Following the controversial announcement of rapper Lil Nas X’s “Satan Shoes,” a member of the team that designed them said he, and others involved, put their own blood drops into the footwear.
New York-based company MSCHF collaborated with Lil Nas X, creator of the “Old Town Road” song, to make an unofficial variant of the Nike Air Max 97s, adorned with hellish references such as pentagrams, the number “666,” and a small sample of blood in each pair of shoes.
The shoes are limited to only 666 pairs and cost $1,018, in reference to the Bible verse Luke 10:18, which notes Satan’s fall from heaven. The retail announcement came alongside the release of Lil Nas X’s music video for “Montero (Call Me By Your Name),” which featured satanic imagery that also received online backlash by some.
NIKE FILES COPYRIGHT LAWSUIT OVER RAPPER’S ‘SATAN SHOES’ COLLABORATION
Daniel Greenberg, MSCHF’s head of commerce, told VICE in an email that he and other members of the MSCHF team donated blood used in the shoes.
“It was just a lot of pricking,” Greenberg said, declining to say how the blood is infused with the Nikes. “That is our little trade secret,” he added.
Greenberg said there is “so little” blood in each shoe that it is not as risky as some critics have claimed.
The shoes feature gel soles that contain additional amounts of red liquid that sloshes around within the closed seal, and it’s unknown whether the blood is mixed in with the other liquid.
The announcement of the footwear caused a flurry of outrage among some right-wing critics online. South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem criticized the shoes, saying, “Our kids are being told that this kind of product is, not only okay, it’s ‘exclusive.’ But do you know what’s more exclusive? Their God-given eternal soul.”
MSCHF previously released a pair of custom white Nike Air Max 97s dubbed “Jesus Shoes,” which allegedly contained a few drops of “Holy Water from the River Jordan” and had a crucifix dangling from the laces.
Pastor Greg Locke, of the Global Vision Bible Church in Nashville, condemned the Satan Shoes on Sunday, calling the sale announcement a “Bunch of devil-worshipping wicked nonsense.”
Last year, MSCHF founder Gabriel Whaley told the New York Times that some youth pastors were fond of the $1,425 Jesus Shoes, adding some religious people purchased the exclusive run of the shoes.
“There are several youth pastors that have bought a pair, and even more who are asking, like, ‘I love sneakers, and I love God. I would love a pair of these,’ and that wasn’t the point,” Whaley said, adding that the “shoes were a platform to broach the idea while also making fun of it: that everybody’s just doing a collaboration now.”
Greenberg said his team and Lil Nas X “have always been friends,” adding that the rapper and MSCHF were aware the Satan Shoes would receive some backlash.
As of Monday, Greenberg said he had not been contacted by Nike regarding the shoes. Nike filed a copyright lawsuit against MSCHF after previously stating it had no involvement in the creation of the shoes.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
MSCHF x Lil Nas X “Satan Shoes” ?
?Nike Air Max ’97
?Contains 60cc ink and 1 drop of human blood
?️666 Pairs, individually numbered
?$1,018
?️March 29th, 2021 pic.twitter.com/XUMA9TKGSX— SAINT (@saint) March 26, 2021
The Washington Examiner reached out to MSCHF but did not immediately receive a response.
