*
- 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]
* 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]
* You can count on me
* And I promise I'm the only one you need *
[Ian Matthews clears throat]
- * 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 *
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]
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.
- Isaiah Molitor: 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]
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.