Photo taken by Kegan a.k.a Savvy (Instagram: @Savvyvisuals)
Customizing sneakers has become pretty popular throughout the past couple of years, but I’ve had the pleasure of interviewing Raleigh, NC native, Rashaun Shaw aka The Sneaker Reaper.
As he described his work area, I painted a picture of some of the coldest release’s covering his wall, from the world’s most iconic sneaker brand, Air Jordan. Also, a work environment full of inspiration with knowledgeable magazines and books, while lyrical geniuses such as J.Cole, Jay-Z, Wayne and Raleigh’s own, King Mez bump on a playlist. Shaw speaks on the good energy and vibes he likes to be surrounded by while his creative juices flow, “I enjoy the magazines and books because it shows you how to chances and risks and to have faith. That brand turned into the most iconic sneaker brands hands down def one of the most sought after. I keep a lot of pictures of beaters from 90’s that are still around I mean beaters like falling apart dry rotted all that good stuff. Makes me realize the many cycles in a sneakers life span.”
Shaw doesn’t take full credit for his business, due to his support system and team, Essence Sykes and Jarie Hicks. “They both give me honest opinions that I want no filler no extra noise. Jah will hear an idea and bounce it back with a twist and the twist is what I needed to hear,” says Shaw. Sykes plays a significant part in areas of the custom sneakers. The Sneaker Reaper goes to Hicks as they collaborate with design ideas and also, creating some visuals through Jarie’s videography company, Luchinivisuals.
Even though the Reaper has a rock solid team filled with much inspiration; he shows gratitude explaining the impact John Geiger and The Shoe Surgeon, Dominic Chambrone have on the customizing world. “Those guys really push creativity. Which is exactly what I’m doing its dope to see what ideas come out of people’s heads.” If you’re not familiar with the Geiger and Chambrone, they have collaborated with many custom sneaker designs, such as their famous “Misplaced Checks” AF1’s.
Customizing sneakers has been something the 22-year-old has loved since high school. For the past 2 years, he has taken his passion for customizing and turned it into a successful hustle. Some may do it for the money, but Shaw simply appreciates the love he gets from these well thought-out creations. “Giving people that “these are fresh” feeling is my favorite part. We work hard on each design each color and where we put colors so it balances. So when we create a shoe that we thought was perfect and put it out and the public thinks so we feel like everything was done correct,”says Shaw.
This Sneaker Reaper has already released two of his own customized sneakers. His first was the “USA Highs AF1 (Above).” These were released to show the teams creative designs, adding the American flag on the tongue of the sneaker. These came in white and black, “We went with painting the checks. We didn’t want the shoe to be extremely loud it was meant to be a classic type of sneaker. This was our version of the USA release on the Af1.” These are currently sold out on his website.
His latest release is the “Preme Cream,” which was designed by the Supreme Box Logo Tee. The tongue of the shoes has become the signature, we put this on the tongue and made the sneaker cream with a white sole which balanced perfect. We did a 94 on the left sneaker to pay homage to the year supreme was established. We also engraved stars to the back tab of the sneaker. The release was made to break boundaries and bring more focus to the tongue and the collab between the two brand,” says Shaw describing the shoe. The visual was created by Stephen Michael (Instagram: @smvisuals).
Check out The Sneaker Reaper’s Website: sneakereapercustoms.bigcartel.com and follow his instagram: @sneakereaper_
Suggest Articles:
Chance The Rapper Weighs-In On Bromance With Kanye
G-Shock to Release a Watch Collab w/ Iconic Graffiti Artist, Futura
More from Style
PUMA Set to Release New Clyde All Pro
PUMA earlier today announced the newest addition to the Walt 'Clyde' Frasier Franchise, the Clyde All-Pro. This version is their newest basketball …
PUMA x The Hundreds Team Up For Another Collection
PUMA has teamed up again with community-powered streetwear brand The Hundreds for a new line of footwear, apparel, and accessories designed …
PUMA and Creative Artist Collective KidSuper Studios Partner on Unisex Collection
Creative artist collective KidSuper Studios and PUMA are releasing their first collaboration together this week. The PUMA x KidSuper Studios collection mixes …
