20 Sneaker Customizers You Need to Know

Custom sneakers are popular right now, arguably more than they have ever been. While there are still some who trivialize its place in sneaker culture, most people would agree that, when done well, custom kicks are works of art and often better than what's on the shelves.

Many hours are spent prepping, painting, sewing, and gluing leather, suede, and rubber so that someone can wear (or collect) a pair that they know they won't see in someone else's stacks. Even a limited run of 10 is better than being one out of thousands. And for those who don't care about the exclusivity, having something made especially for you still feels better than being an average consumer.

While there has been a flood of so-called "customizers" in the past couple years, all are not created equal. Lots of generic paint-by-numbers customs make it onto sneaker blogs and Instagram. The formulas of airbrush plus stencil plus shoe, or paintbrush plus sneaker plus colorflip equals success are played out, and those people don't last long; however, those who study the history and are passionate about custom culture live on. To assist in the shift away from the posers and towards the true artists, here is a list (not all-inclusive and in no particular order) of 20 Sneaker Customizers You Need to Know.

A special thank you to PaintorThread.com for the assist on this one.

RELATED: The 50 Best Custom Sneakers of All Time
RELATED: The 50 Worst Custom Sneakers Of All Time
RELATED: A Step-By-Step Guide to Sneaker Customization by Mache
RELATED: Green Label - 15 Items to Keep Your Sneakers Looking Fresh

Mr. one-of-one himself, Eric Lowry has made a name for himself by never recreating his designs. In a custom sneaker culture where colorflips and blacked out midsoles are currently in high demand, El Cappy chooses originality instead of mass producing generic copies.

via

How many artists do you know to have made it into Time Magazine by age 15? Probably only one, and that's Chris Hui. He began customizing $2.50 shoes from his local Goodwill and worked his way up to creating pairs for Kanye West, MLB first baseman Prince Fielder, and Lebron James. He now has over 400 pairs logged, numerous magazine features including our own, television appearances including NBC's Last Call with Carson Daly, and he was selected as an Apple Inc. "Student Rockstar Learner." Chris now has a degree in marketing and works for Adidas, not too shabby for a kid who started painting thrift shop kicks.

via

Anyone who knows shoes, knows SBTG (Sabatoge) if only for his collaboration with Nike SB on the August 2006 release of the SBTG Dunk Low SB, but Mark Ong started as a hobbyist, painting shoes in his parents' kitchen. After winning a custom competition on Niketalk, the rest is history. Brand collaboration after brand collaboration, SBTG earned his spot as one of the "50 Most Influential People in Sneaker History."

via

One word to describe Methamphibian would be "pioneer." As one of The 30 Most Influential Niketalk Members of All Time as well as one of the 50 Most Influential People In Sneaker History (along with SBTG), Methamphibian was customizing before the hype. When he isn't collaborating with brands like the Hundreds, Meth still likes to get back to his roots. Brandon of Paintorthread.com calls him the Mache of his time, an inspiration for many to try their hand at creating unique footwear for the love and not the check, though he gets those too.

via

Diversitile brings a certain flare to customizing. A lot of their customs are inspired by other art forms, such as film, art nouveau, and music. They exist in the space between painted customs and full reconstructions, often utilizing textures and accessories in work that is distinctly their own.

via

This Thailand-based custom shoe company does not get the attention it deserves. Dealing mostly with canvas shoes, What's Shop paints everything from superheroes to life-like portraits and colorful landscapes with an incredible attention to detail.

via

Jake Danklefs of Dank Customs is winning the Customizer of the Year award so far according to his contemporary Emmanuelabor. Week after week he unveils the cleanest custom flips that leave even veteran customizers scratching their heads trying to figure out how they were executed. We've seen M.F. Doom, Skunk and De La Soul inspired Air Max 1s and Salmon Toe, Liberty and Kidrobot inspired Air Max 90s. Keep an eye out for Dank, we guarantee that you'll be seeing a lot of good work from him in the near future.

via

There are reconstructed sneakers and then there are 3r-constructed sneakers. 3R Customs (aka Jest3r) is one of the originators of the craft and remains the teacher. His shoes are flawless and look factory made. Look at the images above and you'll see why he more than deserves a place on this list.

via

Amanda of Yoakustoms hasn't been as active as she was a few years ago, but that doesn't mean that people should sleep on her. Her work in the 2009 Clash of the Customizers competition alone deserves more attention than half of the work you see on blogs today, and if you see the teasers that she drops occasionally on Instagram, you know she hasn't lost her touch.

