If you think you have a lot of Adidas Boost styles in your sneaker arsenal, there’s a tattoo artist in Colorado who most likely has you beat.
Teddy Safarian, who tattoos out of Think Tank South in Littleton, is known on the Internet as the “Boost God.” Since receiving the name from a follower on social media, Safarian has created a clothing line using that name and become the go-to expert voice on all shoes featuring the acclaimed midsole technology.
The 34-year-old, a longtime sneaker addict, has more than 80 pairs of Boost styles in his collection, which continues to grow almost daily. Safarian — who admitted to being turned off by today’s sneakerhead culture until he bought his first pair of Boost-infused shoes this year — was introduced to the midsole compound while visiting Round Two, a Los Angeles-based consignment shop.
While there, Safarian picked up a white monochrome Adidas NMD. After trying them on, he bought black NMDs the same day, and four pairs of Triple White Ultra Boosts that same week.
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“I bought my first pair of Ultra Boosts in May, which is laughable when I think about how much money I’ve spent,” he said.
His obsession also turned into a lucrative business, selling “Boost God” apparel and accessories online at boost-heaven.com. Demand for the items began when Safarian wore a “Run NMD” shirt he and fellow Think Tank artist Matt Sager printed just to wear themselves on a YouTube vlog. Today, the site offers T-shirts, hoodies, decals and more.
The best-selling items on the site: the Kanye Boost long-sleeved tee and hoodie. Safarian said both items sold out with a minute.
“It was more like art for me than a T-shirt. It’s me just poking fun at the culture in general, just like the changing of the guard,” he said.
Although he’s been a tattoo artist far longer than he’s collected Adidas Boost sneakers, Safarian admitted that most people on social media don’t know about his longtime profession.
“Some people figure it out as they go because I think they’re like, ‘How does this guy afford all of this?’ And then figure out I’m a tattooer,” he said.
Since posting his first Boost picture on the social media platform in July, tattoos are seldom seen on his account.
“I’m pretty sure that most of my tattoo followers on Instagram hate me right now,” he said.
Safarian is also highly active on YouTube — via his OhItsTeddy channel — where, between tattoo appointments, he discusses Boosts and shows off his latest purchases.
And while most tattoo artists wouldn’t dare wear a pair of limited or hard-to-come-by kicks when tattooing, given the risk of ink staining them, Safarian wears everything he owns in the shop.
“I tattooed in my “SNS” [Ultra Boosts] the other day. I don’t care,” he said. “My feet are so far away from my ink — I must just be conscious of it from so many years of it — but my feet are so far away.”
Safarian’s go-to Boost styles are the Adidas Consortium x Wood Wood Ultra Boost and the Ultra Boost Black 3M.
