“The Air Force 1s, the Reebok Pump, and the Air Jordan-all of them were chunky. The decade was all about the bigness, all about the flash,” he explains. “Basketball played a huge part in footwear in the 80s, regardless of brand. We couldn’t afford it and I felt hindi talaga siya bagay sa akin.”Īdidas Samba custom commissioned by Capital for īut he did stock up on sneaker knowledge over the years, familiarizing himself with the brands since the 1980s.
“Before that, I only got to wear those Team Jordan shoes growing up, not the signature ones such as the AJ 3, 4, or 5. While one would think David has already amassed a lot of pairs since childhood, in truth he only got his first ever Air Jordan 1 in 2009. Not like today where people are fortunate to have five, six, even seven pairs to wear.” I think for everybody back then, you only had just one pair for a whole year. “I wanted to stand out, so I got them from the States because nobody here had it. One pair that really stood out for the young boy was the Air Trainer SC Lows, Mr. Tod’s taps a South Korean design star for its new must-have, the comfortably chic shoeker.When Balenciaga treated Bigboy Cheng to three glorious days in Paris.Meet Anti Shoe Expert: Bigboy Cheng’s BFF, second-in-command, and Garth to his Wayne.“Back then, it was all about Nike because they represented something different by going against the grain.” More about snearkeheads: His brother was a varsity player, and David would be entranced-and envious-whenever kuya came home with a new pair. In grade school, he built on this passion for sneakers. Thanks to a mutual connection, Danklefs got the chance to design shoes for NBA star LeBron James, to celebrate the Miami Heat's 2013 NBA championship win.įor this shoe, Danklefs customized a pair of LeBron 10s by painting them gold and red and adding different embellishments to signify the athlete's impressive career.David with a few of the pairs in his collection. In 2012, he quit his day job to focus on his side hustle full-time. "And I started making more money on the side with the shoes than I was in my full-time job," Danklefs said.
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He started selling his designs on web forums and developed a steady customer base of people who wanted custom footwear in line with their personal tastes.Įventually, Danklefs was working 50 hours a week as an energy-efficiency consultant while handling his customization business during his free time. "I got into it originally because my brother always had cooler shoes than I had," he said of his early days as a shoe artist.ĭanklefs was painting custom portraits of people's shoes when he had the idea to turn the sneakers into his primary canvas.Īfter making some mistakes - he used the wrong paint for some time - Danklefs got the hang of sneaker artistry. Post Malone with his custom Nike SB Blazer Mids, designed by Danklefs.Īs is the case wth many people on the periphery of the sneaker industry, Danklefs' job started out as a side hustle.
Though Danklefs' designs have been worn by celebrities and athletes like Jay-Z, Post Malone, and Billie Jean King, a large part of his customer base consists of regular people who want to give their footwear a personal touch. You know, once it's yours, you can customize it how you want." "And then you put a stereo system in it and a new paint job and rims and tires.
"It's kind of like buying a car," Danklefs said of his customization process, which involves working with existing sneaker models to create something unique. He's the founder and creative artist of Dank & Co., a Texas-based customization shop for sneakers where customers pay to have him execute original, one-of-a-kind designs. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.Įven when wearing well-known brands like Nike or Adidas, there's still room for original creative expression in footwear - and that's the niche that Jake Danklefs occupies.ĭanklefs customizes footwear for a living.Here's how the artist turned a sneaker passion into a successful career customizing pairs for people who want a one-of-a-kind design.Danklefs has designed shoes for celebrities like Jay-Z and LeBron James, and his sneakers have been featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated Kids.He's the founder and creative artist of Dank & Co., a Texas-based customization shop for footwear, where he executes his own design takes on popular shoe models for customers who want something different.Jake Danklefs is a designer who customizes sneakers for a living.