A chat with Zaptio, the king of custom sneakers

A few days ago, on the occasion of the opening of the new Foot Locker store in Milan, we had the chance to sit down and chat with Zaptio, the king of custom sneakers. 

Steven - his real name - is the founder of FreCustoms, an Instagram page that reflects the activity that he's been working on for a few years, along with his team: Zaptio's speciality is the customization of sneakers, which he successfully does thanks to unexpected prints and inserts that he sells worldwide. In a fashion world that is now almost completely homologated and globalized, Zaptio was able to supply to a growing need, the desire for unique, customized, made to measure sneakers. Zaptio plays with streetwear and high fashion, breaking the boundaries between what until a few years ago was considered haute couture and "simply" sportswear. In his creations, Nike meets Louis Vuitton, Vans meets Off-White, every sneaker becomes a unique and original piece of art. 

Zaptio and FreCustoms have now joined forces with Foot Locker for an unprecedented project: if you go to a Foot Locker store you'll have the chance to get your sneakers customized by Zaptio and his team for free. 

#1 Tell us something about you. Where did everything start? 

I started getting into sneaker 4 or 5 years ago, through creating and running Instagram based blogs with millions of followers. From there I always wanted to create my own sneakers and customs so I made a business partnership with Wiss, a leading UK customiser. The rest is history.

#2 What does FreCustoms mean to you? 

FREcustoms is about creation, innovation and making people happy. We love to create products and push the boundaries of customisation to create dope sneakers that tell a story.  

#3 What’s are the most satisfying moments in your working career? 

For me personally, the most satisfying moments are when we create a viral sneaker and just working in a great team of awesome creative people is very satisfying for me.

#4 What’s your favourite custom you ever have done? 

Haven’t made it yet but so far it's the Louis Vuitton x Supreme Denim AF-1. 

#5 What’s the custom that has brought you the most success and attention on social media? 

We broke the net with the launch of Frecustoms with the Flowerbomb AF-1 and then again with our The Louis Vuitton x Supreme Denim AF-1 reconstructed sneaker. 

#6 Talking about the future, do you have any interesting plans on the way? 

At the moment we are working on a game-changing futuristic project, I am limited on what I can reveal now but the world will see it soon. 

#7 How do you think the custom phenomenon is perceived by major brands? 

I believe major brands enjoy the custom phenomenon, especially brands which we use their base designs as it drives new consumer interest to their products and markets them to a completely new audience of people. 

#8 Tell us more about your collaboration with Foot Locker. 

Our collaboration with Foot Locker is pretty cool. We run activation pop-ups in various Foot Locker stores where customers can come in and receive a FREE base level customization. These events are really special to us as we are able to make people super happy about receiving a complete customization while having great interactions with our team. We are looking forward to visiting more stores worldwide and bringing our service and energy to them. 

Here's the video interview made by our Luca Santeramo: