L.I. native helped design NYC-themed cleats for Soto
Juan Soto dressed for the occasion during the Yankees’ home opener on Friday, as he sported a pair of New York City-themed cleats.
The Under Armour pair (photo) was designed by Stadium Custom Kicks and featured New York City’s skyline, the subway stop at Yankee Stadium and pinstripes. Meanwhile, the sole declared that Soto loves his new home.
The cleats’ most unique element, however, are the laces, which are embedded with baby blue LED lights. They produce an electric glow, fitting for Soto’s first home game in the Bronx.
“I can’t confirm that’s the first time that’s ever been done on MLB cleats, but we’ve never done that before and haven’t seen it before,” Alex Katz, Stadium Custom Kicks’ founder, told the Daily News.
Katz said that Soto reached out to the company about two months ago and expressed a desire to collaborate throughout the year. But Soto didn’t raise the idea of NYCthemed cleats until about a week and a half ago.
“I really just told him to do what he thinks about New York and everything,” Soto said after going 0-for-4 with two strikeouts in a 3-0 loss to the Blue Jays. “He just came up with that, and I love it. We just rocked with it.”
“That obviously shows he was really looking forward to his time in New York,” Katz added. “He’s honestly one of the easiest customers we’ve ever worked with. He loved our first rough draft.”
Coming up with the design on short notice wasn’t an issue for Katz, a Manhasset, L.I. native who played at St. John’s before getting drafted by the White Sox in the 27th round in 2015. Katz also spent time in the Orioles and Cubs’ organizations.
The 29-year-old most recently played for the independent Staten Island FerryHawks in 2023, but he founded his company in 2019 while still playing affiliated ball.
Stadium Custom Kicks has worked with over 600 major league players, including other Yankees. That group includes Jose Trevino, Anthony Volpe, Clarke Schmidt and Marcus Stroman. Ian Hamilton was Katz’s roommate in the White Sox’s system.
Katz said that his company’s “full custom” cleats — when the entire shoe is painted — start at $300 and can range up to $1,800. He wouldn’t disclose the price of Soto’s cleats, but he said they took 25 hours to design.
“It all depends,” Katz said of the pricing. “It’s a lot of work.”
Of course, Katz doesn’t do all the labor himself. He said that his company has a team of designers, artists and more. For Soto’s cleats, Ari Solomon collaborated on the design and concept, while Daniel Pizzarelli painted them.
“We’re kind of like a construction company,” Katz said.
With Soto’s first project completed, Katz said the superstar wants all of his customizations to feature unique elements like the LED lights.
Meanwhile, Katz and his colleagues want to see Soto wear the home opener cleats again. There’s a switch to activate the laces, and Katz hopes to see Soto use it in a game.
“We were hoping he’d hit a home run and flick the lights on when he was running the bases,” Katz said. “How sick would that be in a night game?”