Chris Hui featured with his version of the Nike Dunk 95 High.

For the next few hours, he applies coat after coat, forced to wait between each.  No color will lay down a solid, even coat with a single application.

“It’s kind of a paint-and-wait process,” Hui says.  “As a rule, black takes three coats, red takes five.”

While working, he often listens to music or has TV on in the background but has developed a knack for working in any environment.

“I kind of get in the zone, but at the same time, I’m not focusing on going stroke by stroke,” Hui says.  “It’s pretty chill.  People ask me if I get bored doing it, but I kind of got used to doing things on my own and having that time to myself.”

Once the base color is applied, Hui builds on it to complete the design.  After letting the shoes dry for a day or two, he sprays on a waterproof finish.  When the shoes look so professional you might pick them up off a shelf at the store, Hui is ready to transform a regular Nike shoebox into a custom creation, complete with a unique label for each customer.

A designer like Hui must ship all shoes in heavy-duty shipping boxes to preserve the shoebox.  For many who collect shoes, the box is as valuable as the shoe itself.

Ty Mathis, a 30-year-old resident of Chicago and huge fan of Hui’s work, met Hui in 2004 when he was only 14 years old.  Mathis, who found Hui on the web-based sneaker forum Nike Talk, has followed him ever since.

“I didn’t think anyone 14 could paint shoes like that, but he did,” Mathis says.  “He’s young, he’s still into it.  He puts his own little spin on what’s hip.”

Mathis, who owns about 18 pairs of C2 Customs, admires Hui’s work because it comes out clean and professional.  Although Mathis considers himself a fanatic when it comes to sneakers, he’s content remaining a spectator when it comes to design.

“I tried to make a pair of shoes once—they came out just terrible,” Mathis says.  “I respect people who customize shoes a lot more because I have tried it.  I don’t know how they do what they do.”

Hui is often struck by a feeling of intense relief after completing a pair of kicks.  When designing for a customer, the act of crossing an order off his overwhelming list is liberating for the young artist.  When designing for personal satisfaction, he is hit with excitement.

“I can’t wait to share the new creation with other people, whether it be my friends or the sneaker culture as a whole,” Hui says.  “That’s probably what I look forward to the most—when I create something new and can see how people react to it.”

Hui claims his creative designs can often be traced back to iconic patterns, citing various examples of signature editions by Nike.

“There are certain patterns that have caught the public’s attention more than others,” Hui says.  “Some have stuck around and become more prominent, especially during the past few years when it has become really popular to reflect on the past and wear retro shoes and clothing.”

The safari print can be traced back to the Nike Air Safari of 1987, the cement print to Michael Jordan’s third edition of signature kicks in 1988, and the Air Tech Challenge to Andre Agassi in the early 1990s.  Other popular techniques include animal prints and splatter application, designed to look like paint was blown on the sneaker through a straw.  Hui does a lot of work with camouflage simply out of personal preference.

“You can use it in a military or pop culture style,” Hui says.  “It’s something that has always intrigued me and there are so many different ways to interpret it.”