Dominic Chambrone has been making custom pairs of sneakers from scratch ever since he was a teenager. Now, the “shoe surgeon” has managed to turn his hobby into a full-time job—opening a studio in Los Angeles where he makes kicks for high-profile clients like Drake and LeBron James.VICE met up with Chambrone at Surgeon Studios to see how he turns an idea for a shoe into a finished product, following along as he picked out materials, cut fabrics, and slapped on soles. Then we sat in on a four-day workshop, where Chambrone taught a roomful of apprentices how to build custom kicks of their own.Sign up for our newsletter to get the best of VICE delivered to your inbox daily.