Freehand Profit NPBA Sneaker Trophy

Artist Freehand Profit is back at it again with more sneaker art, and this time he used sneakers hotter than the month of July in the Sahara Desert. For the NBPA awards, Freehand Profit was asked to create a trophy that embraced the sneaker culture in every way possible, this art work would eventually be awarded to the NBPA 2018-19 Sneaker Champ PJ Tucker. StockX was able to chat with Freehand Profit and pick his brain on the latest masterpiece and a look behind the creation process

1.) Why do you think PJ Tucker deserve this award?

PJ is the perfect choice to receive the Sneaker Champ Award from the NBPA. I think it’s obvious to most but if you really look at his rotation on and off court he is the ideal sneaker head: He wears his kicks, has a diverse collection but clearly has his favorites and own taste. PJ wears old heat, new heat, sleepers, and most likely some shoes he just likes to ball in from a performance perspective. Plus he loves Air Max, so kudos to PJ Tucker.

2.) What inspired you to create this mask and how did it come about?

Set Free from The Compound reached out to me to create this piece and we discussed a few possibilities. What we both agreed was that the sneakers we chose had to properly represent the connoisseur level sneaker head PJ is.

3.) What made you pick the Union Jordan 1’s?
With some help from John Colombo at StockX, I dug through photos of Tucker’s sneaker rotation. Kicked around some possibilities and with some help from the Compound and the NBPA we found out his favorite sneakers. The Union 1’s made that list and I knew the quality leathers would make a great mask.

4.) How important is basketball to sneaker culture?
Basketball is a huge part of sneaker culture, especially here in the States. Overseas there’s less basketball influence, more appreciation for runners, but I honestly can’t imagine what sneakers in general would look like if it weren’t for basketball.  

5.) How long did it take?
I didn’t have long to create this piece, once I had the shoes in hand I had about 4-5 days to complete the mask.

6.) What issues did you run into and how did you overcome them?
The biggest hurdle this time around was finding someone to model the mask for the photo shoot. With such a short turnaround I was scheduling a shoot for a Saturday the Friday before.

7.) What’s next for you?
Right now I’m staring at 2 pairs of Travis Scott 1s that I need to chop down. I also have some non-mask sneaker sculptures in the works. Later this year I’ll be releasing my first vinyl toy through Freehand Profit Studios.

For more and full details on this special piece, make sure to hit Freehand Profit’s blog post here. And below are some sneakers that would look great with this mask.