers to transform their
kicks into something unique using air-
brushing, stenciling and hand-painting
techniques.
The creative process varies, with
some players providing a theme and let-
ting the designer develop the concept,
while others have specific sayings and
characters in mind.
Here’s a look at some of the top de-
signers who customized NBA shoes last
season.
Kickstradomis:Sal Amezcua, who
goes by Kickstradomis, was into art
growing up. His cousin asked if he could
restore a pair of shoes, so Amezcua
looked it up online and taught himself.
From there, he put his art skills to use
and started customizing sneakers as a
hobby.
In 2017, he messaged Karl-Anthony
Towns on Instagram to try to get into the
NBA market. Towns responded within
minutes, and the two began working to-
gether. Amezcua made Towns a pair
featuring Jason from “Friday the 13th”
for Halloween, and it went viral.
“It was televised everywhere, it was a
viral pair. And that was the pair that
changed my life,” Amezcua said. “(Karl-
Anthony Towns) opened the door so
people could see what I’m about.”
Last season, Amezcua made shoes
for James Harden, Donovan Mitchell,
Luca Doncic, Jordan Bell and Damian
Lillard, among others.
Andrew Lewis:Lewis developed an
interest in sneakers growing up on mil-
itary bases, where he became fascinat-
ed with the cool kicks soldiers wore. Un-
able to afford the shoes he wanted in
high school, he restored sneakers. He
had a talent for art, so after perfecting
restoration, the next step was customiz-
ing.
“I wanted something that nobody
else had,” Lewis said. “It kind of clicked
once I found a passion for (restoring)
shoes.”
He went to college with former NBA
player Coby Karl, which opened doors
for him. Making more than 60 pairs
last season, Lewis became particularly
known for his work for Detroit Pistons
guard Langston Galloway.
“The way he’s able to use the
brushes and really make sure that
when you see the character, it looks
just like the character on TV or digital-
ly in a movie ... it’s really cool what he
has done,” Galloway said.
Lewis is known for detailed portrait
work, which can take anywhere from
12 to 16 hours.
Marcus Rivero: Better known by
his company name, Soles by Sir, he has
been in the sneaker customization
game for quite some time. Seven years
ago, he started making shoes for Mi-
ami Dolphins players to wear to NFL
training camp.
Rivero became best known for his
work with Dwyane Wade. A few days
before the season, Wade asked him to
make a special pair to honor his career
with the Heat as he began his “One
Last Dance” tour.
“I really make it look like an art
piece as opposed to a shoe,” Rivero
said. “I do everything I can to make the
shoe look like something you would
hang on your wall.”
Sierato: Real name Cory Bailey, he
is a former tattoo artist based out of
Baltimore. He started making shoes
for NFL players and rappers before
working with NBA players.
Sierato has his own YouTube show,
“Overtime,” which has allowed him to
grow his clientele. Since “Overtime”
covers a lot of high school sports, Sier-
ato has worked with several younger
players. You might have seen his Duke
customs for Zion Williamson during
the NCAA tournament, then again in
the NBA Summer League.
“We really wanted to be as show-
stopperish with his as much as possi-
ble,” Bailey said of Zion’s shoes.
He’s also made shoes for Bronny
James, the eldest son of LeBron
James, and Shareef O’Neal, who is
Shaq’s son. He’s planning many shoes
for the upcoming season with Mem-
phis Grizzlies rookie Ja Morant.Sierato made these customs that feature ‘Rugrats’ characters for the Warriors’
Jordan Bell. The shoes went viral online.KYLE TERADA/USA TODAY SPORTS
Designers transform
kicks into artwork
Lila Bromberg
USA TODAY
While some NBA players want their
custom shoes to be the coolest kicks in
the locker room, many use their shoes
as a platform to call attention to cer-
tain movements or causes, or to pay
homage to someone.
“I think right now in the NBA, it’s a
lot of people that kind of just try to put
all NBA players in a box, and I think
that being able to express ourselves is
pretty huge,” Detroit Pistons guard
Langston Galloway said. “Andrew
(Lewis and I) have really worked hard
to figure out what’s the message that
we want to have behind each and every
shoe.”