via

What Brian Villanueva does with electronics is beyond sneaker customizing. The concept and end result seem simple enough, but there is more to it than sticking LEDs in a shoe and adding a battery. We would explain just how involved the process is, but we have no idea.

via

These days if you think high-quality materials and customs, you think JBF. Jake has been at it for a number of years but his fanbase has grown exponentially in the past year or so with his use of snakeskins and other luxury materials on snapbacks and Jordans. Jake has a few process videos on Youtube and if you search hard enough you can probably find his step-by-step tutorial online, but he can't teach talent so don't get your hopes up.

via

Australia's own, Sekure D has a laundry list of achievements under his belt so far with no signs of slowing down. He has been featured and interviewed in numerous magazines, from Sneaker Freaker and Sole Collector to Juxtapoz and Voyeur, and has appeared at various exhibitions and conventions around the world. Among his many apparel, mural, and art design clients are Puma, Jordan Brand, Footlocker, Adidas, Hype DC, and Globe, with whom he has done two sneaker collaborations. Sekure D also customizes vinyl toys and over time has built a relationship with Kidrobot.

via

Afeni Shakur, Spike Lee, and Barack Obama all know who Van Monroe is, and so should you. You won't see his name on sneaker blogs every week but Van puts in work. He has customized sneakers for the aforementioned heavyweights as well as for 20th Century Fox and the cast of Pixar's Ice Age 4.

via

Jacob Patterson is the reason many customizers exist today. Not only did he create memorable customs, but JP also led custom workshops and recorded in-depth customizing tutorials for Youtube under the name WiggaTriggaTV and later JacobPattersonArt. You may have seen Jacob's work on G4TV's Attack of the Show, on the feet of Brian "The Beard" Wilson, or at his Thinktank Gallery in Los Angeles.

via

Jill of Sink or Swim Kicks has an impressive resumé. Bam Margera and Hayley Williams are among the 400+ orders that she has completed since 2009, with more flooding in daily. Her custom Vans have been featured in Urban Ink, Spin, BUST, and Bark magazine, to name a few.

via

Evan of Revive Customs thinks up a new idea for a custom every 10 minutes. He can draw inspiration from the most random conversations and when he puts his brush to a sneaker, it transforms. He is known most for his clean line work and for customizing vintage sneakers that most customizers would never dream of touching, including the coveted Nike Air Command Force. Recently, Revive Customs got the attention of filmmaker Spike Lee when he created a pair of Radio Raheem inspired Nike Air Revolutions, a tribute to the character from Spike Lee's 1989 film Do The Right Thing. Spike now owns that one-of-one and a pair of New York Knicks themed Cole Haan shoes, which he calls his lucky pair and is spotted wearing often while courtside at Madison Square Garden.

via

Customizers have their own royalty across the pond, but she doesn't live at Buckingham Palace. Kim is an innovator and all around great artist. She has had a few art shows around the world that prominently featured her customs, including some heat-sensitive pairs (Click here to see Michael Jackson's skin lighten on her pair of Supra Skytops).

via

Emmanuel Golden is your favorite customizer's favorite customizer. He's been around for quite some time, (mostly under the current pseudonym) and is responsible for more than a few techniques that many customizers have adopted. Emmanuelabor is the definition of a craftsman and has never been afraid of taking chances with his decon/recon work. In a world of cardigans, eL is the Coogi sweater.

via

London artist, Alex Nash is known for his experimentation and various projects with top brands. While many decon/recon artists work with one pair at a time and add extra materials, Nash Money often combines multiple models into one. His hand-stitched Visvim FBT x Nike Air Max 360 customs have been imitated but no one can do what Nash does. He has a designer's eye and the hands of a cobbler, both of which have been producing amazing work since 2004.

via

At this point in his career, Mache needs no introduction. The pronunciation of his name still proves difficult for some (it's "mosh" not "moshy"), but the quality of his work is universally understood as being phenomenal. In recent months, Mache has gained thousands of followers because of his work for big basketball stars Lebron James, Nate Robinson, and Dwayne Wade, but what a lot of people don't realize is that Mache is a decade deep into the custom game. His "Mache Custom Kicks" Myspace page still exists where you can see some of his older work, including pairs for Pharrell, Kanye West, Adidas, GZA of the Wu-Tang Clan, NBA athlete Rasheed Wallace, and many others. A lot of customizers paint as a side gig, but Mache has worked hard to make a full-time career out of his passion, and for that we are grateful and always anxious to see what he comes up with next.

via