20 Sneaker Customizers You Need to Know

The Seurats of soles.

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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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.

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El Cappy

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C2 Customs

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SBTG

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Methamphibian

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Diversitile

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What's Shop

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Dank Customs

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3R Customs

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Yoakustoms

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Brian Villanueva

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JBF Customs

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Sekure D

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Van Monroe

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Jacob Patterson Art

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Sink or Swim Kicks

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Revive Customs

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Qustom Queen

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Emmanuelabor

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Nash Money

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Mache

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