Here are some of the meaningful
custom sneakers players wore last
season.
Langston Galloway, Black History
Month
Galloway wore a number of custom
shoes, ranging from Hoops for Troops,
Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Inter-
national Women’s Month.
He especially drew attention with a
pair he wore for Black History Month
in February. Galloway debuted the
shoes against the New York Knicks on
Feb. 5. Andrew Lewis did detailed por-
trait work of important African Amer-
ican figures from New York City and
included a quote from Langston
Hughes, whom Galloway was named
after.
Utah Jazz, Jacob Ingles
Utah Jazz forward Joe Ingles’ son,
Jacob, was diagnosed with autism this
year. The Jazz rallied behind Ingles
and wore custom shoes by designer
Sal Amezcua to raise awareness for au-
tism. Each player had his own shoe
made to honor Jacob.
“It means a lot to be able to support
Joe, and not only him, but all the fam-
ilies that are dealing with this,” Rudy
Gobert said after the game. “We have
each other’s back. It’s bigger than bas-
ketball.”
The shoes were auctioned after the
game, with proceeds going to autism
charities.
Jordan Bell, Nipsey Hussle
After rapper Nipsey Hussle died
on March 31, 2019, several NBA players
paid tribute.
Jordan Bell, now with the Minneso-
ta Timberwolves, teamed with cus-tomizer Sierato to honor the rapper.
“That was the best way I could show
my respects to him and what he’s done
for the whole L.A. neighborhood,” Bell
said.
Bam Adebayo, Dwyane Wade
Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo was
a frequent client of Marcus Rivero, who
runs Soles by Sir. Adebayo asked Rivero
to make him a pair to thank teammate
Dwyane Wade, with the hopes of wear-
ing them in Wade’s last game on April 9,- The shoes depict the two players
embracing on the court.
Luka Doncic, Dirk Nowitzki
Dallas Mavericks forward Luka Don-
cic honored a retiring legend and team-
mate — Dirk Nowitzki — in his last game
of the season. Doncic worked with Kick-
stradomis throughout his rookie sea-
son, and the pair teamed up for the trib-
ute.
“Being a part of something special
like that, because I’ve been a fan of Dirk
for quite some time, knowing that it’s
his final year and Luka wanted to wear
them the last game in Dallas, was a pret-
ty huge deal,” Kickstradomis said. “To
see that Luka got them signed by Dirk
and he kept them, that’s special for me
as well.”
Karl-Anthony Towns, Isaac Zude
Minnesota Timberwolves center
Karl-Anthony Towns helped fulfill Isaac
Zude’s “Make a Wish” dream this sea-
son, and he enlisted Kickstradomis for
help.
Kickstradomis made Zude a replica
of shoes he made for Towns. The Tim-
berwolves star presented Zude with the
shoes as a surprise during their meet-
ing. Amezcua said it was his most mem-
orable moment of the season.
“Once he asked me to do that, I
jumped on the opportunity right away,”
Amezcua said. “I got a video of it, and
his reaction was amazing.”
Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie wore shoes honoring former 49ers quarterback
Colin Kaepernick in a November game in Oakland.KYLE TERADA/USA TODAY SPORTSCustomized NBA shoesaren’t all fun and gamesLila Bromberg
USA TODAYMavs forward Luka Doncic wore shoes
marking Dirk Nowitzki’s last NBA game
April 9.JEROME MIRON/USA TODAY SPORTShave your own individuality besides
just the name and number on your jer-
sey, so I think kicks (are) a great way (to
do that).”
Kickstradomis agreed.
“Now, the players are able to express
how colorful or how wild they are out-
side of basketball,” he said. “And that’s
kind of how they use me, is to express
themselves and how they feel, who they
are as people through their shoes.”
