Kenyan entrepreneur Dennis Chege is helping in the fight against the "sneaker mountains" in Kenya with his wearable sneaker art. He turns worn-out shoes into colorful collectibles.
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00:00 Gentlemen, thank you so much for inviting me into your beautiful and cozy home.
00:04 Now tonight you're going to be awarded with the next big thing award at the Essay Style Awards.
00:09 So number one, what's this award for and secondly, what does it mean to you?
00:13 Yeah, I mean the award is about celebrating creators, creatives and individuals that are
00:19 contributing to the economy of South Africa, our society in a positive way in different industries
00:27 and I think Patoine and I were identified as the next big thing for the work we do as creatives,
00:35 as painters, the work we do with men and yeah, they'd like to celebrate it which is a beautiful
00:40 thing. And you guys have spoken about being able to influence that young child that comes from an
00:45 underprivileged background to be able to say if they can do it, so can I. What words of
00:51 encouragement would you have for that young artist who looks up to you? Yeah, on my side I'd say
00:57 no one owes you anything. Everything that you want to be is up to you. You need to just work,
01:04 find the opportunities, put your head down and know that it's also possible for you
01:10 and Rome wasn't built in a day. Well said. Well, gentlemen, thank you so much and I cannot wait
01:16 to see you on that red carpet a little bit later on in the day. Now before we head to the events
01:21 tonight, can I see you guys' sneaker collection? Are any of them customized? Cool, I'll show you a
01:27 cool pair I customized with Kaltish. It's a pair of dunks, Nike dunks that I did a collab with
01:33 Kaltish. These are so cool. Thank you so much. Now this is what I'm talking about. This is exactly
01:40 what Dennis Tjenga does. He brings life into secondhand sneakers, turning them into artwork
01:46 for your feet. Sneakers, surely one of the biggest hypes in fashion and a costly one.
01:53 But there is one Kenyan to help. Before Dennis Tjenga shows us how he turns worn out shoes
02:01 into a thriving fashion business, let's find out what is the sneaker hype all about. What people
02:06 don't understand is that sneakers are not just practical, sneakers are culture. But what is the
02:13 sneaker culture and why are Dennis' sneakers so sought after when he actually breaks them?
02:19 Sneakers are popular because number one, everyone wants to be a part of something.
02:26 And the sneaker world has really popped. Number one in the look they give us and number two,
02:33 in how they make us feel. Like when I'm walking with a sneaker, I feel cool, I feel nice,
02:39 I feel like I'm well dressed. I think that's why they're popular.
02:44 I major with customizing shoes. The acetone removes the protective layer on the shoe.
02:54 So once we've done the removal of the protective layer, we do a sketch up of the art. If there is
03:02 no sketch needed, we just do hand-drawn painting to either change the color of the shoe or give
03:07 it a new expression. In 2022, the worldwide sneaker market was estimated to be worth $72.2 billion.
03:14 The shoes in it vary from high-end, limited edition shoes to cheaper ones that are mass
03:20 produced for the global market. What was Dennis' personal motivation to dedicate himself to the
03:27 sneaker business? I got into customization of sneakers out of curiosity. In university,
03:33 I noticed a lot of people are trying to rock sneakers and most of the sneakers they are
03:40 rocking look the same. And that's when I was like, okay, all the sneakers look the same.
03:45 How could I make a difference? Each year, people throw away an estimated 300 million pairs of shoes.
03:54 2,000 to 250,000 tons of waste is generated in Nairobi daily. Sneaker culture and the waste
04:00 of sneaker mountains is already a huge problem. Giving sneakers a new lease of life was part of
04:06 my idea, mainly because, you see, sneakers are expensive and at times they may get tarnished,
04:13 they may get a tear. And I'm like, why don't you bring this to me and I can give it an expression,
04:20 a new expression of how maybe you would feel the shoe. So, what's the special thing Dennis does
04:26 to the shoes? The process we follow in customizing a sneaker, so one, the shoe must be leather,
04:33 and if not, it must be a material that's supposed to paint that we have because we're using
04:37 leather acrylic. So, the whole shoe is supposed to change into black color because I want to give it
04:43 a black and gold theme, a golden type of splash.
04:53 So, now after the hard work is done, this is the finished product. As you can see,
05:00 all done and cleaned up, all glossed up and ready to wear.
05:08 And this is how Dennis takes people's old sneakers from drab to fab.
05:12 Let's check what local sneaker heads think of Dennis's sustainable artwork.
05:18 I prefer customized sneakers because they are a statement, a point, and a way of expression
05:25 that is unique to every individual being. They're also stylish, so it's a great addition
05:31 in terms of fashion to anyone who's looking to add to their wardrobe.
05:36 I prefer customized sneakers because they make you unique. It's something that speaks your style.
05:44 So, however you want it, that's how you dress it.
05:47 So, it says something about you, not just common like everyone else.
05:51 As we grapple with mountains of trash, finding creative ways to recycle and upcycle every item
06:04 becomes increasingly important. Art here in Africa is not that valued,
06:11 and I would really like to change that. So, I would like to give artists a space where
06:17 they can express themselves, express whatever they would like. That is how I'm giving people
06:23 a space to express themselves through sneaker customization, which is art.