Kentucky Man Makes 'Horse Kicks' — Sneakers for Race Horses Inspired by Nike and Adidas Shoes
Robert Yazoo Baker and The Cornett Group (2)
A man in Kentucky has taken his sneaker game to the next level!
Marcus Floyd, 39, a self-identified "sneakerhead" who makes custom shoes for clients as a side project, was approached by his hometown of Lexington, Kentucky's tourism board, to create unique sets of shoes — for horses.
The sneaker artist told The Washington Post that he worked with the tourism board to create a shoe concept that envisioned the horse athletes in a similar vein as their human counterparts.
"They thought it would be cool to basically build the horses up as athletes," Floyd told the outlet, "because that's what they are."
The idea grew into a project called Horse Kicks, which had Floyd crafting custom sneakers for stallions that looked like the Nike, Adidas, and New Balance shoes many human athletes wear.
"For far too long, these multi-millionaires [the horses] have been fitted with traditional, run-of-the-mill horseshoes," the tourism board, Visit Lex, said on its website promoting the project. "Horse Kicks is here to change that … to offer horses of all breeds and disciplines the drip they deserve."
Floyd, who owns the fashion brand Infinite Kustomz and has made one-of-a-kind sneakers for clients like Shawn Stockman of Boyz II Men, is experienced at taking popular shoe styles and turning them into something different.
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Robert Yazoo Baker and The Cornett Group
The sneaker artist attended a four-day intensive in 2020 at The Shoe Surgeon's SRGN Academy in Los Angeles, where he learned how to deconstruct popular sneakers without destroying them and use the materials to create something new.
It can take Floyd up to 17 hours to make a new pair of shoes from the materials, according to the Washington Post.
After Visit Lex first approached him in June, Floyd started working on building functional horse sneakers. A pre-made protective boot for horses ended up serving as the base and primary structure of Floyd's Horse Kicks, and the rest of the design is inspired by human sneakers.
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Robert Yazoo Baker and The Cornett Group
The final products Floyd created for his project with Visit Lex looked like miniature versions of the sneakers you often see on the feet of athletes and other celebrities. Lexington – often called the "Horse Capital of the World" — hopes the Horse Kicks, which are being exhibited as an art installation, will encourage visitors traveling to the city for November's Breeder's Cup — a series of equestrian races held in Lexington on Nov. 4 and 5 — to consider the athleticism of racehorses.
"There's a huge market for shoes for these athletes, whether they're running in them, jumping or just traveling to the show," Floyd said, adding that he hopes the companies "understand the market for the horse-athlete."
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The Visit Lex commissioned horse sneakers created by Floyd will be auctioned at a fundraiser event for charities in central Kentucky on Nov. 12. Animal lovers can learn more about Floyd's custom horse sneakers on the Horse Kicks website.
