Respect the Hustle: Andre Scott and Kelton Crenshaw of PMK Customs

Andre Scott and Kelton Crenshaw put the Internet in a frenzy and had sneakerheads all scrambling over to their e-store last November, after it was discovered that Jay-Z was rocking the duo's limited Air Jordan 1 "Brooklyn Zoo" model shoe for the Brooklyn Nets' first game at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Both natives of Cleveland, Scott and Crenshaw are the masterminds behind the world's first hand reconstructed exotic bespoke Air Jordan 1 and together form PMK Customs (Perfectly Made Kicks), along with Jay-Z's famous compadre Emory Jones. Developed in 2011, the company's main focus is on providing customers with high-end one-of-a-kind crafted custom footwear. Judging by the construction that went into making the "Brooklyn Zoo"— which sports nine different animal hides (including ostrich and stingray)— the creative team is a force to be reckoned with.

Because of their shrewd marketing and sinewy online presence in the sneaker world, PMK has gone from simply creating one-of-one footwear options, to now brand management and consulting services for global businesses like PUMA, Microsoft and more. Just recently, the team helped create Beyoncé's luxurious Isabel Marant sneaker wedge as well as Meek Mill's PUMA Suede "Dreams & Nightmares" custom sneaker pack.

Speaking with XXL, Scott and Crenshaw discuss their motivation, drive and importance of cultivating relationships in our latest Respect the Hustle installment.—Ralph Bristout (@RalphieBlackmon)

Teaming Up and Developing Relationship

Andre Scott: I started PMK Customs and had it rolling since 2011. As you mentioned, Kelton and me are from the same city and been there all of our lives but it’s funny because we never crossed paths until we linked up [for this]. Kelton has always been the who’s who, the prince of the city, the king of the city, the man of the city—all of that. [Laughs] You know, like everybody has always said he has a promotional company called 881 and they throw the hottest parties in Cleveland. So he has a great network and it’s like I had some people come to the office that were like, “Yo, you need to talk to Kelton Crenshaw.” I was like, Why do I need to talk to Kelton Crenshaw? I sent this man a couple of things on LinkedIn and he don’t’ reply to me so, why do I need to talk to this guy. [Laughs] Like I don’t even know no 881.

So finally we got Kelton in the PMK office, this was last year. So, he came with a couple of other people and we sat down and talked and I kind of gave him a run down of what PMK was about because he started seeing these hip-hop emails come through [Laughs]. You know what I’m saying? He wasn’t really paying attention; he was in law school and had his own stuff going on. I really take pride in locking in with people so after he stepped into the office, I saw what everybody was talking about. How he’s a leader, great thinker and a great businessman. So I was like I’m not letting this guy go anywhere. I kept forcing him to team up; I would be like, “We’re going to do some collabs, Kelton Crenshaw line or something.” I was like you can’t go nowhere. And he was like, “No I’m laid back, I’m corny.” I was like, No, we’re going to do a line. So next time he came I had a whole sheet for the rest of the year, drops here and there and everything. [In the end] I kind of forced him to take part, so he couldn’t be like, “I can’t do this, screw this guy.”

We got draped into a project off in Dallas and that was the first time we actually took a business trip together. During the trip, we got time to get to know each other on a personal level as friends and also more detail in what PMK had going on. Ever since then, since we signed up together we’ve just been taking it over from there.

Kelton Crenshaw: It was really crazy because, I got a bar back home and the DJ at the bar would be like, “Yo, my mans got these shoes and clothes,” and I’m just like, Okay man, cool. Everybody got a clothing line or something and I just don’t really get off into that type of stuff. So he’s like, “I want you to meet him, he’s a good guy. It’s real, they need your help.” So I went and met Dre, I heard him out and we just got cool. I just like helping out on some cool shit, that’s the type of guy I am. And if I like somebody, I’m not going to be coming in there with like equity agreements. Like if it’s input and you need X,Y,Z— I was just helping out on some cool shit and we just got real. Like he said, he brought up some opportunities for me on some parties side cause I promoted for a long time since 881. We do all the LeBron [James] events, we’re actually friends and have been doing events for the last seven years. I’m like a real quiet dude and just kind of in the cut on the business side. I’ve been around for a while and just got to wait for an opportunity like this honestly.

