CAPTAINKICKZ: RAYMOND ROMAN
STATEN ISLAND, NEW YORK | RAYMOND ROMAN
INTERVIEW REALIFE PHOTOGRAPH RAYMOND RAMON
SINCE THE INCEPTION OF HIP-HOP, FASHION HAS PLAYED A SIGNIFICANT ROLE IN THE CULTURE, ESPECIALLY SNEAKERS. FROM RUN DMC’S “MY ADIDAS”(1985) TO NELLY’S “AIR FORCE ONE” (2002) TO THE GHETTO BOYS “READ THESE NIKES” (1989), HIP-HOP HAS CONSISTENTLY PAID HOMAGE TO FOOTWEAR. IN HIP-HOP FASHION THE IDEA IS TO STAND OUT, NOT BLEND IN AND THE RIGHT PAIR OF CUSTOM SNEAKERS CAN DO JUST THAT... STAND OUT. INSPIRED BY NEW YORK CITY’S HIP-HOP SCENE, RAYMOND ROMAN ALSO KNOWN AS CAPTAINKICKZ, HAS BEEN CREATING ART ON FOOTWEAR CANVASES FOR 15 YEARS. WE REACHED OUT TO CAPTAINKICKZ, A CUSTOM SNEAKER ARTIST FROM STATEN ISLAND, NEW YORK TO TALK ABOUT HIS TRANSITION FROM GRAFFITI TO CUSTOM KICKS, HIP-HOP'S ROLE IN HIS LIFE AND MORE.
“DO YOUR HOMEWORK BECAUSE IT’S MORE THAN JUST SPLASHING SOME PAINT ON SOME KICKZ... IT’S A PROCESS!” -CAPTAINKICKZ
VALIDATED: BEING FROM STATEN ISLAND, NEW YORK, WHAT’S YOUR EARLIEST RECOLLECTION OF SNEAKER CULTURE?
CAPTAINKICKZ: I’D SAY ABOUT 88“, I SPENT MY SUMMERS IN THE BRONX. THEY ALWAYS HAD GREAT KICKZ THERE, FROM THE ETONICS, NEW BALANCE, PATRICK EWINGS TO UPTOWNS. THERE WAS SO MANY TO CHOOSE FROM, VIMS AND DR JAYS WERE GREAT SPOTS GROWING UP TO GET THE HOTTEST KICKZ AROUND!
VALIDATED: HAVE YOU ALWAYS BEEN INTO SNEAKERS?
CAPTAINKICKZ: YES, ABSOLUTELY, I’VE ALWAYS BEEN A SNEAKERHEAD.
VALIDATED: WHAT’S THE FIRST PAIR OF SNEAKERS YOU PURCHASED ON YOUR OWN?
CAPTAINKICKZ: A PAIR OF ADIDAS ATTITUDES THAT WERE BLACK WITH TEAL TRIMMING.
VALIDATED: WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE SNEAKER OF ALL TIME AND WHY?
CAPTAINKICKZ: THE JORDAN 6’S BECAUSE THEY REMIND ME OF A SPACESHIP... YES A STEALTHY SPACESHIP OR EXOTIC CAR BECAUSE IT HAS A FIN ON THE BACK OF THEM AND THE TINY HOLES SO THE SNEAKER CAN BREATHE. I LOOK AT SNEAKERS DIFFERENTLY BECAUSE I’M AN ARTIST.
VALIDATED: WHAT LED YOU TO START CUSTOMIZING SNEAKERS?
CAPTAINKICKZ: I WAS A GRAFFITI ARTIST AND I HAD A CHILD SO I WANTED TO GET OUT THE STREETS AND START PUTTING MY ART ON KICKZ AND MAKE A NAME FOR MYSELF DOING THAT WHILE SETTING A GOOD EXAMPLE FOR MY SON.
VALIDATED: THE TRANSITION FROM GRAFFITI ARTIST TO CUSTOMISING SNEAKERS, WHAT WAS THAT LIKE?
CAPTAINKICKZ: IT ACTUALLY CAME NATURAL TO ME BECAUSE I’M AN ARTIST. NOW I’M USING BRUSHES AND AIRBRUSH INSTEAD OF SPRAY CANS.
VALIDATED: YOU RECENTLY CUSTOMIZED A PAIR OF ADIDAS FOR DMC OF THE LEGENDARY RUN DMC, HOW DID THE COLLABORATION COME TO FRUITION?
CAPTAINKICKZ: BY A MAN CALLED PETESPRAY, HE LIVES OVERSEAS AND HE IS A PRODUCER. HE HAD ASKED ME WOULD I BE WILLING TO PUT TOGETHER A PAIR FOR AN UPCOMING VIDEO OF HIM AND DMC AND I SAID, “HELL YEAH, THEY’RE THE KINGS!” AND THEY TOOK ADIDAS TO A HIGH PLATO THAT STILL CAN’T BE TOUCHED! SO I PUT A PORTRAIT OF THE LEGENDARY JAM MASTER JAY ON THEM REPRESENTING HOLLIS QUEENS.
