Help Haiti; take part in NikeTalk's first ever custom sneaker charity auction! BIDDING CLOSED!

Have you forgotten already?  On January 12th, Haiti endured a massive earthquake, which reportedly claimed over 100,000 lives, left approximately one million people homeless, and caused incalculable damage to the nation's inhabitants and its infrastructure.  While the press coverage may have subsided, Haitians still need our support. 

To help, we at NikeTalk have teamed up with six immensely talented artists, the sneaker customization gurus behind Evolved Footwear, JGoods Custom Sneakers, 1of Customs, JBF Custom Shoes, and Revive Customs, to present NikeTalk's first ever custom sneaker charity auction. 

Each artist has generously donated a pair of amazing custom sneakers, designed specifically for this event.  You'll be bidding on the only pairs in existence. 

Normally, you'd hear something like "proceeds will benefit..." or "a portion of the proceeds will benefit" charity in events like this.  However, due to the generosity of these artists, the FULL 100% of your bids will go to Doctors Without Borders, in support of their ongoing efforts to rebuild Haiti's medical infrastructure, provide on the ground care and support, and further their courageous efforts around the world.

In addition, NikeTalk will go one step further by MATCHING your bids up to $1,000 per pair to help maximize our overall community contribution to this important cause.  

Below, you'll see all five items along with a brief description composed by the artist.  The last day to submit bids will be THIS Sunday, May 23rd.  After 12:00 AM EST on May 24th, we'll no longer accept bids and auction winners will be contacted. 


How do I bid?

We'll follow a silent auction format.  Just post here or send us an email with your bid:   Please be sure 1) your bid is greater than the current leader's and 2) you specify the item(s) you're bidding on. 

Please keep in mind that these shoes are one of a kind and are ONLY available in the size listed.


Do I need to be a NikeTalk member?

No!  You can bid by email.  We'll update this page periodically to reflect the current high bids, which will include those submitted via email.  If you win, we'll contact you by email to finalize your purchase and arrange for the shipping of your new, one of a kind custom sneakers.



Item #1

JGoods Custom Sneakers www.jgoodsonline.com
Shoe: Nike Air Force 1 Mid Supreme Air Max CB
Size: 12





Description from JGoods:

A country long tormented by poverty, environmental degradation, violence, instability and dictatorship was devastated in January when a magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck at its heart. Haiti will need to be completely rebuilt from the ground up.

Through all their trial and turmoil, Haiti has maintained a rich culture and fervor for the arts. Haiti is world famous for its distinctive art, bold designs and brilliant colors. Taxi cabs, also known as tap taps, are elaborately decorated by their owners with bright colors and other artistic elements, which stands in contrast with some of the desolate city blocks.

These particular shoes were inspired by the superbly painted tap taps; A more colorful way to travel. The shoes feature a balanced mosaic of geometric shapes and line using the colors of the Haitian flag. The base shoe is a classic in its own right: The Nike Air Force 1 Mid Supreme Max Air CB.

The rear quarter shares the French phrase "L'Union Fait La Force", the same phrase on the country’s flag, which loosely translates to: strength through unity. It will take the efforts of many, united by cause, to begin to restore all that has been lost. JGoods one.

Current High Bid: $350

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Item #2

1of Customs www.1ofcustoms.com
Shoe: Nike Air Force 1 low
size: 10





Description from 1ofCustoms:

These shoes are a tribute to the most important people on NikeTalk. People that give information months before a shoe comes out? Nope. People that help others get shoes for little to no profit? Uh-uh. The OG members? HELL NO. I'm talking about the prepubescent kids that blow their load over a little side boob. This one's for the beasts.

And just like any self-respecting beast, this Nike Air Force 1 low comes with blue fur and the 2 most important questions on NikeTalk: "Pics?" and "Info?" written all over them. A yellow swoosh and toe bring the whole thing together.

Current High Bid: $200

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Item #3

JBF Custom Shoes www.facebook.com/pages/JBF-Customs/67358172488
Shoe: Nike Blazer
size: 10.5





Description from JBF Customs:

Nike Blazer SBs, re-constructed of black oil shale leather with carbon fiber swoosh cutouts. The shoes also include red cross detailing on the heel tab as well as JBF branding on the tongue.

Current High Bid: $160

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Item #4

Evolved Footwear www.evolved-footwear.com
Shoe: Nike Dunk high
Size: 9.5





Description from Evolved Footwear:

Iconic Nike: orange and elephant print with a side of NikeTalk on one of the most discussed shoes in NT's 10 years: the Dunk. They feature a black on orange engraved elephant print with two NikeTalk logos on the back heels from the 10th anniversary t-shirt line.

Current High Bid: $185

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Item #5

Revive Customs www.revivecustoms.com
Shoe: Nike Air Trainer I
size: 9





Description from Revive Customs:

This is the second installment of the "What the One" series from Revive Customs. This time, the Nike Air Trainer I was chosen as a base to honor Nike's involvement in the development of Cross Training. Each panel represents a certain Nike Training shoe design from the past.

Current High Bid: $180

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I hope you'll all join me in thanking the five artists responsible for this event.  Through their exceptional creativity, generosity, and compassion they've demonstrated the very best in our community.  We're thrilled and honored to be a part of this and it is my sincere hope that, together, we can raise a great deal of money to help Doctors Without Borders continue their work in Haiti and elsewhere.

I'd like to extend a special thanks to jayhawk17 of Evolved Footwear for bringing such exceptional talent together and organizing this fantastic fund-raiser. 

Best of luck, everyone!

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Update 5/24

Thanks so much to everyone who participated!  Although bidding has now ended, we'll need to verify all of the leading bids before we can announce a final total and begin sending these amazing works of art to their new owners. 

