JOR ONE'S GUIDE TO CUSTOM SNEAKERS

Ah yes, every sneaker customizer’s wet dream – the sneaker deal.
Not to alienate my fellow customizers out there, but they usually all say exactly the same thing: ‘Yeah someday I’ll paint shoes for Kanye, Nike will pick up my designs and Michael Jordan will ask me to paint his underpants blah blah blah...’ I won’t lie. In the beginning I used to have the same fantasy. A long time ago I naively got a job at Niketown thinking it would catapult me straight into the laps of the bigwigs up in Portland. Instead, I ended up quitting after management threatened to fire me for ‘distracting customers’ with my custom Jordans. So much for that idea.

TIP 8: DON'T GET A JOB AT NIKETOWN.

The closest I ever got to a shoe deal was having my customs bootlegged in China. I was mad at first, but later I thought of it as a backhanded compliment. So I wouldn’t say I’m THE authority on getting a deal, but I do know it’s wise not to get overly hung up on the idea. There is a marketing agenda for every collab that’s not complicated to figure out. Brands want to align their product with the coolest creatives by sponging the street-cred off artists, rappers and celebrities. Then everyone associates their sneaks with being cool and young and street.

Artists usually go along for the ride because the money can be good, and they can say they did something sweet for a corporation. Often, it can be a big win for everyone involved. But if you’re not one of those mega-cool artists oozing with celebrity, you’ll be holding your breath until your face pops waiting for that deal to arrive. The cold truth is that if you’re relying on an offer to make you the shit, then your work is probably not the shit, and Nigo won’t be returning your calls anytime soon.