SOLE PROPRIETOR

By Todd C. Elliott

Photos: Chad Moreno / Killer Photography

One local high school teen is putting one foot in front of the other. Taking all the right steps to become freshly armed with $5,000, 2024 was a good year for Joel Moore, who started a customized shoe art business.

Fashion-conscious customers are walking a mile in JM Custom Shoes, and they’re getting noticed for their fancy footwear.

It’s been said the journey of a thousand miles begins with just a single step. It helps when you have the right shoes. Joel, who attends Bethel Christian High School, first stumbled upon the idea on YouTube.

Looking up “shoe art” on YouTube caused young Joel to look down, mainly at his shoes. He noticed his steppers looked like everyone else’s, almost too uniform. Boring. This led to the inception of a one-of-a-kind art form in Southwest Louisiana.

“I found something that there’s a market for, and there’s no competition in Southwest Louisiana — and Lake Charles, in particular,” he said. “I love shoes, and I love creating and being a visionary and bringing these things to life that I would want on my shoes.”

Joel cited popular YouTuber Corey Bailey, or “Sierato” as he’s known on the platform, as his inspiration. The custom shoes done by Sierato have been featured on ESPN, Sotheby’s, BET and by the NBA. Joel said the “top dogs” in the shoe art game are earning upwards of $70K a year, and he aspires to be one of them.

“I couldn’t find anyone who did shoe art in the Lake Charles area,” he said. “But Shreveport has at least two shoe artists. Lake Charles didn’t have any. And I had already started creating them. I was starting to customize shoes, a couple of pairs for friends, myself and my family. And they were pretty bad. I even took a picture of a pair of shoes I worked on in a trash can.”

Back in April 2023, Joel threw his shoes into the ring for the 11th annual business pitch competition held by the SEED Business Center. Little did he know he would be one of only four people walking away with $5,000. While it was YouTube videos that planted the seed in Joel’s head, it was the SEED Center that planted the start-up capital in his hand, enabling the idea to germinate and sprout.

Joel had the vision. He soon found himself speaking in public, judged by a panel of experts. He had both the idea and the courage necessary to make his live pitch presentation to board members of the SWLA Economic Development Alliance and local business owners. Joel won the high school category — which made him the sole high school recipient of the start-up award money. Thus, his company, JM Custom Kicks (now JM Custom Shoes), was born.

“I definitely was nervous, and I prayed about it a lot and just felt a little bit of a peace. I felt confident, but I felt nervous butterflies. (It was a) panel of three judges. I was a sophomore, so I was 16 and nervous, and there was only one other person in my high school division.”

Joel’s father, Brad Moore, who is also the chief facilitator and principal of Bethel Christian High School, drove his son to the SEED Center on the day of the pitch, which turned out to be a big day for both of them.

“I did encourage him to do it,” said Brad when asked if he was the driving force behind his son’s business idea.  “But I always want the final decision for this type of thing, for this type of learning, to be made by the student,” Brad has a unique perspective — he sees Joel as a student, yes, but he’s also his son. 

“He was a little bit nervous at school that day. So, I told him to go into a room and talk to God about it,” Brad said. “After doing that, Joel felt as if God had communicated that he was going to win the business pitch contest.”

Prayers were answered. Things came to fruition, but not without life’s challenges. Joel had to deal with technology troubles and the dreaded, number one fear in the world: public speaking.

“It wasn’t easy,” says Brad. “We had a hard time getting the slides to work with his presentation. Joel got quite a bit of the way through once … and little bit through twice. And then Eric Cormier (senior VP of entrepreneurship and strategic initiatives for the SWLA Economic Development Alliance) had Joel start over. Yet you could hardly tell that my son was nervous, and Joel just seemed to roll with it, even though it certainly made me nervous.”

When KPLC-TV announced the winners that day, reality started to sink in to the then-16-year-old. But how did that success and $5,000 change young Joel?

“I felt great when I won. My attitude was like: ‘let’s get to work,’” he said. “That first week I went crazy and bought tools and paints, setting everything up. For sure, I think I became a better artist, taking advantage of my tools that I use to create, but I have improved since winning. And being a visionary, I don’t make mock-ups, I just go straight into the shoes like a canvas. I try to bring what I picture in my head to life.”

One of his most elaborate pieces was a pair of old cheap shoes painted to look like the Gucci brand. A customer who wants to “fake it until they make it” can do that through Joel Moore.

“I took a $40 pair of Bruno Marc shoes and painted my Gucci custom look,” said Joel. “I added the Gucci snake, which is usually a part of the Gucci watches. So, my Gucci-custom piece uses the Gucci watch element, which you can’t buy from Gucci as far as the shoes go. I added the Gucci stripes. These sell for (less than) the Gucci prices.”

To date, Joel has sold nearly 20 pairs of his customized shoe artwork, for around $100 a pair, which doesn’t include the price or cost of the shoes. His proudest achievement was selling a pair for $200, he said. Most of his orders are done through on Etsy. Joel uses the Etsy handle “JM Custom Shoes” and is responsible for shipping and handling.

“If customers already have the shoes, I can clean them up and get started,” said Joel. “If they already have a pair, then it’s perfect. Sometimes, I will buy the shoes for them so that I can work with a clean slate and they get new shoes with my art already on them. On average, a custom pair of shoes will go for $100 to $120. But I have never had anyone just want me to go all out and go crazy. I’ve made quite a few for myself. I guess you could say that I’m my best customer.”

The popularity of shoe art is a worldwide phenomenon. But it’s more than that. The fact that some shoe artists are earning nearly $70K a year is an economic indicator that buyers will pay top dollar for something that can become a symbol of their individuality and their personal freedom. The artist’s freedom of expression is also supported by people. Customers seem to derive satisfaction from supporting and buying local rather than adding to the already booming coffers of retail chain stores. Whether it’s repurposed or recycled footwear, it feeds something in the consumers’ “sole” that is evidently missing in the shoe industry globally. So, who’s wearing Joel Moore’s shoe art?

Joel says Lake Charles native Kirkland Banks, a rising minor-league baseball player headed for the MLB’s roster, is the closest person to a celebrity that rocks JM Custom Shoes. Banks first started wearing Joel’s art on his shoes when he attended Lamar University. Banks was a two-sport athlete who, on the baseball diamond, the football field, or off-the-field entirely, represented Lake Charles by displaying Joel’s shoe art proudly on his feet.

“I would love to grow JM Custom Shoes,” said Joel. “I want to grow it into something more than a custom-art or freelance art hobby. I want to hire employees one day and find ways to increase production and sell online. I even thought of maybe making a paint brand one day. The shoe paints they’ve got, they’re good, but they chip and crack easily. That’s definitely something I see a need for, and I want to grow whatever I can into a business.”