Pimp Your Kicks

One new idea for every day in 2011. We're talking big, small, local, international, in action and on the drawing board. Here's today's -- what's yours?


The now-defunct television show was popular early 2000s. It starred rapper Xzibit, who took people's clunky cars to Los Angeles' West Coast Customs to fit them out with everything from in-ride movie theaters and high-class speaker systems to aquariums and built-in ping pong tables. 

Brown wanted to do the same, but between shoe laces. 

He joined forces with his friend Andre Scott, and today, Pimp My Kicks pairs fellow sneaker fiends with artists who create hand-painted designs on leather-surfaced shoes including Nike Air Force Ones, Converse Chucks, adidas Superstars, and a custom line of pumps and high heels. 

No need to worry about rain (or at this time of year, sprinklers); PMK uses a paint that bonds to the shoes' surface. That said, Brown recommends you don't use them to kick curbs or cut the grass. (And even if Justin Bieber's face is fused onto the sides, you won't want to at $250 to $300 a pair.) 

The average turnaround is about two weeks, and you can submit your own written or drawn design on the PMK website





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Claire Lawton
Contact: Claire Lawton

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