How a sneaker artist turned his passion from a side hustle into a full-fledged career customizing pairs of Nike and Adidas shoes for celebrities like Jay-Z and LeBron James

• Jake Danklefs is a designer who customizes sneakers for a living.
• He's the founder and creative artist of Dank & Co., a Texas-based customization shop for footwear, where he executes his own design takes on popular shoe models for customers who want something different.
• Danklefs has designed shoes for celebrities like Jay-Z and LeBron James, and his sneakers have been featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated Kids.
• Here's how the artist turned a sneaker passion into a successful career customizing pairs for people who want a one-of-a-kind design.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Even when wearing well-known brands like Nike or Adidas, there's still room for original creative expression in footwear - and that's the niche that Jake Danklefs occupies.

Danklefs customizes footwear for a living. He's the founder and creative artist of Dank & Co., a Texas-based customization shop for sneakers where customers pay to have him execute original, one-of-a-kind designs.

"It's kind of like buying a car," Danklefs said of his customization process, which involves working with existing sneaker models to create something unique. "And then you put a stereo system in it and a new paint job and rims and tires. You know, once it's yours, you can customize it how you want."

Though Danklefs' designs have been worn by celebrities and athletes like Jay-Z, Post Malone, and Billie Jean King, a large part of his customer base consists of regular people who want to give their footwear a personal touch.

From side hustle to career

As is the case wth many people on the periphery of the sneaker industry, Danklefs' job started out as a side hustle.

"I got into it originally because my brother always had cooler shoes than I had," he said of his early days as a shoe artist.

Danklefs was painting custom portraits of people's shoes when he had the idea to turn the sneakers into his primary canvas.

After making some mistakes - he used the wrong paint for some time - Danklefs got the hang of sneaker artistry. He started selling his designs on web forums and developed a steady customer base of people who wanted custom footwear in line with their personal tastes.

Eventually, Danklefs was working 50 hours a week as an energy-efficiency consultant while handling his customization business during his free time.

"And I started making more money on the side with the shoes than I was in my full-time job," Danklefs said. In 2012, he quit his day job to focus on his side hustle full-time.

Gaining momentum

Thanks to a mutual connection, Danklefs got the chance to design shoes for NBA star LeBron James, to celebrate the Miami Heat's 2013 NBA championship win.

For this shoe, Danklefs customized a pair of LeBron 10s by painting them gold and red and adding different embellishments to signify the athlete's impressive career.

James posted a photo of the shoes on his social media accounts and wore them on the cover of Sports Illustrated Kids.

Though he had designed shoes for other minor celebrities prior to the LeBron shoes, Danklefs said he remembers this moment as a defining point in his career.

"Since then, it's just been a whirlwind of all kinds of different people we've been doing shoes for," Danklefs said.

Working with celebrities and brands

Danklefs has developed an expansive roster of celebrity clients, including Jay-Z, Pharrell Williams, Post Malone, Dwyane Wade, Jaden Smith, Billie Jean King, Shawn Mendes, and John Mayer. He's also collaborated with companies like Adidas, Doritos, Pepsi, and Whataburger on projects.

Last March, Danklefs partnered with Corona Extra to design 12 pairs of Texas Longhorns-inspired Jordan 3s, which were part of a special giveaway during March Madness.

"That was definitely one of the most unique pairs that I've ever made," Danklefs said of the shoes, which had a midsole painted with sand-textured paint to resemble the beach, an essential part of Corona's branding.

How he does it

Danklefs said each job varies in cost and can range between $300 and $2,500 per pair. After the customer, who usually provides the shoes, explains what he or she is looking for, Danklefs says his creative juices usually take over.

"I kind of can't explain it," he said about the process of figuring out how to execute a design. "My mind just goes wild and I just end up blurting out ideas."

Danklefs uses a variety of textures and colors in his designs to achieve the desired impact of each pair, whether that's a sand-infused paint for a Corona shoe, or a sheetrock putty mixture to create a smooth texture on the side of a Nike shoe.

With around 150 pair of sneakers in his own personal collection, Danklefs said he is still a sneakerhead at heart. And though his business has caught the eyes of many A-list celebrities, Danklefs also serves the average client who just wants a cool pair of shoes.

"I'm always just sparked with creative juices when people come in and ask for ideas on a project and different ways of getting the job done," Danklefs said.