The Inspiring Story Of Shoe Customizers Supporting A Sneakerhead In Need

You can use plenty of words to describe the sneakerhead community but “sweet” or “sentimental” are likely the last words you’d attribute to a group of enthusiasts who would surely roast you if they didn’t like your kicks. Unless you’re wearing Jordans, of course. At their worst, sneakerheads have a reputation for being gate-keep-y mean kids (at their best they’re historians of art and design). But there’s actually a deep sentimentality and camaraderie to be found in these hype-obsessed circles.

Sneakerheads care for their own — bound by a passion for shoes. And nothing exhibits that fact better than the story of Lauren and EJ Wynn.

For years, the Wynns had tried to start a family of their own, enduring eight miscarriages and two failed intrauterine inseminations. Determined to realize their dream, the Wynns decided to give in-vitro fertilization a try — an expensive process that isn’t always guaranteed. To help fund their treatment, EJ parted ways with his coveted sneaker collection, surprising Lauren with the funds who shared the story in a now-viral TikTok.

That story eventually caught the attention of the Hand Made Heat community, a global collective of sneaker customizers, painters, and designers who congregate online and de and reconstruct sneakers from the sole to the stitching.

“Some of the work that comes out of this group rivals major designers,” Hand Made Heat member Nick Tornetta (also the point of contact for anyone who wants to join the discord) tells me over Zoom. Tornetta is the main entity behind Scissors Up, a subgroup within the Hand Made Heat community that tasks itself with sourcing the sort of premium materials sneaker customizers and designers rely on to make their creations and reconstructions as authentic, elevated, and bespoke as possible.

In addition to helping other creators in their respective sneaker customization journeys, the Hand Made Heat community also makes a habit of holding friendly competitions amongst its members to see who can craft the most fire kicks. Those competitions typically revolve around holidays, but the community jumped at the chance to compete for a good cause — replenishing EJ’s sneaker collection with deeply personal original sneakers that not only reflected EJ’s interests and tastes in footwear but also the family he and Lauren were hoping to build.

“We were really inspired by that story,” Tornetta notes. “A real man, a father, steps up and says ‘I’m going to give myself, for the sake of my family, I’m going to give up my collection….’ So the challenge now is, let’s replenish that collection. I really like the fact that our community has banded together to support this family and hope someday we can do more charitable events like this.”

The contest was sponsored by District Leather Supply — used by many Hand Made Heat members — who awarded the first place winner with a $1000 DLS gift card as well as a $250 gift card to Scissors Up, with second and third place tiers at a lower amount. Once the prizes were settled, Tornetta reached out to Lauren to get details on EJ (unbeknownst to him), regarding what was in his collection, what colorways and silhouettes resonated with him, and any other personal details that might be helpful.

“One of the community members made a spreadsheet and just said ‘post your idea here so we don’t send in the same thing,’” Tornetta explains. “People are adhering to some semblance of a design guideline by making a shoe he might like, or colors he might like, and then going wild otherwise.”

The result is a collection of sneakers that are in line with some of the best official releases dropped this year. The group has since sent their final designs to EJ as a surprise package, who in addition to scoring a brand new collection of fire 1-of-1 sneakers made explicitly for him (and his family, check out contest winner below), also got the perfect happy ending with the birth of his and Lauren’s son, Amari, who just last week visited his very first sneaker store Sole Stop. In an chill-inducing twist, Sole Stop is the very store where EJ sold his shoes to pay for the IVF.

All sneakerheads know the feeling of finally catching that big W, but EJ’s win resonates in a truly special way that feels like a win for us all. Check out the Hand Made Heat designs below.

@lab53shoes

Inspired by EJ’s love of the Cowboys, @lab53shoes has ensured that no matter where EJ watches the next game, he’ll be rocking the most fly kicks in the room. This Jordan I recalls the team colors of the Cowboys while updating the design with bandana print suede and calf luxury suede swooshes with suede and milled nubuck accents on the wings and heels.

All of the leather used in this design comes from the Conceria Opera Tannery in Italy. To round out the collection @lab53shoes also threw in a Cowboys onesie and bib.

@mike34customs

Inspired by STAPLE’s iconic Pigeon Dunks and EJ’s old Marshall University football days, this sneaker manages to look like both a skate shoe and one of Nike’s classic University colorways at the same time. With a textured swoosh and paneling, this Nike Dunk sports a Marshall University Thundering Herd logo under the Swoosh and lateral sides with an insole photograph that features EJ and his teammates celebrating a touchdown.

@devolvecustomfootwear

@devolvecustomfootwear went light on the sentimentality and instead went for the cool factor for this fire redesign that looks like it belongs on the SNKRS app ASAP. Featuring black matte and glossy patent, this sneaker features an extended tongue with contrasting stitching, a crimson toe box, heel details, and rear tab buckles with a customized message strap that reads.

“For all the things my hands have held… the best by far is you.”

Rounding out the design is a double swoosh, black matte on the reverse, crimson red suede on the traditional. Eat your heart out, Travis Scott.

@sneakersbytyrel

When making this design @Sneakersbytyrel was also waiting on the birth of his first son, so he decided to supply EJ with something every good dad needs — a quality boat shoe.

Utilizing the low-top Jordan 1, this design features a mix of brown, black, and creamy white with a footprint stamp on the heel with matching blue swooshes to represent EJ and Lauren’s baby boy.

@pinkytoestudio

Instead of another fire AJ-1, @pinkytoestudio took a left turn and dropped this Air Monarch. This sneaker triples down on the dad shoe vibes not only by utilizing the Monarch silhouette but by shouting out The Godfather and grill culture in its design, two staples of dad life.

It’ll only be a few years now until EJ starts talking about how modern movies “aren’t as good as The Godfather,” and insisting that he run the grill at family cookouts (if he isn’t already). That’s what dads do, they’re all grill master movie critics!

Unlike your typical dad shoe, this sneaker was given the luxury treatment with genuine python and alligator details on the tongue and upper with red python accents, a mix of matte and glossy qualities, and a full-length air unit. It may not be a Jordan, but Jordan would rock a pair in a second.

@chicano_ray

For @chicano_ray’s sneaker, the designer went deep on the research. Learning that EJ and his wife had been calling their yet-to-be-born baby ‘lil bean,’ this sneaker features bean iconography at the heel with a furry suede wrap around swoosh and heel tab over a blue elephant print upper.

We wouldn’t blame EJ for never wearing this pair and reserving them for when Amari’s feet are big enough to fit in them.

@mammothnamedjim

You don’t have to be an expectant mother or father for this one to hit you in the feels. Contest winner (are you surprised?) @mammothnamedjim went all out not with one or two but three pairs of Jordan 1s for the whole family.

Featuring a design that recalls the best Union LA Nike collaborations (peep that exposed stitching and ‘Wynn’ tab at the heel) the two adult pairs in this collection are unified by color blocking on the collar and wings but feature alternate color paneling, one green, one navy, giving the pairs a sort of his & hers quality. Unifying the collection is the toddler pair of sneakers which features a perfect blend of both designs. It’s like a little sneaker family, which will surely resonate with EJ and his growing crew.

Extra credit for those fly insoles!