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CHAMPAIGN — Paul Hoffman has been a sneakerhead ever since he was a kid, something that he said is probably tied to cheering on Michael Jordan.

Around the time of the pandemic, he began to watch videos about sneaker customization and began to try it out for himself. After that, he did a few custom jobs for family and friends, and things “spiraled from there.”

The turning point came in fall 2024. Hoffman had heard about how the University of Illinois football team planned to don special helmets with a vintage look for their Oct. 19, 2024, game against Michigan in honor of the 100th anniversary of Gies Memorial Stadium.

With that in mind, he created a mock-up of custom shoes that would match the helmets and sent it to Coach Bret Bielema.

“Didn’t think anything would come of it,” Hoffman said. “And then heard back from the team, and they’re like, ‘Yeah, we’ll give you a little bit of a chance.’”

Hoffman ended up customizing a pair of Nike AirForce 1s for Bielema that drew inspiration from the look of 1920s football cleats and included an image of the Red Grange statue on the insole.

Since then, he’s customized about 30 pairs of shoes for the Illinois football coach and has accumulated a portfolio of other high-profile orders through his business, 217CustomKicks.

“It’s an awesome surprise when my wife and I get the shoes each week,” Bielema said. “We always appreciate Paul’s creativity and detail. Some of our best moments and biggest wins have come with his shoes’ artwork on the sidelines.”

Having someone like Bielema wear his work is a good way to attract attention, Hoffman said. Still, the amount of enthusiasm he’s seen has surprised him.

“People are interested in the product,” Hoffman said. “They’re interested in the art that I’m doing, which is kind of surprising to me, because I would not describe myself with any artistic ability. Never taken any art classes, never did that, but I just kind of fell into this.”

In addition to Bielema, Hoffman has also made custom shoes for Illinois Basketball Coach Brad Underwood, Marching Illini Director Barry Houser (including an autographed pair customized in partnership with REO Speedwagon), country music star Cody Johnson, country music star Jon Pardi, and “Hot Ones” host Sean Evans.

Additionally, Hoffman’s custom services were up for bid at the April 2026 Kickin’ Cancer auction, and he recently customized eight pairs of sneakers that were given to new inductees to the Illinois Athletics Hall of Fame.

“I have a few artists that are going to be coming through Champaign, working with State Farm Center, that sound pretty exciting,” Hoffman said. “I think those are going to be good.”

He customizes an average of about 100 pairs per year, including orders from community members for their loved ones — such as birthday gifts, something to wear at a wedding reception, a pair to match a child’s sports team or a retirement gift.

“Those projects that I do that really resonate with the person, the customer, is what really keeps things going,” Hoffman said, adding that he wants each pair to be a “personalized art piece” that tells a story.

In one case, a man’s family commissioned a pair of sneakers honoring his service in the Vietnam War as a birthday gift. Some of the details included the dates of his tour of duty, a Nike swoosh with the colors of the Vietnam Service Medal, a bronze star and an envelope to symbolize the post office he worked in.

Getting to hear people’s stories and express them through his designs has been “so rewarding,” Hoffman said.

The lead time for most projects is about eight weeks, though it can vary, according to a flier posted on 217CustomKicks’ Instagram. The cost of customization generally ranges from $300 to $500 — not including the price of shoes themselves — depending on the design and scope of work.

Hoffman works with customers to create the design. Once that’s finalized, the next step is to choose which shoes will serve as “the best palette” and purchase a pair, he said.

Then, the actual process of customization includes preparing the shoes, removing the finish with acetone and sandpaper, and “building it back up, panel by panel, color by color” with the new design.

Some custom jobs might take five to eight hours, while others could be four to five days.

“Everything is to order,” Hoffman said. “Everything is designed out.”

His business’ slogan emphasizes that point: “Made solely for you.”

At the moment, Hoffman isn’t taking new orders as he has a backlog to work on.

“This is a very busy season right now with football going on and some different other projects,” he said. “And that’s probably the toughest thing, I would say, is not being able to take every order just because of the time. I try to be respectful of everybody, and I don’t want to guarantee, ‘Hey, no problem, everything will be good,’ and then not be able to fulfill that.”

When it comes to his own kicks, Hoffman is still just as much of a sneakerhead as he was when he was a kid. He said that he has “a large amount of shoes” and “a blessed wife that kind of looks the other way.” His favorite style is the Air Jordan 3.

Hoffman added that, as the principal of a middle school in central Illinois, wearing a pair of Jordans gives him a bit of “cred” with students and a way to connect with them.

Of course, since his side hustle isn’t exactly top secret, Hoffman also gets kids who ask if he’ll make them a custom pair if they improve their grades.

“A whole thing about middle school is kind of having that relationship and communication with the kids and building a little foundation there,” he said. “And even if it’s wanting to talk about shoes or sports or anything else, that connection can lead to other things of helping the kids out. So I enjoy that part of it.”

When he was first getting started with custom work, he led a before-school program where he would teach kids how to do it for themselves.

While he doesn’t have the time for that right now, he might like to bring it back sometime.

When asked why sneakers have become so treasured by some people, Hoffman said that part of it is “connection.” Back in the day, it was exciting for kids to know that they were wearing the same type of shoes that Jordan wore on the court.

On the other hand, a desire to express one’s individuality can lead someone to seek custom footwear.

“Sometimes having something that somebody else doesn’t means a little bit more,” Hoffman said.