Sneaker Freak

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For any aficionado of customized footwear, GourmetKickz is the best kept secret in New Haven. The owner of the completely custom sneaker shop, Chef, has been tailor-making kicks inspired by hip hop, Run DMC and the classic Air Jordan for the past 8 years and his clients love him for it. By logging on to his 3-D website, GoumetKickz.com, you too can get caught up in the infectious design process and purchase a pair of your own. The ‘Kickz Creator’ software was developed by Special Ops Creative and sponsored by 1800 Tequila. It let’s you see every angle of your new sneakers and gives unimaginable design possibilities.
1800 Tequila approached Chef several years ago with the ‘out of the box’ idea to put their selected artists’ work on customized sneakers and to every challenge they posed to Chef, he replied, “Yes, I can do that!” Together he and Special Ops created the most innovative sneaker design tool on the market today. “I’m an artist, first and foremost. And if it has my name on it, I stand behind it.”
Chef is a lover of timeless style, a self-described, “Anti-Hype Beast. I have 500 pairs of sneakers! Maybe it’s OCSD – obsessive compulsive sneaker disorder!” He feels that it was collecting that got him started in this line of work. That and reselling of sought-after sneakers became the two divisions of GourmetKickz. “When I bought my first pair of sneakers for $50 and sold them on e-Bay for $250, I knew I had an eye for this business.” When we visited his New Haven studio, he had a pair of Kanye West kicks that he was preparing to resell for $1000 online.
When shopping the online boutique Kickz software allows you to see the price impact on a cash register as you make various choices, from gold fabric or stitching, to designer colors, so you can decide which elements you simply can’t live without. Chef gets very involved during the production process, personally perfecting the design with the client. “If somebody needs something special and they’re nice to me, I like to think I can make them happy. That’s why I have so many repeat clients.”
Like the stars of sneaker design before him, Sabotage (SBTG) and Meth Amphibian, Chef has become a pioneer. He honors the artistic requests for pony hair, snakeskin, and ostrich, with a zeal for the finished product, laboring over them by hand for sometimes weeks at a time. If weeks sounds like a wait remember, these sneakers are custom and custom takes time so keep in mind no one else can get your shoes and thats exactly what the 203 lifestyle is, exclusivity.
GourmetKickz has taken a concept that has been out there for years and given it a new twist and Chef is a man who is committed to fine craftsmanship. He wants to bring his personalized service to the widest audience possible and has been marketing the brand on his weekly Sneaker Report on 93.7FM radio and on local TV stations.
Chef says, “The next frontier for GourmetKickz is the introduction of the Kickz Creator into CT nightlife (as well as bringing them to super sweet sixteens and such). By bringing the product and the software to these events Chef wants to  create a dynamic environment in the form of a stand-alone kiosk.” It is yet another way he is taking his design business to new heights.
His website is still the best way to reach him and is so fun to use. He is an entrepreneur who sees the value in his product and the appeal it has created in the marketplace. So the next time you see someone walking down the street, wearing the most fashion forward footwear, you’ll know it is another satisfied GourmetKickz client.