{"id":1153902,"date":"2022-09-30T13:28:47","date_gmt":"2022-09-30T18:28:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/?p=1153902"},"modified":"2022-09-30T13:33:38","modified_gmt":"2022-09-30T18:33:38","slug":"creator-connection-ant-kai","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/creator-connection-ant-kai\/","title":{"rendered":"Creator Connection: Head in the Clouds and Feet on the Ground, How Ant Kai Made His Sneaker Dreams a Reality"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In recent years, custom sneakers have grown from simple one-of-a-kind colorways to bespoke artistic expressions that infuse more than just style, but storytelling. The best-of-the-best know how to target trends, employ design, and attach a signature style that is carried throughout each sneaker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With a lot of heart and over 10,000 hours of practice, Ant Kai<\/strong> knows exactly what it takes to make a good custom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His career as a sneaker customizer started out small, with his first pair being BAPE-inspired Vans for his niece’s birthday gift. After falling in love with the process, Ant decided to keep creating to see what else he was capable of.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Four years after his very first custom, Ant hit it big when he was able to sell a Lakers-inspired Union x Air Jordan 1 for a pretty hefty price tag. This was the moment that Ant realized that he could do this full time if he just stuck to it and put in the work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite that it was the middle of lockdown, Ant Kai decided he had enough of doing the ordinary and didn’t want to spend another day at his full-time job. He gave up everything he had and moved from Seattle to Houston to pursue his dream of becoming a full-time sneaker artist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ant’s move was time well spent as Virgil Abloh reposted his custom Off-White x Nike Dunk Low just a year later. Virgil’s co-sign allowed Ant Kai’s page to blow up overnight, with people gravitating towards his dreamy cloud print.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since then, Ant has continued to create customs and is in the midst of living his dream as a full-time sneaker artist in Houston.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Get to know more about Ant Kai<\/a><\/strong> as Snkrs Day talks to him about his humble beginnings, his Filipino heritage, working with Dermot Kennedy, factories stealing his designs, and his Kobe-inspired work ethic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n