I picked up the latest issue of Slam magazine with the jump man 23 himself. .Michael Jordan on the cover. I read the article about Jordan then proceed to do the girl thing and look at the pretty pictures in the magazine. While skimming through the latest fashions in t shirts and sneakers, I stumbled across the illest looking vandals. Upon closer inspection I realized these were customized dunks (damn there goes my pair). The artist is simply known as TTK an acronym he came up with as a kid. Oddly, there was no picture of TTK. Being somewhat familiar with the graffiti culture I assumed TTK was a former if not still graff artist. I kept looking at the small picture of the customized vandals, the art work was so detailed and precise that I had to learn more about this artist not to mention I need to send him a pair of kicks to customize for me!

I had the pleasure of actually talking to TTK himself not so long ago, let me say that he was so laid back, cool and humble that it was like speaking to an old friend. 

Finding inspiration from comic books  to clothing, TTK has carved himself a nice spot in the sneaker game as one of its top customizers. His knack for detailed artwork combinedwith  his fearless approach to using colors that folks would fear would put them on the worst dressed list if they walked out of the house in them, has made him one of the most sought after artist in the game. “When I am working on a pair of sneakers, I like to add my own touches in there while keeping the customer’s style in mind as well”. But why sneakers? “First and foremost I am an artist, sneakers just happened to be the canvas that put me in the public’s eye”. Thank you to that!!!

Sneaker customization has allowed TTK’s fan base to grow over several continents, “People as far out as Japan, have contracted me to do some work on their sneakers”. We the people know a good thing when we see it and we seem to love TTK’s work. I wondered to myself if TTK has ever showcased artwork  outside of sneakers so I asked and was presently surprised with his response. “I will actually be showcasing my latest project called Urban Equestrian. This collection is based on Polo Ralph Lauren and its influence in street culture”.  I loved the oxymoron he used and I am excited to get another glimpse into TTK’s colorful world.

TTk and I ended the interview with some friendly banter on which comic book the other should read and appreciate the artistry in. Like I stated earlier, TTK is a pretty cool guy and  he can definitely count on me to support his artistic endeavors! I may not know much but I do know a great talent when I come across it. If you want learn more about TTK and his upcoming show, please visit his website www.gottkgo.com.

Many people have a favorite perfume, article of clothing or sneakers which they would wear non stop. In this case, I have 2 favorite styles of sneakers; dunks and the sb dunks top my sneaker list.

The Nike dunks (& SB dunks) are in my opinion are so versatile. I love the simple cut and line of the sb dunks but what i really love is that anything can influence the style or color of any upcoming dunks.

For example, if you have been reading my blogs you may have seen the pictures of the “Bruce Springsteen” sb dunks hi. If you are sb fanatic you know that there are supposedly a Street Fighter combo pack influenced by the characters Ryu and Chung Li coming out soon. Now you may say but the SB look like regulars Nikes and u may be right if you don’t take in the details. Take the Hawaiian sb, on the insole there is a picture of the a Hawaiian dancer and on the side is a picture of the island. The PeeWee Herman dunks are all in grey like Peewee’s famous suit and the Nike check is red like his tie lastly, the bottom sole is white like PeeWee’s shirt. How can you not notice the artistry in  this shoe?

The regular dunks  lo seem to look good on those with no arch in their foot. It seems to me that the sneaker form is kept in tact on my “flat foot” friends. The hi dunks have that classic retro feel to them, makes it the perfect sneaker to wear to an 80′s party (I know, I know many will opt to wear the classic shell top Adidas but I am only presenting you with another option.) Presently, I have a small collection of dunks but you better believe I will hopefully expand it in the near future!

Now that I have told you what my preferred style of sneaker(s) are, I want to know…What’s your kicks?

What ever happened to Etonics? My cousin Raul used to buy these sneakers at least ever other week. He literally had them in every color possible. In my eyes, it seems like Etonics disappeared of the face of the Earth. In reality, Etonics are a golf & bowling  shoe company so it still exists but as for street wear not at all. Whatever happened to them?

  (dont the nike air max resemble these a bit? is it just me?)