Designing for the pros

It was a primetime game early in the NFL season. The Dallas Cowboys were facing rivals, the Green Bay Packers, on home turf. Graduate assistant athletic trainer Nate Benjamin watched Dak Prescott, the Cowboys quarterback, walk out of the tunnel for warm-ups wearing a pair of custom cleats. The cleats resembled an old military plane, with shark teeth and paneling.

"Please don't let the paint chip," thought Benjamin from the sidelines.

Benjamin, who earned a master's of science degree in athletic training from the University of Delaware College of Health Sciences in 2022, has a rare side gig: making custom cleats for pro football players.

"It was a crazy feeling to see my designs on one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL," Benjamin said.

It all started on a whim while playing flag football.

"I noticed all the guys had custom cleats and cool designs, and I wondered if I could make a pair for myself," Benjamin said.

He hadn't taken an art class since middle school. Benjamin bought some cheap paint and spent hours watching YouTube tutorials.

He donned his first design - a Japanese-style samurai and red half-moon - while assisting Cowboys players with rehab during the off-season. They noticed.

"They saw my vision, thought it was awesome, and asked if I could make them a pair," Benjamin said. "It's mind-blowing how much it's taken off."

Custom cleats gained popularity in 2017 after the NFL loosened footwear rules, with wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. pushing the boundaries on the field.

"From there, it just exploded," Benjamin said.

In the past six months alone, he's made 40 pairs of custom cleats. Prescott never wears the same pair twice, so he keeps Benjamin busy off the clock.

"My favorite was a Halloween-themed design loosely inspired by Nike's Kobe 5 X-ray shoes, made to mimic a skeleton of a foot," he said.