Sneaker customization is in the news—and not for good reason. Veteran sneaker customizer
The Shoe Surgeon is being sued by Nike for US$60M for mass customization, counterfeiting, and trademark infringement. On top of that, he’s dealing with another
lawsuit from French fashion label Goyard for utilizing exact replicas, virtually identical or strikingly similar to Goyard’s copyrighted designs, without permission.
So, in light of how badass sneaker customization has become—multimillion-dollar lawsuits and all—we thought we’d shed some light on the art form through the lens of a talented creative in the game. A rockstar in his own right, Yen from Hide The F Up (
@htfugoods) customized his first pair in secondary three (grade nine).
“I remember I did the most horrible thing. I took a marker and drew on my white school shoes. And I drew the dumbest things: naked women, a dick, and then a man and a woman having sex,” he says. “As punishment, I was told I wasn’t allowed to wear shoes for the day and had to stand outside the general office barefooted.”
Fortunately, Yen’s journey in the realm of art didn’t begin there. At the age of six, he attended a community center drawing class. “My drawing was always the worst one. It was never pinned on the wall, and I always was like, where the fuck is mine?” he says.
But that didn’t stop Yen from enjoying art, thanks to his father, who always encouraged him in the pursuit as a child. The owner of
Hide The F Up fondly remembers trips to the Pasir Panjang shipyard with his dad to draw the landscape and ships using crayons and the like.
You don’t hear of many Asian dads in particular encouraging their sons in art. Was your dad himself an artist, by chance?Yen: My father was from the Boy Scouts, so he carried that tradition of exploring into adulthood. He had many badges—an expansive collection because he’s done everything. But eventually he still questioned me about my choice of going into fine arts after secondary school.
After his O-level exams, Yen decided to pursue a diploma in Fine Arts from LASALLE College of the Arts, much to the disapproval of his father.
Oh, so your dad ended up wanting you to go down the traditional route?Yen: I was so frustrated. He was like, “Why are you doing fine arts? Why don’t you go into business?” I was sort of like, “Why can’t I?” He ended up buying me a ticket to Australia for a week or two alone, for me to stay with a friend and experience what it would be like to study there. He wanted to try to encourage me to pursue studying business there and hoped the change of environment would be incentive enough.
However, when Yen landed Down Under after flying as an unaccompanied minor, he never got out of the room he was in. “For at least one whole week I didn’t get out of the room at all. Because I really disliked it.” His rebellious streak was at work once again, which ultimately caused him to be resolute in his decision to pursue a path in art—no matter what it took.
Yen understands, though, why his dad was hard on him. “The thing is, being a dad, you always want to play the safe game for your child.” He would know now, being a father himself, of a 12-year-old boy and a girl, aged six.
As with any career path, pursuing art had its own set of challenges. Yen ended up doing graphic design, a lane he’s still in.
Oh, so you have a day job?Yen: Yes, being a graphic designer is my full-time job, actually. I slave for a company *laughs*. I started when I was nearing my 20s and have gone on and on until today.
So, how did sneaker customization enter the picture?Yen: The COVID-19 period was very dark for me. I got into this very bad pit of depression and couldn’t catch up with my work in a company I used to work in. In a sort of Catch-22 situation, the depression was mainly caused by my work situation. So it was literally like being tortured every day. I tried to speak up a lot of times but was just told “Your condition is not that serious,” and I would just get brushed off.
In an attempt to find a way to cope, I decided to act upon an idea I had to customize cycling shoes.
As an avid cycler himself, this medium was a natural choice. Yen’s been cycling for over a decade and has participated in the Singapore Cycling Federation’s Individual Time Trial and did the Chiang Mai road race—a four-day four-stage race—twice.
In fact, the inspiration behind his company’s name, Hide The F Up, draws inspiration from rule no.5 from Velominati, which states “Harden The Fuck Up.” If you’re unfamiliar, Velominati is a loose collective of cycling enthusiasts who have developed a set of guidelines or "Rules" for cycling etiquette, bike setup, and overall cycling culture. Seeing that he’s covering up shoes with his artwork, Yen cleverly swapped “Harden” for “Hide.”
That’s an interesting choice; to be a sneaker customizer for cycling shoes. You don’t usually see this in the game. Is there a demand?Yen: Let me put it this way. Consumer behavior surrounding sneakers nowadays generally tends to skew towards copping hype pairs. Most people tend to want to preserve the aesthetics of their shoes after purchase, and scuffing it—let alone completely revamping its aesthetic—is probably the last thing on their minds.
Cyclists on the other hand—at least those serious about the sport—are open to customizing everything from head to toe. I mean, some are willing to pay US$20,000 for a fully-customized bicycle and wait two years for it.
So, wanting to customize their cycling shoes isn’t far out there and is almost a natural choice for many cyclists because having things tailored to the individual is an integral part of the sport. Cyclists are definitely more willing to splurge on a pair of custom shoes.
Do you remember the first pair of cycling shoes you customized? How did you learn to do it when you started?Yen: The first pair I did was for free using my friend’s cycling shoes. I decided on the KitKat theme on a whim. I literally just went to YouTube and watched tutorial videos. Ultimately this is a craft you just have to get your hands dirty doing and learn on the ground, using the first few pairs as testers. Just beware that you can’t trust what you see online sometimes. But, all things considered, I think my first one turned out quite alright! The base color of the shoe was grey, to begin with.
