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Custom cleats have taken the NFL by storm as various players look to showcase their personality and charisma through vibrant footwear. Despite the strict NFL uniform policy, players continue to push the boundaries and leave fans excited for what their favorite player may rock come Sunday afternoon. However, behind every piece of art lies the artist that created it, and many of these custom cleats you see on NFL gridirons are created by one man: Marcus. Better known as SolesBySir, this Miami-based artist has created custom pieces for Super Bowl champions, Pro-Bowlers and All-Pros. We caught up with Marcus to see just how he was able to take the NFL by storm.
Nice Kicks: How did you end up getting involved creating custom cleats?
SolesBySir: Last year for Valentine’s Day, I wanted to get my girlfriend something different. So, I bought a pair of Dunks and I just didn’t like the color. I went in and changed the whole color of the shoe and she then puts its on Instagram and her friends start reposting it. Then I had a player–Nolan Carroll, at the time he played for the Dolphins– reach out and want me to do a custom pair of sneakers first. It was a pair of “Statue of Libertys.” I’ll never forget it. I did them and he fell in love with them. In August of that year, he reached back out and wanted me to do some cleats. I didn’t even wanna do them. I didn’t even charge him for the first one, (I did it) almost as a experimental phase. He wore them during the first pre-season game and after the game they were perfect. He wore them again the next game and nothing went wrong with them.
Nice Kicks: How did things begin to develop for you once you captured your first NFL client?
SolesBySir: By week three, Nolan Carroll had sent me a package, and he tells me, “You remember the cleats you gave me for free? Well I want to return the favor.” So, he ships me 12 pairs of cleats and I didn’t know what the favor was at the time. He tells me to finish up two or three pairs and ship them back to him at this specific address. The address he had given me was the Miami Dolphins training facility. So, he waited until one day after practice and opened the box in front of all of his teammates and that’s when it all went nuts. That night, I literally had calls from five or six Dolphins and things continued to spread from there.
