Marist student’s design gets national attention
Recyclable shoe puts him in national design competition
Angel Ortiz Jr., a senior at Marist High School in Chicago, wants to share his love of sneakers by creating a brand that will delight other teens, but he’s not in it for the money. Eventually, he’d like to donate the footwear he creates to people who cannot afford shoes.
It all started back in 2014, when Ortiz was visiting the Cleveland area, the day basketball star LeBron James announced he was returning to Cleveland’s NBA franchise, he said, and his parents bought him a pair of Nike Kevin Durant 7 sneakers, which he adored.
Ortiz has attended sneaker conventions, collected sneakers and even made his own clothing brand aimed at athletic shoe enthusiasts called “SneakerNerds.”
He also nabbed one of six spots in a design competition sponsored by the College for Creative Studies in Detroit with a sneaker design that is fully recyclable and constructed of waste products from the ocean. The shoe has a turtle
shell motif.
“Turtles live in the ocean so I kind of wanted to base the shoe off a turtles shell,” said Ortiz, who lives in Midlothian with his family. “My mother and I used to watch Finding Nemo a lot when I was a young boy growing up and her favorite character from the movie was the baby turtle Squirt.”
His dad was part of the inspiration too, because he is a huge fan of the reggae band The Expanders and their song “Turtle Racing.”
Helping out the environment was also an important part of the design.
“I think there’s just a lot of pollution in our environment and I feel that could be eliminated by a shoe,” Ortiz said. “It might not make a lot of difference, but it could make a little difference.”
Winning a spot in the competition also meant Ortiz had a week of free remote design classes last summer and will have three more weeks this summer in which to finesse his design. The classes replace an in-person workshop, which was canceled because of COVID-19.
Ortiz has been accepted at the University of Oregon, where he plans to major in business and minor in product design. He hopes to one day make a sneaker that grows with a foot to help people who struggle to afford shoes. His favorite classes are photography and journalism, which have helped with his designing.
“I like capturing moments,” he said. “I like to take pictures of shoes and nice scenery and places.”
Rita Hoffman, Marist’s coordinator of Curriculum, Visual & Performing Art, who teaches Ortiz in her digital photography program, said his flair for design was clear.
“As a student, Angel is a creative thinker and inquisitive,” Hoffman said. “His work is very detailed and colorful; he is not afraid of trying new techniques.”
Hoffman said his enthusiasm for learning and discipline also stood out.
“Angel distinguishes himself as a student who is filled with passion for learning, excitement about art and design and a desire to advance both academically and artistically.”