Curated by Jeff Staple, Complex.com has released another list that is sure to create a buzz and get people talking among the sneaker and streetwear industries. Remember the 50 Best Custom Sneakers of All Time? That list had some hits but consensus among sneaker customizers was that it probably had more misses. Enough of that list, this most recent is put together with a bit more thought and reasoning giving light to a few people that don’t seem to be caught up being an “online sneaker celebrity” that the general sneakerhead(bad term but nothing else fits) community doesn’t know about.
Of course before reading any fans of PaintOrThread would have to wishfully anticipate for a “sneaker customizer” to have been featured on the list. The suspense was ended early as at #48 Jeff Staple listed Methamphibian and SBTG splitting the role of “Sneaker Customizer Grand Masters.” They would likely be their peers’ choice as a #1 on a Customizer Only List. But it is amazing to see the term sneaker customizer represented among names like Jordan, Tinker, Agassi, Kanye, Bo, Nigo, Run DMC and more. Checkout the entire list here: 50 Most Influential People In Sneaker History
From the article:
Customizing sort of splintered off into its own satellite planet of sneaker culture—people that bought shoes at retail, hand-painted them and then resold it to other people at a premium. And in this nascent era of sneaker culture, these two guys were really the premier customizers of the day. They took that simple act of just painting on shoes to another level, adding amazing gradients, finishes, patterns, and attachments and eventually figured out a way to mix their paint so that you could actually wear the shoe and not worry about it fading or cracking. – Jeff Staple