Custom Air Jordan 1’s

Custom Air Jordan 1’s

These custom Air Jordan 1’s were custom painted for high school senior, Drew Kempel of Bismarck, North Dakota. His father Eric, wanted to give him a killer one of a kind graduation gift to remember.   A trophy. So we planned out a pair of custom painted shoes— a pair of custom painted Air Jordan 1s.

Eric and I talked about the idea and video project for nearly a year. He told me what would make these custom Jordans special for DrewMan. He wanted me to incorporate Drew’s basketball team logos, his name, and his jersey number into the layout. Drew played for Century High School, so we used their red, white, and blue team colors. We also added the logo from Drew’s traveling basketball team, Phenom, using their black, red, and white colors.

The outside of the shoes shows all these team details with bright, bold colors. But on the inside of the shoes, I wanted to do something classic. I kept the insides of the shoes true to the original Air Jordan 1 colorway—white and red on one shoe, black and red on the other. These are the classic 1985 colors, just like the first Air Jordans ever made. It made these custom Air Jordan 1s feel like the perfect – classic with a new custom twist.

Custom shoe painting and custom shoe airbrushing SHOULD be done the rightway in my opinion. Every part of these shoes was painted by hand, airbrushed, pinstriped, or shot with an Iwata spot gun. Full custom paint, done the right way. That’s how custom Air Jordans should be done.   No paint pens, no half assed paint brushes, no gay markers, nothing to make them look hokie, like they just came from the state fair.   I custom painted these Jordans just like I do helmets, motorcycles, everything.  With precision, and done the right way.

This was one of the most exciting Jordan painting projects I’ve gotten to do, since I’m a Drew Kempel fan. I’ve known Drew since he was a kid, and getting to do these custom painted basketball shoes for him was really special to me – was an honor to do them in my opinion. Watching Drew grow up and become such a superb ball player has made me proud. He lead his team all the way to the state championship for a perfect storybook ending.   I got the chance to follow him all year, and got to go to a couple of his games as well while in town.

These Air Jordan custom shoes are not just cool—they will be full of memories and relationships for years to come for Drew. Every time he looks at them, he’ll remember his school, his teammates, and all those big games he played in. That’s what makes custom painted Jordans so powerful. They tell a story. And I hope these will be a custom trophy he can show his kids some day, and always remember how much his Dad and so many loved watching him play.

The logos were placed and sized carefully on these custom painted Jordans. His Century high school logo went on one side, and the Phenom logo on the other. His name and number were airbrushed in a way that makes them stand out, but still flow with the whole design. The red, white, and blue really pop on these custom airbrushed Jordan 1’s. The kandy pagan gold #11 and his last name I think were my favorite parts.

This pair of custom painted shoes is more than just a gift from his family. It’s a memory, a piece of Drew’s story. It shows how much his dad loves and believes in him. It also shows how art and sports can come together into something really amazing.

In the end, these custom Air Jordans were the perfect way to celebrate Drew’s big win on and off the court. They’re one of my favorite custom painted Air Jordan 1s I’ve ever done.  On to College for this phenomenal shooting guard.