Working Together, Meeting Emory Jones

AC: And you know just to add on to that, it was kind of crazy because when you’re bringing people into your company, you want to make sure everybody is coming together. So me and him were already cool and vibing, so bringing Kelton in, well Emory and Kelton fell in like ain’t nothing missing so between us three we just been rolling but everybody has they own lane that they play and we just do well with what we do. We don’t cross into the other person’s lane.

KC: Everybody works really well together. Me and him know a lot of the same people we had just never met. When I started law school I stopped going down to Miami or moving around. I started law school three years ago but I’m about to graduate in May. Going back to Emory, when Andre and I teamed up, he would tell me, “Yo, I can’t wait for you to meet Em. Ya’ll know a lot of the same people and ya’ll kind of think alike so it was nice man.” and it worked out well.

AS: It was a mutual friend I had, a childhood friend. He does some stuff with us back home [in Cleveland]— a lot of the groundwork, like the street team. We were on a phone call one day and he was just talking to Emory and my silly behind didn’t know who Emory Jones was at that time, so he was just like, “Here, talk to him.” So I’m like, “What am I about to talk to this guy for?” He says, “It’s Emory.” “Like why am I talking to Emory?”

So I finally get on the phone and he was a cool dude and like, “So, what ya’ll got going on over there in Cleveland.” He said he heard a lot of stuff, so we talked and I asked him what kind of shoes he likes. He’s into New Balance and everything 900s. When I got off the phone, I googled Emory Jones and got my knowledge up about who it was [Laughs]. At the time I did that research, we went ahead and did a one-of-one South Beach New Balance 999 for him. We brought it down and delivered it to him on his birthday and the shoe made major press. A lot of people were trying to buy it but we didn’t sell it because it was only for him. From there, we just built a relationship and he was very helpful like, “What do yall need? How can I help?” I had to explain what we was missing and how he could help get in. From there we got in and ever since then it’s been rolling. Everything that has happened for us has happen organically. And I think that’s why everything works because none of that was forced.

Being Sneakerheads, Decision Behind Going into the Footwear Biz

AS: I’m far from a sneakerhead. I’m just now getting into it ’cause I’m dealing with it with these guys. I usually walk around in my tailored shoes and some dress shoes all day long. So now I’m starting to get into the cool gear and stuff like that. But I always felt there was an open market for it and nobody was doing stuff out of their houses and stuff like that. Nobody was sticking to an actual company brand level, a custom brand company rather. So that was my vision as an entrepreneur, I just wanted to start something that had an open field to do it. But (pointing towards Kelton) these guys are the sneakerheads.

KC: Yeah, and I always yell at him like, “What are you talking about? You have to study this! This is your business. You can’t look dumb. I can’t be around every time somebody calls and has a meeting and they reference a Jordan number or they reference something and you just end up staring there with that gaze in your eye and don’t know what they’re talking about but you trying to fake it like you do.” You got to study that shit, but like we keep him together over there man [Laughs]. Emory is very knowledgeable about shoes like a variety of brands. Not just Nike, like he’s heavy in New Balance, Reebok—just a variety of brands. He’s an older guy so, he was there from the early stages of the sneaker game.

PMK (Perfectly Made Kicks) Customs' Brand Origin

AS: PMK stands for Perfectly Made Kicks. Everything we do, we take pride in and put our hats on because it’s going to be perfect. So I’m just saying, it had a little range to it. Perfectly Made Kicks is a little long to be saying and everything so the acronym ‘PMK’ just sounds cool. PMK Customs, PMK that’s what we go by. So I just really hang our hats on making sure everything is top-notch luxury. Our mission is we’re going to be the Maybach of the sneaker culture brand lifestyle and dibble dabble into anything else. We’re going to be that luxury provider, that provider at a high scale and a high fashion.