NBA superstars James Harden,
Dwyane Wade, Stephen Curry, Joel Em-
biid and Dirk Nowitzki, among others,
donned customs at one point or another
last season. Wade wore a number of
pairs to honor his “One Last Dance” sea-
son, and Curry broke out a moon-land-
ing design that he auctioned for charity.
NBA senior vice president for identi-
ty, outfitting and equipment Christo-
pher Arena played a major role in the
rule change and said the league first
considered lifting the restrictions after
seeing players and fans embrace the
shoes at special events, like past All-
Star weekends.
He said the league was all for the cus-
tom sneakers, even launching the
@NBAKicks account on social plat-
forms to further share players’ designs.
At this year’s combine, the NBA part-
nered with Under Armour for a custom
shoe station for players.
“Any opportunity we have to encour-
age individuality and expression among
our players and engage with fans at the
same time is positive,” Arena said.
And while all types of players have
jumped in on the custom-sneaker
boom, it holds extra meaning for lesser-
known guys.
“Everybody in the NBA doesn’t have
their own sneakers – like, there’s only
going to be a couple people,” Bell said. “I
don’t think I’m ever going to have my
own shoe in the NBA, so I can still showwhat I’m passionate about and things I
love in my own unique way.
“And I actually have more of a say in
going a little crazy with the colors, how
loud it is, things like that. So to me, it’s
like having my own shoe.”
As a young player on a stacked Gold-
en State Warriors roster, Bell didn’t see
much playing time his first two years,
but he edged his way into headlines by
wearing custom sneakers. Last season,
he made waves with several: one featur-
ing the Rugrats cartoon, another paying
tribute to late rapper Nipsey Hussle and
one commemorating the Warriors’ title.
After going undrafted and battling
his way into the NBA, Detroit Pistons
guard Langston Galloway established
himself last season through his shoes.
He wore a “Toy Story” pair on Dec. 15 –
those shoes blew up on social media and
are now in the Naismith Memorial Bas-
ketball Hall of Fame. Against the Mil-
waukee Bucks on April 22, he wore a
pair themed around the “Big Buck Hunt-
er” video game.
Galloway epitomized the saying,
“The better you look, the better you
play,” all season. He said he gained an
extra boost of confidence when players
he admired told him, “I love the kicks,
man. It’s amazing what you’re doing.”
“The more and more my kicks got a
lot of love, the more and more I just felt
more comfortable,” Galloway said. “I
feel like my best games were always
with my best kicks.”Galloway averaged 8.4 points per
game last season but often scored more
and shot better from the floor when
wearing customs. Take Dec. 26 – he
scored 22 in 23 minutes on 66.7% shoot-
ing against the Washington Wizards
while wearing Christmas-themed kicks
featuring Rudolph the Red-Nosed Rein-
deer and Frosty the Snowman. He made
a career-high six 3-pointers without
missing a single try behind the arc while
wearing a special Black History Month
pair against Chicago on March 10.
One shoe designer fully supports the
idea that fantastic shoes can make a dif-
ference in a player’s performance.
“When (players) have the coolest
shoes in the locker room, you better be-
lieve they’re playing better,” said Soles
by Sir founder Marcus Rivero, who has
designed shoes for Wade, Bam Adebayo
and Patty Mills. “They have that extra
oomph, they want to make that high-
light reel, they want to make a dunk on
somebody.
“Would you rather drive in to work in
a Honda Civic or a Lamborghini? It’s the
same type of question, especially know-
ing that you’re the only one that drives
that Lamborghini; nobody has it.”
And now that more players have
picked up on the trend, there is added
pressure to create original designs.
“I feel like my shoes have been
hands-down the best,” Galloway said. “I
can’t wait to bring out some crazy stuff
next season – I really can’t wait.”Kicks
Continued from Page 1C
“I don’t think I’m ever goingto have my own shoe in theNBA, so I can still show whatI’m passionate about andthings I love in my ownunique way. And I actuallyhave more of a say in going alittle crazy with the colors,how loud it is, things likethat. So to me, it’s like hav-ing my own shoe.”
Jordan Bell
Timberwolves forward