LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — The first full February weekend featured some major sporting events – from Kentucky’s denim game versus rival Tennessee – to the Super Bowl on Sunday evening. In both of these events, Billy Hobbs had his work showcased by athletes on the court and on the field.
When Jaxon Smith-Njigba helped the Seattle Seahawks win Super Bowl LX, he was carried by cleats designed by Hobbs and True Blue Customs.
“That was the first pair I've made it to the Super Bowl,” Hobbs said.
That winning design is one of many Hobbs makes each year.
“I honestly, probably per year I would say 800 to 1000,” he said, estimating how many shoes he designs. “That's everything from a logo on a shoe to a full blown full custom with full packaging and everything.”
The shoes for Smith-Njigba were gifted by Nike ahead of Sunday’s Super Bowl.
“He got the cleats, and they were all over, social media, NFL Network, and all that, and he didn't wear them in the game,” Hobbs shared. “I'm like, ‘Well, I'm sure they'll just be on a shelf. It's like a keepsake.’”
“At halftime I get like 30 text messages like ‘he's actually got them on now,’ and I'm like, ‘oh wow, that's, that's pretty dope.’ So all the pictures at the end of him celebrating, he's wearing them. So that's kind of a cool keepsake for me too.”
A day before the Super Bowl, Hobbs also got involved with all the denim craze going on here in Lexington. A special denim design on a pair of DBook 1’s launched Mo Dioubate to a clutch rebound against Tennessee Saturday night.
“You look at the shoe, it just looks like a regular DBook shoe, but then if you look at the details, you can see the hand bleaching, the tongue tags that say ‘Queens Made,’ a lot of little details like that to cater to the guys,” Hobbs said. “Like that's his personality, that's who he is.”
True Blue Customs shoes have stepped onto some of the biggest stages around the world, but Hobbs makes shoes for more than just celebrities.
“Everybody always gets hung up on the the celebrity side of it, and I get it because it is cool,” he shared. “Don't get me wrong, I love those projects, but I love doing stuff for kids and like cancer patient kids. Like those are stuff that don't really get talked about a lot.”
After a big weekend, it’s back to work in the studio. That includes some more designs for some familiar names. You can keep up with Hobb’s latest designs on social media @truebluecustoms.