KC: We just try to position our brand and through the relationships, we’ve had an advantage honestly. I mean I can’t front on that. But with a guy like Jay-Z wearing your shoes, it puts your foot in a certain light and then your product is already hot. We made it make the most sense. I mean if it was just some regular shoes or something it would’ve been cool for a day but the fact that we’re having this conversation and it was in November [when he wore it] and all based off of a combination and quality of the footwear, plus the product and execution combined with our relationship—it’s allowed us to really move quickly.

PMK's Construction Process

KC: Honestly, like it depends on the product, the customer, the client, whatever the case may be. I mean you figure like with the Brooklyn Zoo, that’s like a two-month turn around for one shoe. We have to search for the animal hides and everything is done by hand. It’s a total reconstruction and we’re not doing overlays or anything like that. It’s a very time consuming process, which is why the quality is so good. It can take anywhere from two to eight weeks for us to turn a shoe around.

AS: Us three, especially Kelton and Emory, are great tastemakers. They’re very into fashion. Not just new fashion but also old fashion so, it’s like we all sit down and just bounce ideas off each other. Then once something sounds right, we get a sketch all marked up then look at it and figure like, “This is what we need to do.” It’s a collaborated effort to make sure it’s a dope design. But having great tastemakers and people who create stuff on the team helps. We have years of fashion experience on our time so its kind of dope.

Creating the Air Jordan 1 "Brooklyn Zoo" for Jay-Z

AS: The shoe was actually made before Emory came on to PMK. Emory came around, like January 2012 and it was done like right around that time. It was pretty much getting finished and everything so, when we were talking and everything and I showed him a picture of it he was like, “Yo, forward me that picture”. I forwarded it over to him and he showed Jay. Jay was like, “I gotta have that shoe,” because the Air Jordan 1 is his favorite shoe. The original name that we called it was, “The Brooklyn Shoe.” With the New Jersey Nets moving to Brooklyn and about to open up at the Barclays Center—it just worked hand in hand. You know red and black is a good colorway and it was on the shoes so, he was like I gotta have it. What better way to bless the guy who was wearing our shoe first? That’s what makes it dynamic because a lot of people don’t know the background story. They think we made that shoe for Jay. No, but Jay actually liked our designs. So that’s what made it really dope, because even thought we didn’t make it for him he’s not going to wear something if it’s not hot.

KC: Especially, on the opening night at Barclays.

AS: It was monumental. So the fact that he really loved our designs helped give us a little confidence and that we were doing the right thing.

Advice for Rising Entrepreneurs

AS: You know when you have a vision just go for it. You know keep the passion in what your doing, one thing I always tell people is cultivating relationships is key in any business. If I didn’t cultivate a relationship with Kelton there was no telling you know where we would be right now. Never think you’re too big for anybody and you never know who you’re talking to so make sure you cultivate a relationship and network your behind off because sometimes you could have a vision and your vision could go nowhere. It could be one of the best visions in the world but, if you have no way to get it out there then what are you doing? So I think cultivating a network is better than finance sometimes. Don’t let anybody tell you, “You cant do it.” Just keep the path and cultivate the relationships.

KS: I would say, you know just keep it real. You got to be the same regardless. For instance like with him, normally I wouldn’t have took that. I had so many people sending me e-mails of different shoes they were dropping and I’m getting stuff from people not knowing we’re here. My one dude that’s an attorney right now, was sending me stuff he was like, “Oh I got this guy” and I was like cool, but I didn’t really understand what they wanted to do with me. So, you just never know. Whoever you meet, keep it professional because you never know what opportunities may arise. You never know who you’ll meet on your way to the top and way back down. With somebody you know, you may be working for him and may need a favor one day and they’ll be like “No deal”.