At 25 years old, Keron Nelson’s sneaker game is already enough to possibly rival veteran sneakerheads.
Nelson has about 20 pairs in his personal collection – including popular brands Nike Air Force 1’s and Jordan – with many more pairs that he has designed for local and foreign clients as far as Norway.
Nelson, owner of Awujo Studios speaks candidly to Newsday about how he was able to turn his hobby into a profitable business which has been growing in popularity in the sneaker world.
Sneakerheads is a term used to describe a person who wears and collects sneakers as a hobby, and the already massive following grows every year with the release of designer shoes, some of which are branded by popular figures in sport.
[caption id="attachment_965557" align="alignnone" width="683"] “I can work on any kind of leather (including) most Nike Air Force 1s or Jordan 1s. Air Force 1s are a popular shoe. It’s trending constantly. It has good panels to work on (and) it’s good for colour blocking and drawing characters," says Keron Nelson. - Marvin Hamilton[/caption]
However, overly-priced brand-named sneakers are not the only way to enjoy cool kicks as many people prefer unique designs, which has given rise to trends such as painting and drawing designs on new and old sneakers.
The name, Awujo, has significant meaning to Nelson, meaning society in Yoruba.
Nelson, who only began creating designs on sneakers as a personal hobby, was able to market himself on social media and has since gained international recognition for his work.
“While I was in the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT), I sold clothes to make money and then I came across customisation and I decided to try it,” he said. “The idea was to customise shoes and tees to sell alongside the shoes, then the shoes became the main thing.”
Nelson started in business in 2016, during his second year where he studied physical education. He now works in a primary school, preparing standard four students for their Secondary Entrance Assessment (SEA) exams and works on his sneaker business part-time.
He has since converted his room at his Princes Town home into a studio and hopes to have a storefront one day, eventually offering courses to others who want to learn how to transform their shoes.
Although he has no formal training, he began drawing and sketching some of his favourite anime characters in form three.
“I just try to create something new, something that was never done before. I would take from different shows, mainly Naruto (a popular anime). That’s my favourite show. That influenced me a lot.
“I always liked to draw and from watching the show I started drawing the characters and developed my drawing skills form there.”
[caption id="attachment_965556" align="alignnone" width="683"] Keron Nelson, after marketing himself and his brand on various social media sites for sneaker heads, received a few international orders from Canada, Georgia, California and New York,, Israel and Norway. - Marvin Hamilton[/caption]
Eventually people began notic
