Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Logan Henderson and 14-year-old Shane Cox sat on the edge of the grass along the warning track of American Family Field, painting the swooshes of their new white Nike Air Force 1s purple.
When Cox decided to add fingerprints to his swoosh before the paint dried, Henderson asked Cox if he could do the same to his kicks. Cox obliged.
“Heck yeah, bro,” Henderson replied.
Brewers players and coaches teamed with around 40 Milwaukee-area kids and teens from Running Rebels, Jazale’s Art Studio and Dr. Howard Fuller Collegiate Academy to customize and personalize Air Force 1s and T-shirts along the warning track of American Family Field on Tuesday, June 2.
“Today is amazing,” Henderson told the Journal Sentinel. “It’s cool to be able to come out here and meet a new friend in Shane, and get to customize some kicks. This is very exciting.”
Jazale’s Art Studio, which Cox is a part of, is a creative space that aims to empower youth via art education and mentorship. Running Rebels is a nonprofit organization that works to support at-risk youth through mentorship, academic guidance and programs that promote positive life choices, according to a news release from the Brewers.
The custom sneaker experience, which was an all-team event, was brought to life in partnership with the Brewers Community Foundation, Nike, The Sole Revival and local artists Noel Alvarado of None Above and Kira Watkins, owner of Operation Kicks.
“With everything going on in the world right now, this is such a special event,” said Karen Cosentino, brand ambassador for The Sole Revival, which works with organizations and corporations to help design custom shoes. “It shows these kids that they can meet their heroes and be part of something amazing – and have fun designing their shoes in the process.”
There were a handful of stations set up on the warning track: A DIY design table with paints, brushes and tape; paint design with None Above; an accessories stop with shoe lace options, charms and dubraés; Sole Revival stations, where Brewers logos could be screened onto shoes and pressed onto T-shirts; and a shoe-drying area. And, if a participant asked a player to autograph their shoes, that’s what they got.
At the Operation Kicks tattoo and decal design station, Watkins was teaching kids how to tattoo shoes using temporary tats. Her business typically puts on five- or six-hour workshops, where people of all ages can customize their own sneakers.
“I love creating, and I wanted to give that back to our community,” Watkins said. “So it was a great win-win today.”
Seventeen-year-old Travonne Cannon’s game plan for his AF1s was to “keep it classy, keep it original, but also have something different.” He made that happen with black laces, a small Brewers logo on both sides of each heel and gold dubraés.
“When we first met and started kind of talking about what we wanted to do, it felt like our design choice, kind of where our heads were at, was kind of the same,” outfielder Garrett Mitchell said, adding that the two bonded over sports and “a lot of things.”
“It was a good match, for sure,” Mitchell said.
Mitchell confessed, though, that Cannon’s kicks were swaggier than his.
“Yeah, mine’s got a swag on it,” Cannon confirmed.
“I just love seeing the players sitting on the grass with the kids, having a normal conversation, giving them some ideas and tips, which they both shared,” said Katina Shaw, the Brewers vice president of community relations. “And I think it’s just a sentimental moment. And they probably grew a fan just in that moment.”
Pitcher Chad Patrick and 12-year-old Ivyonna Ferguson sat in the grass as they worked on lacing up their kicks – Patrick’s with gold laces and Ferguson’s with blue.
“Your shoes are going to look better than mine, I’ll tell you that,” Patrick said.
When Patrick asked Ferguson what she wanted to be when she gets older, she said a doctor. He told her that his mom is a nurse who delivers babies, which is “a cool job.”
“It’s really cool and special just to be a part of this,” Patrick told the JS.
The event was part of the Brewers’ #BeyondTheDiamond community initiative, a series of outreach events that provide programs focused on health, education, recreation and basic needs to nonprofits. The events are funded, in part, by the Brewers Community Foundation.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Brewers, Milwaukee-area kids customize Nikes together at AmFam Field