Odell Beckham Jr. hit the field in style ahead of the biggest game of his life, the NFL Super Bowl LVI. Los Angeles Rams wide-receiver OBJ teamed up with custom footwear legend and artist 'The Shoe Surgeon' to wear the most expensive cleats ever to be worn in NFL history.
The OBJ pulled out all the stops for his first Super Bowl and made sure he got all the attention even before Sunday's game coin-toss. Thanks to his custom cleats worth a staggering $200k. The encrusted diamonds and gold made sure a six-figure price tag for the cleats.
The cleats were made by Dominic Ciambrone, who is famously known as "The Shoe Surgeon" in Los Angeles.
Who is 'The Shoe Surgeon' behind Odell Beckham Jr.'s $200K diamond cleats?
Dominic Ciambrone, better known as the "Shoe Surgeon," is the CEO and founder of the "Shoe Surgeon" brand. He is a designer, an innovator, and a creative artist specializing in sneaker designing, customization, and shoemaking.
He has accumulated over 1 million Instagram followers and has worked for some very famous personalities, who are all sneakerheads, including Drake, Justin Bieber, LeBron James. He has also collaborated with Pizza Hut, Jack Daniel's, and Frito-Lay's Ruffles brand.
Born in California on April 26, 1986, the custom footwear designer rose to fame due to his passion for shoes and became a pioneer and leader in the sneaker industry.
He is a self-taught cobbler responsible for some of the most genius, most-expensive customs in demand. Ciambrone started out in high school customizing a pair of AF1 all whites into camouflage.
He started doing pro-bono paint jobs on sneakers, and the one that got him his early fame was the laser-etched design of the all-white vans, which he used Tandy leather on. Soon he climbed the ladder and made shoes for DJ Khaled, Will.I.Am, and others.
He was also the mastermind behind "Misplaces Checks," a premium Nike Air Force 1 iteration. He also lent his abilities on the YEEZY Boost. He also made the famous Nike LeBron 15 sneakers valued at $100k and was gifted to LeBron by The Shoe Surgeon in 2018.
He recently started teaching and launched Shoe Surgeon Shoe School. Ciambrone runs a creative collective of Surgeon Studios in Los Angeles.
Story behind the Odell Beckham Jr.'s $200k diamond cleats
Ciambrone told People magazine in an interview:
"It's not about making the most expensive cleats... Odell's not only a top player, but he's a big personality and he likes fashion and he likes to stand out and that's what I like. So it just kind of all came together."
Royal blue and yellow pythons come together to embrace the classic colorways of the Rams. Shoes for Odell Beckham Jr. featured 1494 white diamonds, individually rounded and with a total weight of 25 carats from Jason of Beverly Hills. All of these diamonds have a flawless D color clarity. Other than diamonds, the cleats also feature 14 carats of yellow gold at 150 grams.
It took a 100 plus hours of labor to construct the cleats for Odell Beckham Jr. Ciambrone told People:
"When they won the last game, I texted them right away. I was like, 'Are you ready for the golden diamond?' And he was just hyped and was like, 'Yep, you, me, and Jason of Beverly Hills,' who makes the diamond rings for a lot of the teams and the NFL rings last year. So it was just cool that the moment came like this."
Dominic was asked by TMZ to make a prediction for Sunday's game, and he simply couldn't pick against his friends:
"You already know that answer, man. The Rams are gonna win."
"I'm not into sports like that, but if my friends win, it's a win for me."
Odell Beckham Jr. wasn't the only one to tap Ciambrone for the Super Bowl shoes, his teammates Jalen Ramsey, Von Miller, and Cooper Kupp also all wore Ciambrone's creations.