Dominic “The Shoe Surgeon” Chambrone has worked to become one of the biggest names in the sneaker world today. And to share insights on how his career began, he took FN around California to check out his school and studio.
In the clip above, The Shoe Surgeon details his beginnings of painting shoes to wear to school to bringing leathers to a shoe repair shop and gaining the confidence that he, too, could create footwear the masses would love.
This isn’t the first time Chambrone has spoken about his rise to the top of the sneaker customization world with FN. In December 2015, The Shoe Surgeon shared insight on his rise in the industry and also dished on his formal and informal shoemaking training.
“I’m mostly self-taught, but I did like a 4- or 5-year apprenticeship at a shoe-repair cobbler in Windsor, Calif., for Daryl Fazio. And I took a weeklong course in Oregon on shoemaking, but it wasn’t sneakers — it was more like dress shoes,” Chambrone said. “I had to convert learning dress shoes to sneakers, which is quite a big curve. I also got the chance to go to Italy and watch factories make shoes, and I also have a bootmaker mentor in California who does really well-made cowboy boots. I pieced it all together to make handmade sneakers.”
Watch on FN
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