Isaiah Molitor
I'd say what makes you a sneakerhead is if you've like-- you don't follow the hype.
stomp-clap Hip-Hop
Isaiah Molitor
Our backs to the wall but they counting on me They counting on me, oh
Patrick Smith
Some people look at it as, like, just buy, sell, and trade. Some people look at it as collecting. Could be playing from behind or aggressive with the lead Aggressive with the lead
Tara Cudworth
Shoes definitely are a conversation starter. They make people happy.
laughs
Joel Bergquist
It's like you just, you have that itch for it where you're just not going to be able to think about anything else until you get it. They waiting for the fall But the parachute's free
Isaiah Molitor
To be honest, I make shoe "eye contact" before I look at people's face, which is probably wrong, but... it's kind of just what I've been trained to do.
laughs
Isaiah Molitor
You can count on me And I promise I'm the only one you need
Ian Matthews clears throat
Isaiah Molitor
Shoes look so fresh Like lemon squeeze juice So, so icy drop them in as ice cubes Dope hues, paint loose, got my eyes seduced They so fly, make my bank account go cuckoo First glance they see the flare Like Riley, I'm OG Like, trim and air and Nike's, No cap They was a little pricey but who cares Go rock them day and nightly, oh yeah Go rock them day and nightly, oh yeah That's a hook on my new single, "New Shoes." My name is Ian Matthews. I have a passion for restoring shoes and customizing sneakers. It all started when I wanted to learn how to clean my own shoes. I think that's how every restorer comes up.
blowing
Isaiah Molitor
I probably worked on about 300 now. So a lot of times, I'll start with sandpaper or acetone to get paint off. Sometimes, I use a heat gun in case I need to warm up the glue that I just recently put on to bond together. I use Angelus Paint. That's about the only shoe paint brand that's out there. It's pretty thin so I usually have to do many thin layers just to get the full color. So, ever since I learned the skills off YouTube mainly. That's where I learned about just about anything. I started to offer my services to friends. Because I have had a person who has restored my shoes and it-- I smelled the shoe, which is-- it's a sneakerhead thing for sure if you smell your shoes-- and it smelled like spray paint. I moved the shoe and it cracked but then, when I started going to Ian, I'm like moving the shoe, bending it, and I'm looking at these scuffs I used to have. Like, the before and after pictures, it's like day and night.
Patrick Smith
When I met him, just who he was as being... Ian, he was just so cool, bro. He was down to earth.
Tara Cudworth
We've all kind of, you know, got to know each other a little bit but every sneakerhead in Madison around knows everyone else.
Joel Bergquist
Funny enough, we're the same shoe size. So, I've seen him post those 1999 Air Jordan 4 with the-- with the re-done sole.
Low-Fi Hip-Hop dance music
Joel Bergquist
So, just a big fan of his, like, attention to detail with everything.
Ian Matthews
It was probably about 20 hours. It's a very tedious job just to work on a shoe that long. To always feel like I can add a little bit of something to the shoe to really maximize its potential of giving it its own shine. Some people think, like, my work is magic and there's no touch-ups. There's been a lot of work that I've had to do just to get the job finished. It's all the little details that count. And that's what I want to include in my work. I think I love sneakers because it's an extension of my personality.
Patrick Smith
It was always just being different but having something that everybody else was like, "Man, I can appreciate it for what it is."
Tara Cudworth
Sneakers are something that anyone can get involved with. Young, old, men, women. My grandma wears Supreme, wear sneakers. Things like that.
Isaiah Molitor
Like, everybody that's into shoes would definitely sit down and talk to you and be like, "No, bro, this shoe's fire," or be like, "No, bro, this shoe's trash." Being able to have that and, like, be opinion-based with other people around the world, it's just, it's awesome!
Ian Matthews
It's all these things that give us inspiration to be myself. Why I love following my passions. It's all part of it. All part of why... sneakers are so important to me.
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