Cristian Rodriguez

Over the past week there’s been an abundance of controversy surrounding Montero Hill, commonly known as the rapper Lil Nas X, with one of the latest incidents being the custom made Nike Air Max 97  “Satan Shoes.” 

On Saturday it was revealed that he was collaborating with the custom sneaker company MSCHF to customize Nike’s Air Max 97s. These customs included symbols of Satanism and, according to them, contain a drop of human blood. This ended up causing a huge stir on Twitter not only for Lil Nas X and MSCHF but for Nike as well, who later decided to sue the company for trademark.

What Are Custom Sneakers?

Custom sneaker companies are nothing new, and in almost all cases they’re left unbothered by the sneaker companies themselves, so it came as a surprise to see MSCHF being sued.

To figure out why they’re being sued, it needs to first be understood what exactly are custom sneakers. Customs are sneakers that are designed by buyers who normally buy in bulk and then resell at a higher price. A handful of people were confused as to why Nike would sue a company they were collaborating with, but in reality there was no collaboration. Neither MSCHF nor Lil Nas X have any affiliation with Nike.

Why Sue the Company?

What makes these customs different from the plethora of others isn’t because of the symbols of Satanism or “human blood.” Designs with similar themes have been around since customs were first being made. The difference is more so because of how big they became. Lil Nas X is easily the biggest celebrity to promote a custom, and with that came millions of eyes seeing the ads which include Nike’s logo on the sneaker.

This led to people planning to boycott Nike for their “association” with Satanism. Even though neither MSCHF nor Lil Nas X said that they were working with Nike, the way the sneakers were advertised were in a way that looked as though that was the case.

While Nike hasn’t taken them to court yet, in cases like these the original company normally wins the case. Nike can easily show how the custom sneakers could be potentially ruining their own sales.

What Does This Mean for Other Companies?

Other custom sneaker companies should for the most part be safe. Normally these companies either go unnoticed or disregarded by the original company. In truth, they actually help with profits as they’re buying the sneakers in bulk.

What this does say though is that there’s a limit to just how large they can become. Customs have been on the rise over the years and despite this being an extreme case, this is still one of the first examples of what could come if custom sneaker companies continue to grow larger.