Many professional athletes and celebrities are flocking to N.Y.-based artist Dan Gamache for his “creative custom shoe designs, whether they are painted on football cleats, basketball sneakers or casual kicks,” according to Matt Vensel of the Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE. Gamache “became an overnight sensation a few years back thanks to the social-media boom and a shout-out” from LeBron James. In ‘11, Gamache “uploaded to Instagram, which he used as a photo-editing tool, a picture of a LeBron James model of Nike basketball shoes he had customized.” Gamache’s “most high-profile customers include star athletes from the NFL, NBA and MLB." Before the first game at U.S. Bank Stadium last fall, Vikings WR Jarius Wright “commissioned Gamache to make a pair of purple commemorative cleats.” Two weeks later, Vikings RB Jerick McKinnon “wanted custom cleats, too.” Last season, the NFL introduced its “My Cleats, My Cause” initiative, which “gave players for one game the green light to wear cleats in any color and with bolder designs as long as the players submitted in advance their designs, which brought awareness to the charity of their choosing.” When Gamache was in Minneapolis last November to deliver cleats to Vikings CB Xavier Rhodes, he “walked out with about a dozen pairs from other players who wanted designs done." Vikings TE Kyle Rudolph said, “Last year, cleats almost became a pop culture thing throughout the NFL. It was almost like every week someone had something cool on their cleats” (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 7/5).
