HE’S A STUD
Ryan used to be a banker but now he’s filling his boots by customising footwear for the biggest names in the game
A FORMER banker turned his love of customising football boots into a fulltime job and now works with the Scotland team and some top European players.
Ryan Park rediscovered the hobby during lockdowns having enjoyed renovating football boots in his early 20s.
The 32-year-old from Edinburgh would buy old pairs of boots on eBay then refurbish and share his transformations on his Instagram page Boots N Pieces.
Now he works with international stars including Liverpool midfielder Thiago and Real Madrid’s Antonio Rudiger as well as joining the Scotland camp in Glasgow to custom fit studs for the likes of Ryan Christie, Lyndon Dykes, Ryan Christie and Billy Gilmour.
Rangers skipper James Tavernier and midfielder Ryan Jack are also customers.
It all started in 2020 when Hibs captain Paul Hanlon reached out to Ryan with a customisation request.
Word spread, with players across the SPFL and beyond reaching out.
After just a year and a half, Ryan left his 13-year career in investment banking to run Boots N Pieces full-time.
He recalled: “During lockdown, I had a bit of time on my hands so I picked up an old hobby that I’d had when I was younger,” said Ryan. “I decided to start buying boots on eBay and refurbishing them, selling them on for a bit of profit.
“One day, I decided to start an Instagram page so I could show off before and afters of my work, and it really started gaining a lot of traction.
“People started messaging me and asking for me to customise their boots and it just snowballed from there. It was a complete career change – I worked in investment banking for 13 years. “I did quite enjoy my job, but during lockdown I worked from home and had a lot more spare time and a passion was born. It wasn’t a tough decision. I was confident it’d work out and I was earning enough from the boots part time to know it was sustainable. “There
My fiancee was pregnant but I was confident that it would work out ryan park on his switch to his new job
was a bit of risk with not having a stable job – my fiancee was seven months’ pregnant with my daughter – but I was really confident it was going to work out, so I went for it.
“Through social media and word of mouth, I started getting a couple of pro footballers asking to get their boots done.
“They spoke to their teammates and other guys in the SPL and down south, and it just spread like that.
“The first top pro was Paul Hanlon at Hibs. He sent me a message on Instagram asking if I could do a stud conversion on his boots, and I went to meet him at his house to collect the boots and drop them back off.
“That whole experience was really crazy because that was the first time I’d ever done that.
“That was a starting point, and then I started doing them for other guys on the Hibs team, and then roundabout Scotland and further south as well.”
Lyndon Dykes and Ryan Christie are particularly loyal, with the two requesting more than 30 pairs between them.
Ryan’s work has given him the opportunity to work alongside the Scottish national football and rugby teams, as well as scoring a deal with sportswear giant Under Armour. He said: “I often go out to training camps with the Scottish national team – they’re based in Glasgow so I’ll go out for a day or two just to do stud conversions on any boots that need it done.
“Same with the rugby team, they’re based in Edinburgh, so I’ll go to their training camps as well before the Six Nations or World Cup before they jet off.
“It’s almost four years that I’ve been doing this now, and it’s still surreal when top players get in touch. I’ve done a lot of top players - Thiago at Liverpool, Antonio Rudiger at Real Madrid.
“I’m now customising boots for Under Armour-sponsored athletes, which is crazy as it’s such a big company.”
Now, Ryan hopes to hire help and plans to expand into other sports.
He added: “There’s only so many pairs of boots I can do myself in a day, so I definitely need to expand.
“I mainly do football and rugby but I could easily do similar work with golf shoes or running shoes.”