By Cassell Ferere

Renowned sneaker designer and customization creator Dominic “The Shoe Surgeon” Ciambrone teamed up with Chips Ahoy! to create a custom sneaker designed by voters who visited the cookie brands website.

Voters were able to decide on design elements for the different features of the shoe throughout February. 

Chips Ahoy! x Dominic: Making sneakers from scratch

Each vote cast triggered a $5 donation toward the Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA). The money helps support arts programming at Clubs throughout the country, something Ciambrone has an affinity for having his Shoe Surgeon design school.

Voting ballots checked off the sneaker’s silhouette, style, colors, and other elements of the signature shoe-to-be seen on Chips Ahoy! animated spokes-cookie, Chip. The winners of the competition are eligible for a pair of the final custom sneakers, a year’s supply of Chips Ahoy! cookies, or the opportunity to attend Shoe Surgeon’s design school.

Ciambrone will ultimately gather inspiration from the votes and facilitate a virtual workshop of 10 teens from Boys & Girls Clubs of Americas. This collaboration will birth the exclusive Chips Ahoy! sneaker available for participating sneakerheads.

Dominic Ciambrone

Growing up in Santa Rosa, CA, a city located an hour north of San Francisco, a teenage Ciambrone felt fashion and sneakers were his “only purpose” for attending high school.

“I started customizing sneakers when I was in high school. I was passionate about expressing my creativity from a young age,”

says Dominic.

His collaborative effort with Chips Ahoy! resonates with Ciambrone’s continued effort in helping teens to express themselves through the arts. 

“This is a dream partnership for me. Not only that, but the program benefits Boys & Girls Clubs of America, which I attended in Santa Rosa when I was younger,”

Dominic remembers.

He recalls his youth in making a name for himself in a market he was interested in. And New York City has a part to play in his sneakerhead journey as it is the place where "Sneakerhead-ism" can find some provenance. 

“The name came to me when I lived in Charlotte, NC, and took a trip to NYC with my best friend and my older brother. The energy from NYC was unreal. I was 18 and that’s when the name started - it was originally ‘$hoe Surgeonz’,”

Dominic reminisces. 

Ciambrone’s LA-based sneaker-makers school is “an immersive experience where students learn the process of designing custom sneakers entirely from scratch,'' simply put by Ciambrone. The teens who will be participating in the virtual workshop learn how to make shoes from its inception to the hands-on creation and execution of a physical wearable sneaker.

Sneakers from scratch 

This inside look into shoe-making is a cobbler's dream for the average sneakerhead. You may be fantasizing about your own collaborative ‘kicks.’ 

The 10 teens from BGCA and Shoe Surgeon’s virtual workshop are exposed to a behind-the-scenes look at the process that physically creates the Shoe Surgeon’s designs as well as the Chips Ahoy! sneakers. 

As Chips Ahoy! mixes into sneakers and street culture, they are fostering a new generation of creators. Ciambrone’s efforts as a sneaker-making professor bridge the gap between their interest and their dreams. 

Ciambrone identifies this energy and the voting process as a “great model for how to get the fans involved and encourage them to get creative.”

He elaborates, “trends are always changing and this is a way to engage with the audience and allow them to have a say in what they want directly with the brand.” 

The artistry present

Dominic is known to take the elements that resemble the physical attributes of a cultural icon and place them onto iconic kicks, but he also captures the ethos and reflects that in his significant detailing finishes.

“Textures and colors of the cookies, the packaging details, the overall brand,” Ciambrone describes. He retracts stating “the elements of the final design is all up to the fans! That’s really what brings the final design to life and what makes this partnership so special.”

Expanding into grade schools and universities is Dominic’s goal as he gets to work with students regularly through his institution. Workshops and hands-on learning are unique opportunities to experience a lifetime of skill and craftsmanship. Dominic doubles down on that notion, “It’s not just about shoes, it’s about bettering one's way of life and outlook on themselves.” 

Ciambrone has a life and an outlook customized solely for him but makes sure to help others customize their own. He concludes in a confession of his customization-obsession,

“I like to customize almost anything. That’s why I put milk and ice cream on my cookies. It’s all about staying true to yourself.”

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