If you bid, please stay tuned to your inboxes today as we attempt to finalize each of our auction items.  To consider your bid valid, we'll need a timely response.  Otherwise, we may need to move down the list to ensure that we're able to offer a timely donation to our chosen charity, Doctors Without Borders. 

Thankfully, a great many of us do believe in the kinship of all people.  For instance: even though the United States is one of the wealthiest nations in the world, international aid poured in following Hurricane Katrina. 

Tragedy knows no bounds - neither should kindness.

I just know that we need to step out efforts up to help our fellow man at home before we help others.
Remember, it doesn't have to be a matter of either/or.  It can be both/and.  We can, we

must, help those in need regardless of nationality. 

Please don't interpret this as an attempt to help Haitians, and others served by Doctors Without Borders / Médecins Sans Frontières International, to the exclusion of those in the US.  It's important to remember, too, that NikeTalk is, itself, an international community.  So, aiding an internationally focused organization isn't attempting to tend to matters outside our own home so much as it is an acknowledgment of the fact that the world, as a whole, is our home and all its denizens represent our extended family.

It should interest you to know, too, that we have in the past supported organizations that work to address homelessness in the United States.  We've given to both Habitat for Humanity as well as Ettie Lee Homes, which among other services, offers housing and support for homeless and at-risk youths.

I think it's wonderful that you're using your talents to help raise awareness of and assistance for a cause you care about through the documentary on your local food pantry.  The artists who've donated their amazing work here are doing something similar: using their talents to help do something positive for those in dire need.  If this auction is a success, and we all can help even if just be spreading the word, then I'm hoping we can convince these and perhaps other artists to come together again at some point to hold another charity auction to benefit another timely cause. 

You're certainly entitled to your opinion and, as a discussion forum, this is a place where our members are welcome to express themselves, but I hope you can understand where we're coming from and appreciate what we're attempting to accomplish together.

I give the staff and the people that worked on each shoe major props.  Thanks for giving 100% of the proceeds to HAITI.
I'm glad to see that people appreciate the effort and I'm tremendously grateful to everyone who's participated thus far, whether by bidding or by helping us spread the word.

Not to harp on this, but I would like to point out that, generally, when one talks about giving "100% of the proceeds," they're referring to

net earnings, not gross.  In this case, it's actually 100% of the GROSS.  In fact, not only will every dollar the winners spend go straight to Doctors Without Borders, but we'll be effectively doubling bids as well, meaning you'll get even more for your money. 

To make that possible, these five artists not only donated their time and talent, but they had to cover the costs of the base shoes themselves and all the materials.  These aren't cheap shoes we're talking about.  The retail price of these shoes alone is generally lower than the $100 starting bids.  Then you have to take into account the market value of custom shoes of this caliber.  The artists really sacrificed a great deal for this, so I hope everyone appreciates their generosity as much as I do. 

One could forgive them for submitting work slightly below their usual standard, for cutting a few corners and working as efficiently as possible, knowing that these shoes would not be paying the bills for them.  Instead, just look at the amazing works of art they've created.  They each brought their A game to say the least.  I was simply blown away by the pieces they created for this event.

You can just go down the line. 

Back when I was collecting sneakers, the pairs I cherished the most all had a story behind them - and every one of these items has a wonderful story to tell. 

Look at the JGoods L'Union Fait La Force AF1 Mid Supreme and how the artist incorporated aspects of Haitian art and culture into a piece that stuns at any distance due to the intense precision of its hand-painted lines.  It's a multifaceted gem.  You can tell that he put a great deal of time and care into this piece and his devotion to helping the people of Haiti is self-evident.   That is beautiful in and of itself and only enhances what would be a spectacular design even if extricated from its context.

1ofcustoms clearly had fun with the concept of producing a shoe for the NikeTalk community while at the same time beating Nike at its own game: truly delivering on the concept of creating a shoe based on a popular superhero.  Tell me that doesn't best any of Nike's tired attempts to "unofficially" milk a comic book franchise?  It's both great satire and a great shoe. 

One can't help but feel dazzled by the craftsmanship in JBF's reconstructed Blazers.  Anyone who's ever complained about poor material and build quality in a Nike shoe should take heart.  JBF took the "premium" concept to the next level, exploring the full potential of the Nike Blazer model by substantially upgrading the materials and beautifully handcrafting the upper. 

Anyone who's ever wished for a NT PE should stand in awe of the Evolved Footwear NikeTalk Dunk.  Starting with a shoe that NikeTalk helped bring back into relevance (the '99 dunk retros tanked at retail, selling for $19 at many Footlocker locations before collectors began to really embrace the model and breathe new life into them), he combined the best of vintage Nike and Jordan products into one stunning package.  Just think about all the care and effort involved in manually recreating an elephant print pattern.  Elephant print may be something that Nike just stamps out these days, but a closer look reveals just how unique these truly are.  It's a look that almost blends the appearance of terrazzo tile with an irregular pattern akin to a Masai or reticulated giraffe.  We've seen users create NT themed NikeID shoes in the past, but the use of actual NT graphics is a first.  A NikeTalk themed shoe to benefit charity: what better way to honor the community?

The Revive "What the One II" Air Trainer One is simply a gorgeous shoe: the flawless execution of a great concept.  Everything from the unique color blocking to the intricate detail work is expertly controlled.  The folks at Nike could learn a lot about how to exceed expectations on a hybrid design from this piece.  It's a celebration of the Air Trainer line and if you even faintly admire that series I think you'll agree that Revive has assembled the best elements of each in a way that doesn't come across as forced or gaudy.  I can't think of any shoe that has so much diversity and yet feels so balanced and focused. 

That's one heck of a starting five.