Luis Pizana

Footwear has been a major part of my life ever since I was about 12 years old. I remember lacing up my very first pair of basketball shoes the iconic T-MAC 1s. To be honest up to that point I really didn't see shoes as a big deal until I got my hands on that pair. It was just something about the way that they were designed that demanded attention. That royal blue strip just flowed across the side and wrapped over the toe in a unique way made it stand out to me.

I then researched what else was out there and discovered a whole new world. I also discovered a lot of concept shoes and thought to myself "Wow! Why haven't they made these yet?" then again there were some designs that I saw and thought "What? I can draw a better shoe than that."

I was about 13 when I sketched my first shoe. I was in detention; probably not the best start, but it was the beginning of my journey. I was sitting there just doodling and noticed that the form I had laid out resembled a shoe, so I just refined it with a few color pencils. I set my pencils down and sat in astonishment from my final results, needless to say I was proud of myself. A friend of mine noticed my excitement and asked to see what I was working on. I looked up to check if the coast was clear and handed him my creation. He gazed upon it for a moment, and with a dark smirk he whispered "That's Stupid!", as he crumbled my sketch. All my hopes and dreams just sitting on the floor crushed before my eyes. I only had two options, to give him the satisfaction of my despair or to pick it back up, unravel the possibilities, and pursue this dream. I smiled as I picked up that piece of paper and I never looked back. From that moment on I knew that this was what I wanted to do.

I fell in love with the idea that I could walk down the street one day and see somebody that I don't even know wearing something that I created. People have the power to crush dreams,but Its only when we give up our pursuit, that we allow them to win. Ten years later the dream is still alive and stronger than ever knowing that I'm that much closer to making it a reality.