If you're unfamiliar with the works of Los Angeles-based sneakerhead and creative mastermind The Shoe Surgeon – known by those closest to him as Dominic Ciambrone – it's time for a formal education. Ciambrone, and the rest of his team at SRGN, take custom shoe design to the next level, garnering artistic liberties with the likes of Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Goyard, Heineken, Carl's Jr./Hardee's, and now Eggo Waffles.
In a historic collaboration with Eggo to promote their new line of Fully Loaded Waffles, The Shoe Surgeon has released a limited-edition waffle sneaker dripping in sweet nostalgia.
Foodbeast was lucky enough to sit down with Ciambrone to discuss his latest collaboration, his favorite past projects, and the rocky road that paved the way for his philanthropic future.
We've seen your designs ranging from waffle sneakers to one-of-a-kind Gucci Nikes. Walk us through the process of how these designs and collaborations come to fruition.
The Shoe Surgeon: A huge cornerstone of my creative process comes from the concept of making commercial cool, unique, and different. Nostalgia always plays a major role in these kinds of designs.
Safe to say Eggo Waffles are pretty quintessentially nostalgic in their own right. How did this collaboration happen?
As soon as they approached us about making a limited-edition sneaker, I knew we had to do it. Getting the design right for these shoes took a lot of throwing stuff at the wall and seeing what stuck.
You ended up designing a shoe for each flavor, Strawberry and Chocolate. Do you have a favorite?
Funnily enough, I'm always a chocolate guy but when we finalized the strawberry design, I knew it was my favorite overall. It's just wild and crazy! We got strawberry dripping off the side of the shoe!
Well, we know you're no stranger to partnering up with different food brands to create something the world's never seen before. Do you have a favorite past collab?
Hands down, my favorite project with food was the Pie Tops Pizza Hut collaboration we did. It perfectly represented our work as creatives while fitting their bill for brand visibility. Plus, who doesn't love a bright red shoe?
We at Foodbeast always have the honor of painting a picture for our audience of whomever we have the chance to chat with. Since you're the artist, we'd love to pass the paintbrush and let you paint for the audience a picture of yourself and how your brand came to be.
Wow, thank you. I mean, look, I've done what I've needed to do while always considering how I can put my touch on the next generation of creatives who want to go after something. For me, it’s about these schools and workshops we teach to inspire people to go after their dreams, whether it be design, etc. I had to piece together everything I know today. I've taught over 10,000 students. Every human is creative whether it’s math or something else. I want to show every human that they have the power to be creative.
Have you ever had that moment where you've seen your plight to help the next generation in real time?
The first class I ever taught was a challenge. It was a five-day class series and on the fifth day, I thought I’d never do this again. On the sixth day, I stayed behind and watched students finish their shoes and watched them fall in love with the process the same way I did way back when. How do I help change and guide through creativity? Growing up, my dad was always a chef, mom was always cooking. I was the one kid who didn’t want to be in the kitchen. I wanted to paint or deliver. For the longest time, I didn’t think chef dad was creative. It wasn't until later when he opened Canevari's Deli up in Sonoma County that I really appreciated the artistry behind food creation.
Fans will have three chances to shop the sneaker drops. Starting on Friday, May 17, at 12 P.M. ET, the limited-edition Eggo Fully Loaded Kicks will be available here for $150 per pair, while supplies last. Of course, each pair comes with both flavors of Fully Loaded Waffles for fans to experience the fueling power of these protein-packed waffles for themselves. Additional kicks will be released the remaining Fridays in May at 12 P.M. ET, so be sure to set your alarms and snag a pair before they sell out!
If The Shoe Surgeon's creative vision wasn't enough to sell you on the kicks, maybe the philanthropy of it all will help tip the scales. Eggo knows that millions of children and teens in the U.S. aren’t getting an adequate amount of protein in their diet, so all proceeds from the Kicks will support No Kid Hungry, a national campaign dedicated to ending childhood hunger. That means each pair of sneakers sold will result in a $150 donation to No Kid Hungry, which can help provide 1,500 meals to kids.
Plus, as a longtime partner and supporter of No Kid Hungry, Eggo will make an additional donation of $50,000 following the Fully Loaded Kicks program to fuel more families during breakfast and beyond.