VALIDATED: WHAT OTHER CELEBRITIES HAVE YOU DONE CUSTOM WORK FOR?
CAPTAINKICKZ: I’VE DONE WORK FOR NAS, DID A PAIR FOR BUSTA RHYMES, CUBANLINK, BIG PUN, VERONICA, TERMANOLOGY, LISA LISA, RAEKWON, CAPPADONNA, METHODMAN, REDMAN, LORD JAMAR OF BRAND NUBIAN, GHOSTFACE KILLAH, LIL SUZY AND THE LIST GOES ON AND ON!
VALIDATED: CAN YOU RECALL WHO HAD THE MOST UNFORGETTABLE REACTION TO YOUR CUSTOM SHOE FOR THEM?
CAPTAINKICKZ: METHOD MAN, YOU COULD TELL ON HIS FACE HE WAS IMPRESSED. HE HAD THE BIGGEST SMILE BUT I GET THAT REACTION FROM EVERYONE. THEY SAY, “WHOA OR WOW” AND THAT’S THE BEST FEELING FOR ME BECAUSE I KNOW I DID A GREAT JOB!
VALIDATED: HOW BIG OF A ROLE DOES HIP-HOP PLAY IN YOUR CREATIVE PROCESS?
CAPTAINKICKZ: HIPHOP, I LOVE HIPHOP! HIPHOP MEANS THE WORLD TO ME! FROM ME PLAYING IT WHILE I’M PUTTING KICKZ TOGETHER TO ME DOING A PAIR FOR A HIPHOP ICON! THERE WOULD NOT BE NO CAPTAINKICKZ IF IT WEREN’T FOR HIPHOP!
VALIDATED: WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE CUSTOM SNEAKER ARTIST AND WHAT IF ANYTHING DID YOU “BORROW” FROM THEM?
CAPTAINKICKZ: ME, I’M MY FAVORITE ARTIST! I DO NOT PAY ATTENTION TO NO ONES WORK. I THINK OUTSIDE OF THE BOX, I’VE MADE THE FIRST PAIR OF KICKZ WITH CAPES ON THEM. I’VE USED SPIKES, CHAINS, REAL CRYSTALS… THERE’S SO MUCH I PUT INTO ONE PAIR. I EVEN DO WOMEN'S SHOES. SO I JUST DO ME AND STAY IN MY OWN LANE! I HAVE MY OWN STYLE AND THAT’S WHAT SEPARATES ME FROM EVERYONE!
VALIDATED: YOUR FIRST DESIGN, WHAT WAS THE SNEAKER AND WHAT WAS THE EXPERIENCE LIKE?
CAPTAINKICKZ: AF1’S, IT WAS VERY FRUSTRATING BECAUSE IN THE BEGINNING IT’S TRIAL AND ERROR. YOU LEARN WHAT PAINT TO USE BECAUSE IF NOT YOU WILL HAVE CRACKING AND PEELING. LEARNING HOW TO AIRBRUSH IS FRUSTRATING AS WELL BUT MY BURNING DESIRE TO BE GREAT OUTWEIGHED THE FRUSTRATING PROCESS... TRY AGAIN!
VALIDATED: WHAT WERE YOU DOING BEFORE YOU GOT INTO CUSTOMIZING SNEAKERS?
CAPTAINKICKZ: WELL I’M AN ARTIST, ALWAYS HAVE BEEN. WHEN I WASN’T DOING ODD JOBS I WAS ALWAYS DRAWING!
VALIDATED: WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO SOMEONE LOOKING TO GET INTO CUSTOMIZING SHOES?
CAPTAINKICKZ: DON’T LET NO ONE TRY TO PLAY YOU! PEOPLE ARE OUT THERE SPENDING $300 ON JORDAN’S AND MORE. NOW YOU PUT HOURS INTO ONE PAIR THAT IS ONE OF A KIND, SO DON’T LET THEM LOW BALL YOU. AND DO YOUR HOMEWORK BECAUSE IT’S MORE THAN JUST SPLASHING SOME PAINT ON SOME KICKZ... IT’S A PROCESS!
VALIDATED: WHAT IMPRESSION DO YOU NEED YOUR ART TO LEAVE ON PEOPLE?
CAPTAINKICKZ: “WOW, WHOAAAA, YOUR WORK IS AMAZING! YOUR TALENT IS AMAZING!”
VALIDATED: WHAT CAN WE EXPECT FROM CAPTAINKICKZ IN 2020?
CAPTAINKICKZ: WORKING WITH JADAKISS AND D-BLOCK ON SOME, ALSO WESTSIDE GUNN AND GRISELDA RECORDS, AND STATIK SELEKTAH.
VALIDATED: WHAT’S YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA CONTACTS AND WEBSITE?
CAPTAINKICKZ: YOU CAN FIND ME ON INSTAGRAM, FACEBOOK AND SNAPCHAT AT CAPTAINKICKZ AND A BRAND NEW WEBSITE WWW.CAPTAINKICKZ.COM IS COMING SOON.