IT is no secret that one of Kiefer Ravena’s favorite players, if not his most favorite, is Kobe Bryant. The late Lakers great was the reason why he changed his jersey number from No. 15 to 24, precisely to honor him.
Recently, Ravena took his admiration for Bryant to the golf course after unveiling custom-made golf shoes on his Instagram account.
The NLEX star being an avid golfer is well-documented, and he has even succeeded in encouraging his girlfriend and volleyball star Alyssa Valdez to take up the sport as well. Now he was able to turn an extra paid of Kobe 6 basketball sneakers into golf shoes.
Ravena’s custom-made golf shoes drew comparisons to those of Brooks Koepka, who shortly after his Bryant's death wore custom-built golf shoes made by no less than Nike in a tournament to honor the NBA legend.
“Mamba Mentality even on the golf course,” Ravena wrote on his Instagram account.
How did he do it?
In Ravena’s case, he had the golf shoes custom-made by RG Conopio of RG Skills, one of the best in the industry which has a wide clientele, basketball players included. He has more than 12,000 followers on Instagram.
Conopio said it was actually the first time that Ravena asked him to make a pair for him.
“Minessage niya ako kung puwede ba gawin namin sa extra pair niya na Kobe,” said Conopio, who has been making custom-built shoes since 2014. “Sabi ko iche-check ko muna kasi hindi rin minsan same size kapag nag-hybrid sole swap."
[See These PBA players are good at golf. But this guy is the best]
Fortunately, Conopio didn’t encounter any issues with the transformation. He had made a custom-built golf shoes before so doing one for Ravena wasn’t a problem at all.
Conopio said he is very happy with the outcome and the reception that the shoes attracted, inspiring him to further improve his craft.
“May gumagawa na din nun before, taga-UK naman,” said Conopio. “Masaya naman, nakagawa ng isa magandang obra uli.”
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