{"id":453687,"date":"2015-06-29T15:02:53","date_gmt":"2015-06-29T19:02:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/?p=453687"},"modified":"2019-01-06T21:49:12","modified_gmt":"2019-01-07T02:49:12","slug":"gridiron-kicks-spotlight-meet-the-man-behind-the-leagues-most-interesting-cleats","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/gridiron-kicks-spotlight-meet-the-man-behind-the-leagues-most-interesting-cleats\/","title":{"rendered":"Gridiron Kicks Spotlight: Meet The Man Behind The League\u2019s Most Interesting Cleats"},"content":{"rendered":"

Duke Ihenacho<\/strong> is well aware of his roots. Canvassing his bio within his Instagram and various social media platforms is the proud capitalization of \u201cNIGERIAN.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0Duke\u2019s command and knowledge of his roots seems to permeate throughout his demeanor. Whether he\u2019s instructing Riley Cooper to \u201cwatch his mouth\u201d or decorating his mouthpiece to honor his mother, Duke has a way of letting his \u201cpresence” be heard.<\/p>\n

This couldn\u2019t have been any more evident as the talented safety from San Jose State took social media by storm as his elaborate and decorative \u201ccustom\u201d cleats drew the attention of many. Featuring Chuck Taylor like designs as well as Nike slide iterations via tape jobs, it\u2019s safe to say that Duke is easily one of the more artistic players to grace the gridiron each and every week.<\/p>\n

I caught up with Duke to gather his thoughts on the kicks that are taking the world by storm.<\/p>\n

Snkrs Day: What started the process of you creating these custom cleats?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Duke Ihenacho:<\/strong>\u00a0Just growing up in L.A., I never played Pop Warner football but I had a lot of friends that played. During that time it was a very common thing to see the kids create their Chuck Taylor spats or house slippers and what not.<\/p>\n

I remember when I was with the Denver Broncos, I had started doing it when I was on the practice squad and with the year being so long and spending so many weeks on the practice squad, you tend to get bored. After a while, I kind of wanted to spice up practice for myself, and I just decide to spat up my cleats. The first one I did was the Chuck Taylor spat. Everyone liked it and I started doing it on Fridays of each week.<\/p>\n

Snkrs Day: How long of a process is it to create these cleats?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Duke Ihenacho:<\/strong>\u00a0It\u2019s really quick. First I get spatted, just normally, like everyone else. Depending on what design I\u2019m doing, I\u2019ll either have a black base or a white base. Then after that, I\u2019ll grab some tape and spend an extra five to ten minutes creating the design.<\/p>\n

The Chuck Taylors take the longest because of the laces and things like that. I usually utilize the finger tape for the laces because that specific tape is thin. It\u2019s not a long process at all, I guess the longer you do it, the more you perfect it.<\/p>\n

Snkrs Day: Who has the biggest reaction to your creatively taped kicks, your teammates or coaches?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Duke Ihenacho:<\/strong>\u00a0Man, truthfully, I don\u2019t tell anybody – I try to hide it until I get to the field. However, the biggest reaction is from the trainers and media — the guys that aren\u2019t necessarily coaches and players. Some players have seen it, especially the ones from Cali and it just sort of brings back memories, so they definitely get excited about that.<\/p>\n

Snkrs Day: Is the sneaker culture different with you being a West Coast guy on the East Coast?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Duke Ihenacho:<\/strong>\u00a0I feel like everybody enjoys their sneakers but on the East Coast it’s more about boots, like Timberlands. However, at the end of the day, everyone enjoys their sneakers. Especially within a football organization, you have guys from all over the place – so the people that I\u2019m around are the same kind of people and enjoy sneakers.<\/p>\n

Snkrs Day: So, throughout your career are there any notable players that have great sneaker collections?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Duke Ihenacho:<\/strong>\u00a0Oh man, Von Miller. When I played in Denver with him he had a lot of shoes. TJ Ward also had a lot of shoes. Andre Caldwell has a great collection, as well as Jeron Johnson\u00a0who I play with now\u00a0(as seen in the video below)<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Ultimately the culture remains consistent throughout the league. Once you get to this level, it\u2019s so easy to get ahold of a lot of sneakers and I think players take pride in that .<\/p>\n