Meet Sailboat Lewis | Sneaker Customization/Restoration Artist and reseller

We had the good fortune of connecting with Sailboat Lewis and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sailboat, how has your work-life balance changed over time?
Since beginning my sneaker company, I won’t lie, my life has been dominated by work. Being that I work a “traditional” job in the health care industry, I put in regular work hours and then come home and work my sneaker business. It’s not uncommon for me to work an 8 hour day, hit the gym, and then come home and work another 6 hours on my sneaker business. The thing is, working on sneakers doesn’t feel like work to me. It’s a passion. It’s something that I do because I love. I’m not just here to make a quick buck, I’m in this game for the long haul just because I’m passionate about it (although it does feel nice being able to make a little off what I love!) Trying to become an entrepreneur or starting an entrepreneurial venture is almost bound to be a failure if money is the end goal. I want to be able to work in an environment where I have complete control over my assets, the most important of them to me being time. If I can spend my time doing something I love, I don’t feel like I’m working, When I work with sneakers, it doesn’t feel like work. As Confucius once (allegedly) said: “Choose a job you love and you will nevere have to work a day in your life”

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
One of the things that I do differently in the sneaker community is restoration and customization work. While my restoration work is certainly a work in progress, it has improved immensely since I began practicing about two years ago. More recently, I have begun to work on more customization endeavors including dying, painting, and hybrid sole swaps. While there are many artists in the community that dye and paint sneaker customs, there are only a few that do sole swap hybrids. With a sole swap hybrid, I am able to make a custom 1 of 1 shoe that no one has ever seen and utilize different cushioning systems from different brands on the upper of a sneaker to combine the best of both worlds!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
San Diego is an amazing area with so much to do – it’s hard to narrow down to just a few things!

One of my favorite things to do is with guests (that are of age) is to take them on a brewery tour. There is such a rich heritage of local microbreweries, meaderies, distilleries, and wineries. I always make sure to bring my guests to a few spots so they can check out the local flavor! Kilowatt Brewery is probably my favorite in Ocean Beach

For food, a visit to Old Town is mandatory! I love to hit Fred’s due to the amazing atmosphere and great drinks (even if it is a bit more Tex Mex!). Ordering sandwiches, Gaglione Bros is a MUST, they have some amazing cheese steaks. If I need a spot with a bit more of an atmosphere, you can find me at a tiki bar or similar restaurant; Bali Hai, The Grass Skirt, and Forbidden Idol are some of my favorites. I also enjoy Noodle House in OB (and the guys that invented Skrewball are always there and show us love whenever we go through!)

For entertainment, I always make sure to hit the Zoo and Safari Park. The San Diego Zoo and Safari Park are the BEST Zoos in the world in my humble opinion. I love what they do for wildlife conservation and preservation. When its Baseball season, a trip to Petco Park for a Padres game is always on the top of my list of priorities, I love going to games and the team has been doing amazing this year so the energy has been top notch. If my guests are more adventurous, a trip to some of the local skateparks to see if we can catch any local pros is also a good move. Sometimes, if I’m lucky, I can even get the invitation to a backyard ramp session or competition (shout out to Leo Ruiz for taking me to see him compete at Bob Burnquist’s competition summer of 2019!!).

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Shout out to Anthony at Kobey’s Swap Meet for allowing an amazing sales platform for all local sneaker enthusiasts in the San Diego area. Shout out to Gil of SNKRHead Worldwide for his continued knowledge and consistent support from the get go. Shout out to Erick, Jonah, and David for helping out at some of the conventions/swaps/expos we’ve done in recent history. Shout out to Sir Dawggie for being the best doggy.

Last but not least, shout out to Lola for her ever continued support and effort in my endeavors and putting up with me on the late nights that I spend working and understanding the efforts that I put into building a name for myself and my company.

Website: www.SailboatsSneakers.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/sailboats.sneakers

Twitter: www.twitter.com/sailboatssneaks

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sailboats.sneakers/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/sailboatssneakers

Other: https://linktr.ee/sailboats.sneakers

Image Credits
All photos taken by Lola