D1 Customs

HSE Student Starts Custom Shoe Business

Photographer / Eli Beaverson

As the world shut down in 2020 and retreated into quarantine due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many people found themselves with plenty of free time on their hands. Some people took up baking, some decided to learn an instrument, and then 13-year-old Dillon O’Rourke of Fishers started his own business.

“D1 Customs is a shoe customization business, where I customize and paint shoes for people who order them through my website or through my social platforms,” says O’Rourke, founder of D1 Customs. “I’ve always liked shoes and I thought that this would be a cool way to expand upon that interest.”

O’Rourke, a student at Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) Intermediate & Junior High School, has no formal art or design training, and he’s used the time afforded to him by the shutdowns to teach himself. 

“I just did a lot of research,” O’Rourke says. “I just watched a lot of videos about it, and used trial and error. I watched a few videos about it and I got interested, and so I decided I should try it on some old pairs of shoes. Then after that it kind of just kicked off, and I started making them for real customers.”

The first pair of shoes O’Rourke sold was a pair of Hamilton Southeastern Nike Air Force 1 shoes. The project took him about 10 hours to complete.

O’Rourke says customers usually have an idea of what kind of design they want when they approach him about ordering a pair of shoes. He walks them through the design process, perfecting the design idea and then working out how he’s going to pull it off. 

“Usually the customer will contact me and order them,” O’Rourke says. “Then I will make a few mock-ups on a device, and send it back to them and discuss designs with them. I usually get the shoes from Finish Line or Dick’s Sporting Goods, or the Nike website.” 

After that, O’Rourke applies acetone to the shoe and then tapes off all of the parts he doesn’t want to get paint on. 

“I usually hand-paint or use my airbrush for most of the shoes I do,” O’Rourke says. “I also create and use custom stencils, which help me with a lot of my designs and detailed patterns.” 

From there, he laces the shoes up and then delivers them to the customer. 

“I prefer to deliver them in person so I can see the customer’s response,” he says. “Since I like to involve the customer in the design process, they are usually really excited to see the final product, and I like to see that my work has made someone happy. I usually deliver the shoes to the customers by either setting up a time to meet with them, or if they do not live close, I also can ship the shoes.”

O’Rourke says that depending on the design, it can take him six to 20 hours of work to complete a pair of shoes. Because he’s normally working on multiple orders at a time, he says it can take two to three weeks to get a pair of shoes to a customer. Demand, he says, is highest around the holidays. 

D1 Customs has garnered interest from a variety of people. 

“It’s pretty much everyone,” O’Rourke says. “Some parents order for their kids, and some students at HSE and Fishers order for themselves. I’ve had some professional athletes that I’ve made shoes for, and some coaches.”

O’Rourke designed a pair of shoes for star lacrosse player and co-founder of the Premier Lacrosse League, Paul Rabil. O’Rourke says the blue and white Nikes adorned with a Johns Hopkins University logo are his favorite pair of shoes that he’s designed.

What started as a quarantine hobby has become a full-fledged entrepreneurial endeavor, and O’Rourke hopes to continue bringing people joy in the form of custom shoes. 

“I’d like to continue to grow my business, get more customers, and offer people one-of-a-kind shoes that are made to represent their interests and styles, because I really enjoy doing that,” he says. “I also enjoy seeing people’s reactions when I give them their shoes. It’s my 100% favorite part.” 

For more info on D1 Customs including product images and more, visit instagram.com/d1customs.studio/.