If you know about quality custom kicks then the name Sole Junkie should be familiar to you. Sole has created custom shoes for a variety of artists including Talib Kweli, Bizarre (of D12) and DJ Tony Touch. We caught up with Sole Junkie (aka Steven Cedre Jr.) in Los Angeles at Crash Mansion, for a night of Hip-Hop and fashion and asked him about his artwork.
CraveOnline: What was the first shoe you ever did?
Sole Junkie: Some Red, Black, White and Gray Air Force one lows. [The shoes] were for myself and they were of Pedro Albizu Campos, who was one of Puerto Rico’s national [heroes]. I threw a machete with a star in the middle, which means Machetero (Machete wielders). It’s our pro nationalist movement. I wanted something to symbolize me.
CraveOnline: How did people begin to hear about the shoes.
Sole Junkie: I put them on MySpace and I haven’t worked since.
CraveOnline: What year did you start your company?
Sole Junkie: [2006] I have not been doing this that long. It just seems like I have been doing this for a long time; I’ve been painting for over twenty years. To me a canvas is a canvas and I happened to marry my love for shoes, Hip-Hop music, my culture and everybody else’s culture into a new canvas which is sneakers.
CraveOnline: Where did you get your start in art?
Sole Junkie: I did the tagging and the writing. I had a friend that got me out of it, his name was Officer something. I let that alone quick. I kept drawing and wanted to keep up my skills so I went to Cal State Long Beach. I got my degree in art and worked a full time suit and tie job, but I had an accident which led me to this.
CraveOnline: What is the most popular shoe that you work on?
Sole Junkie: Anything Nike. I like Nike, I am a Nike head but I love a lot of other types of shoes. A lot of retro stuff I’m in love with. I know they say nostalgia kills fashion but everything is nostalgic, everything repeats itself. Nike is the most popular, so it’s the staple.
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