I still get questions about the custom shoes I use to do when Triumvir first came on to the scene back in 2004. Many of you guys remember and many of you guys have no idea how the brand really started. It’s cool to run into people and have them tell me that they bought a pair of my customs years ago. Four years ago I started customizing sneakers and posted them on Niketalk, and after making some noise I threw them on ebay to see if there was market potential. Of course at the time it was intimidating to see Methamphibian and SBTG’s customs go will over $1,000+ on Ebay. But I had to give it a chance and see for myself. It became a daily job afterwards customizing shoes, but I knew that this was not the way to go about it…so I started making t-shirts. And everything you see now is the evolutionary process of Triumvir. The prices listed reflects certain time periods, roughly from the time I first sold the shoe to the last pair I sold…
Nike Dunk Kill Bill 1’s 2004 - (17 ~ 22 pairs), Base Shoe - Nike Dunk Goldenrod, Note - first shoe I threw on ebay. Market value at the time was $400. ~ $750.
Nike Dunk Kill Bill 2’s 2004 - (19 ~ ?? pairs), Base Shoe - Nike Dunk Unheiny Euro Exclusive, Note - graphic was taken from a Japanese Kill Bill 2 poster. Market value at the time was $500. ~ $600.
Nike Terminator S-Troop Gold 2004 - (7 ~ 10 pairs), Base Shoe - Nike Terminator Orcas, Note - everyone was using either a dunk or af1 at the time, so I gave the terminator a try. Market value at the time was $250 ~ $350.
Nike Terminator S-Troop Black 2004 - (2 pairs), Base Shoe - Nike Terminator Orcas, Note - only shoe I made that I don’t own, this shoe was the hardest to paint. Market value at the time was $250 ~ $350.
Nike Terminator GS Purple 2005 - (10 ~ 15 pairs), Base Shoe - Nike Terminator Orcas, Note - this is when Brian joined my one man team in the garage and helped me with the mixing of colors, since I am colorblind with certain colors mixing was not possible at the time. This is also the time we released the GS Camo Tees. Market value at the time was $300 ~ $450.
Nike Terminator GS Camo 2005 - (12 ~ 18 pairs), Base Shoe - Nike Terminator Seattle Supersonics Edition, Note - each camo version took me at least 15 to 20 hours to finish. Market value at the time was $300 ~ $450.
Nike Terminator GS Multi 2005 - (8 ~ 10 pairs), Base Shoe - Nike Terminator Turquoise Asia Exclusive, Note - This pair was more limited because I had to get the base shoes shipped from Asia, more expensive too. Market value at the time was $375 ~ $550.
Nike Dunk Dutch Haze 2005 - (3 ~ 6 pairs), Base Shoe - Nike Dunk Sail Orange, Note - I was really into Jade Hsu the porn star at the time, so I put her on a pair of sneakers. Market value at the time was $500 ~ $700.
Nike AF1 High Qing Marauders / Cross Camo 2006 - (1 pairs), Base Shoe - Nike AF1 High Black. Note - This pair was the last pair I customized, Alex Wang (Retrokid) asked me to do a shoe for a feature on Sole Collector…of course everyone thought I was crazy for using an all black AF1. I think the tonal effect came out very well. Market value ???.
I don’t know if I’ll ever paint again, it was just another hobby to take up and money was offered. At the time I would rather paint in my parents garage than work at some office building. I looked at it as a long graduation break…as I sat there painting for tens of hours, I realized what I needed to do and took the opportunity to do so.
Brandon