Okay so yesterday I got this crazy idea stuck in my head: what if my Kobe sneakers had no logos at all? Just clean, pure shoe design. No Swoosh, no nothing. Like seeing the shoe for the first time again, you know? Had to try it.
The Hunt Begins
First things first, I needed some Kobe IV Protro kicks to mess with. Found a decent used pair online. Worn in enough that I wouldn’t feel too bad slicing them up. Felt kinda weird buying shoes just to destroy the branding, but hey, science right?
Gear Check
Gathered my weapons:
- Nasty smelling acetone – the heavy duty kind.
- Cotton balls and pads (used way more than I thought!).
- Pointy tweezers – super helpful.
- Q-tips for the fiddly bits.
- A sharp, thin knife blade.
- Patience. Lots and lots of patience.
Got my worktable covered in old newspapers. That smell hits you instantly, clears the sinuses.
Starting the Scrub
Grabbed a cotton ball soaked in acetone and went straight for the small, leathery Nike tongue label. Rub rub rub. Felt sticky immediately. Took way longer than expected. The thread stitching around it held on for dear life. Had to carefully pick at those threads with the tweezers and knife point while soaking the area with acetone over and over. Progress was slooow.
Peeling away the first little label felt like a tiny win. Then, the real beast: The Big Swoosh on the side. It’s glued AND stitched? Come on, Nike! Same process: drowned it in acetone, rubbed like crazy until the material started lifting, then meticulous picking at threads and peeling tiny bits of leather backing. My fingers were numb. This one logo? Took me like two hours.
The Final Bosses
Then came the really tricky stuff. The plastic heel counter has this raised “NIKE” and “KOBE” logo. Acetone barely touched it. Had to switch tactics. Used the sharp blade to very carefully slice and scrape the letters off the plastic surface. One slip and it’s game over, scratch the plastic permanently. Tense moments. Heart pounding a bit, not gonna lie.
The tiny rubber swooshes on the outsole? Yeah, that required the knife blade and surgical precision. Just sliced them clean off the rubber, then sanded the edges a bit to smooth them out. Felt like defusing a bomb.
The Grand Reveal (Kinda)
After 8 damn hours, sticky fingers, and a headache from the fumes… I wiped everything down. Held them up. Whoa.
Totally different vibe. All that fancy branding, gone. You see the actual shape of the shoe. The materials. The lines. It’s clean… almost minimalist. Weirdly sleek. They look… fast. Pure basketball machine without all the noise.
Honestly? Kinda love it. Was it worth the effort? Yes. My fingers hate me, the shoes smell like a paint stripper factory, and I definitely wouldn’t do this to a brand new pair… but seeing Kobes completely logo-free? Wild. Totally changes how you look at them. Mission accomplished.
