I named these shoes A.L.Y. 75 after my mom who died September 1, 2018. Her name is Alicia LaShawn Young and she was born in 1975, so that's where the 75 came from. This shoe has taught me the true definition of "trusting the process". Last year on the same days as making this shoe, I experienced the worst time ever, but to make a creation like this around the same time, the only option I had was to be happy. I know my mom is happy so that's why I dedicated this shoe to her. The experience for me to be here is a birthday gift to her. Her birthday is September 10th!

Martin had a dream.. Biggie had a dream.. Kendrick had a dream.. Now I'm livin' my dream. I'm inspired by Jesus, God, is the ultimate creator. The OG of art and beauty. I've always been in love with fresh kicks, and now I've been blessed with the opportunity to make my own. I'm thankful for the Shoe Surgeon family for showing me mad love, and for the way the pros do it. I'm forever grateful for my family and homies for pushing me to pursue my dream. Luh you Pops, and I luh you mama, I miss you everyday... I won't stop cr3ating. I promise.

For this shoe, I wanted to combine two of my favorite things. 1, the Shattered Backboard AJ1. And 2, fall hiking trips out of the city in Woodstock, NY. The general colorway signifies the changing color of leaves with the season and the leather in the back is meant to represent the actual tree trunk.

This came from the lab, decisions that made the creature/object come to life. Make your choice, trust the process. Never stop creating, trust your vision, instinct and dream. Like all of you and I thank you for everything.

What's that shoe, Margiela? I love monochrome colored sneakers - intended to evoke a feeling of the Japanese deconstructed vintage tailored fitting. Therefore I used a different kind of white leather, back and front side, soft and stiff. The blue little flag is my branding. Will put it on all my future shoes to come!

Like the Bronze Age ancient civilizations learned how to create a new material that will change their life. This shoe resembles a new stage in my life learning a new skill to help me achieve my goals.

Since I'm in highschool, "Burning Man" has been a dream for me. The reason why is because it's one of the most creative places in the world with no judgement, only creativity. Sharing with people and enjoying. Through these sneakers I wanted to make a tribute to this festival, to art, to creativity and most of all to the people I shared this incredible class with. Creativity is the key of a grateful and peaceful life.

Calango is a Brazilian lizard, or how everyone learned in Brasilia should be named. Moving fast is its talent, and the only chance you have to spot it in the wild is if the tag is visible.

No matter where I go or where I ended, living in Baltimore will always be my home. Baltimore is looked at as one of the most dangerous cities in the world. But, I wouldn't want to be from anywhere else. After all, if you can make it out of the most dangerous city in the world, then you can make it anywhere. The support you get from the city once you do make it seems like no other. That is why no matter where I end up, I will always remember the cracked streets of the 410 as my home.

Coming from Canada and always having a love for denim, it was only right.

I was inspired by the colors of the sunset and when I saw the heat reactive leather, I knew I wanted to use it to convey the color change. The other colors reminded me of the evenings in Fiji, and watching the nightfall.

Inspired by the street in which my first sneaker was created. Growing up in NY I was immediately drawn towards these colors which hold an iconic standard here. The honeycomb shades of blue that make up the majority of this sneaker remind me of the bright lights, high standards, and vast population. The unique color changing blue leather is a reminder that in order to survive here, you must always be forever willing to show your true colors. No matter how life hits you. You must last the heat/storm and get back on track to who you are.

Theres not really a backstory to these shoes. The marble effect would represent the hard work and the process put into the shoe. And the Rosé portion is the satisfaction of the finished product.

Inspired by those rare mornings the sky is lit up crimson over the mountains.

Although the brown leather looks like camo, that's not what I thought. To me, it looks like brush strokes from a Renaissance painting. Therefore I went with a Renaissance theme for the shoe.

I chose storm before the calm and not calm before the storm. I chose black because of its association with power, fear, mystery, authority, aggression, and elegance. Black is often a mysterious color that typically is the unknown or the negative. I chose red because it’s the color of passion, love, and seduction. But it can be dangerous and violent. Through red, anger can arise from the power associated with your passion. Then I chose blue as the overall color because it has the power to calm the red and black because of its power. It associates itself with freedom, intuition, trust, loyalty, wisdom, and confidence. But it has the stability and confidence to be calm before the storm.

The Shoe Surgeon Shoe School was definitely an awesome experience. For this project, the Nike AF1 highs, I chose colors that you see because I'm a huge fan of Aladdin - especially growing up. Think of it this way - it all started in Agrabah, the vibes of Aladdin, the fire of Jafar, and the craziness of Genie!

Earth is full of colors and the Moon is white & dark. Let's take tropical fruits, make drinks, take these shoes and make a party on the Moon!