VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Kenny Jones' shoe design was a big hit on Instagram and Twitter, so much so that his Virginia Beach-themed sneaker won't be just a design anymore. It will be produced and sold.
Jones is a member of the U.S. Coast Guard who grew up in Virginia Beach and lives in Chesapeake with his wife and son. He created his Virginia Beach-themed shoe design for a custom sneaker contest on Instagram. The contest required the design to represent a city.
“I’ve always been into sneakers, as long as I can remember," Jones said. "I saw the opportunity and thought, here's my shot."
Jones' design features waves and a tan outsole to represent the beach, a trident for the Neptune Statue at the Oceanfront, a treble clef to pay tribute to music icons who grew up in the area, and colors that reference the region's military roots. It includes other nods to the Hampton Roads region, too.
His design, with the help of a free mock-up from Drew Boyd with @tidewaterwaves on Instagram and a final mock-up from @thewstlnd, quickly racked up hundreds of thousands of likes on Twitter, tens of thousands of likes on Instagram, and thousands of shares.
“It’s so humbling and insane, honestly," Jones said shortly after the design's popularity was clear. “I probably did it all in 30 minutes or so but I had to get it out there."
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It was one of 10 finalists in the sneaker contest. Enough people voted for it to put Jones' design at the top of the list. Because of that, the shoe design will become a real sneaker.
“We have inspiration everywhere. It’s hard not to love this area, you know," he said.
Prior to winning, Jones said it would be amazing to see anyone wearing sneakers with his design, and he’d love it if the proceeds from a potential release could benefit local charities.
“That’s the real dream: to turn something I’ve always wanted to do, but also be able to help people. There’s nothing cooler than that," he said. "It would be cool to see people all over the state, country, world wearing a shoe that shows Virginia Beach."
As of Friday, March 26, details about how the custom of the winning design would be sold were still to come.