GOLDEN VALLEY, Minn. - So much of fashion, isn't fun.
It's hard to fit into the trends, sometimes you wear the wrong pants, and sometimes the trends are so dang awful you literally would do anything to avoid them.
But in the wide world of sneakers, there is a trend that I have to say is quite delicious.
And one of the best in that game resides in Minneapolis. His name is Salvatore Marcum, otherwise known online as @MPLS_Customs.
This is a story all about how Sal's life got flip turned upside down.
Ok, no it isn't.
This is a story all about how Sal's childhood hobby, drawing incredible pictures on sneakers, became his dream job.
“I started in '01 – 02 when I was in 4th grade. Yeah, I was watching my brother do it so I would steal his paint, his brushes, his shoes and just mess around,” Marcum explained.
He played around with it but by the time he entered adulthood, society told him he needed a real job. So he got one. And a Facebook account.
“I went on Facebook one day and saw people actually customizing shoes as a living and a week later I just quit my job and just picked back up where I left off,” Marcum said with a grin.
And now after making 200 pairs and counting at $200 minimum for a client, his job is very real.
How does he make them?
“Mostly all by hand. I use some airbrush, I don't use any stencils unless there is something I want absolutely perfect but it's mostly all hand painted,” Marcum said.
He's made shoes for all kinds of folks and a few Vikings players, but his most recent client has really put him in the spotlight. Simone Augustus.
“I had been following her for a while then I just saw a video she posted of some old Jordan's that had been sitting around. So I commented jokingly, let's customize them and she responded,” Marcum said.
Since that chance meeting, he has made several pairs of shoes for the WNBA All-Star and has created quite a following.
Not bad, for a real job.