Saturday afternoon something major will happen. Something major between two collegiate football programs whose history is canvassed with National Championships and iconic players. With another matchup set to take place between the Miami Hurricanes and the Nebraska Cornhuskers, all eyes will be glued to the 2015 contest that will certainly feature some of the nation’s finest.
However, that “major” event previously alluded to won’t just involve the on-field action but will also develop prior to kickoff as this contest featuring two adidas endorsed schools will showcase 1-of-1 custom kicks created by two of the finest artists within the industry. Those names being SolesBySir and Mache275. On Monday, we chronicled the event that is set to take place and today we’ll take things to more of a micro level as we spoke with the aforementioned Mache275 to gain his thoughts on the endeavor at hand.
To see for yourself, scroll through the page below to enjoy the the exclusive interview with the talented artist.
Nice Kicks: What was your initial impression when adidas approached you to create custom cleats for Nebraska?
Mache275: It was amazing. In the past I’ve be lucky enough to work with adidas on a couple of other projects, like last season with Mississippi State. So to be asked to be a part of this big project with Nebraska is great. It’s such a huge lift for customs and also just sneakers in general.
Nice Kicks: Growing up, were you a fan of Nebraska at all?
Mache275: I wouldn’t say I was a huge Nebraska ‘fan’ per se, but I definitely did enjoy seeing the stellar players. Watching back in day and seeing Lawrence Phillips, Tommy Frazier and Eric Crouch…the whole history between Miami and Nebraska over the decades has really become a big deal — no matter who you happen to root for.
Nice Kicks: Within the creation process, what was your initial muse? Was there a specific generation of Cornhuskers you looked to pay homage towards?
Mache275: I really just wanted to stay in the vein of traditional Nebraska aesthetic. Their uniforms are very traditional within the color-blocking and certainly the polar opposite of what Miami does. So I wanted to blend our ideas because Nebraska had a vision as well, and ultimately I wanted to be able to tell a story while staying within their ideals. If you look at Marcus’ cleats and mine, we have two totally different artistic approaches within this project, but it works perfectly because it represents two totally different institutions.
Nice Kicks: In your career you’ve done a lot of 1-of-1 customs and things were the volume is rather small. Within this project, has it been difficult creating such a large volume of cleats?
Mache275: The biggest part was the turnaround time. I had to efficiently re-create a lot of models and still have something were each player had their own distinct individuality, all while keeping in-line with the story arc of the project.
Nice Kicks: How different is your process when creating customs for an individual client versus working with a brand?
Mache275: It’s totally different. Anytime you’re dealing with a brand you have to get approval and go through the proper channels. When I’m working more independently, I’ll just dive-in and go to work. I changed my approach just a slight bit, but for the most part, in terms of how I think of ideas, it remained the same. I’m very big on keeping the integrity of the line and making it look as professional as possible.
Nice Kicks: Now you’re known for working with a lot of NBA players, but with this latest venture involving football, would you like to dabble more with NFL clientele?
Mache275: I’m a sports guy at heart, I love all sports. It just happens that basketball was the first thing that I broke into the industry with. If there’s an opportunity to create some football cleats? Then hell yeah, I would love to!
Nice Kicks: From a personal standpoint, have you had time to reflect on this opportunity and understand how major this is to create custom cleats for an iconic institution such as Nebraska?
Mache275: It’s definitely awesome. To be able to work with Marcus and adidas on such a grand scale, is awesome as well. I’m excited to check out the game and see everyone in the field in the cleats.
