A seven-year-old Tampa boy, and lover of baseball, is quickly making a name for himself, turning something he started only a few weeks ago into what could become a very lucrative business.
Elijah (EJ) Martinez, who attends Villa Madonna School in Tampa, on a whim wanted to play around with a pair of white sneakers his parents, Joe and Kathy, bought for him. Play around, in this case, meaning, customization.
It all started with a shopping trip to Dick's Sporting Goods three weeks ago, when Joe and Kathy planned to buy EJ a new baseball bat. Not seeing any he liked, EJ then asked if they could check out some sneakers. After settling on a few pairs (EJ asked for a pair for his sister, as well), EJ also asked for the all-white Nike Air Force Ones so he could customize the pair, something he had been bugging Joe and Kathy to do for a while.
They relented, and he went right to work.
Upon helping EJ complete the first pair, Joe and Kathy were in disbelief as to how cool they looked, and posted a picture of them on Joe's social media pages.
One of Joe's friends, Pittsburgh Pirates first base coach Tarrik Brock, saw the photo, and requested EJ make him a pair in black and gold Pirates colors, with a touch of red.
Not only did EJ create the design and send the shoes to Brock, but Brock asked the Pirates television broadcast team if they could highlight the shoes and give EJ some props, which they did, in the video posted below.
Now, Joe says that he understands the power of social media, as orders for EJ's Custom Kicks are starting to roll in! At this time, he's getting around three orders a week, and is loving every minute of creating custom footwear for anyone!
EJ does any white pair of sneakers you want, not just Air Force Ones!
You can place an order through EJ1CustomKicks on Instagram or through Joe's and Kathy's Facebook or Messenger. Venmo and CashApp is accepted.
Photos: Joey Martinez Facebook