By now its a weekly routine: Big NFL stars like Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown, Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. and Panthers quarterback Cam Newton take the field wearing custom-designed cleats.But the big names arent the only ones wearing the custom footwear. A growing number of players are wearing one-of-a-kind cleats -- usually just in pregame warm-ups but sometimes in games -- and many of them are getting the customized gear from an unlikely source: a sneaker shop in Buffalo, whose co-owner and cleat artist have ridden their custom designs all the way to a partnership with Nike.The shop, which is called Fabes Sole High, opened in 2014. Were big on exclusivity -- things that are expensive and rare, things you wouldnt find at Foot Locker, said the shops co-owner, Napoleon Polo Kerber, whos 26. Athletes would come to our store for that, so we already had that customer base.Shortly after the shop opened, Kerber met up with a 31-year-old local artist named Nicholas Avery, who got into customized footwear by painting his own sneakers for fun. A couple of designs that Id done were displayed at a different shop in Buffalo, he said. I wasnt really affiliated with them, but they just thought it would be cool to showcase those designs. Then, I started getting requests, and I ran into the guys at Fabes Sole High and we talked about working together.Things started slowly. The first athlete to request customized cleats from them was a college player -- Mississippi quarterback Chad Kelly, whos from Buffalo and requested a custom pair last year. But their big break came when Bills running back LeSean McCoy asked for a pair. Then, other Bills players saw what he was wearing and wanted their own pairs, and then theyd tell their friends on other teams, guys they went to college with, and it kind of took off from there, Kerber said.Things have picked up this season, as word of Fabes Sole High has spread. Players whove worn the shops custom designs have included the following:? Dolphins cornerback Bobby McCain. Avery turned the Nike swoosh on McCains cleats into a stylized dolphin.? Colts wide receiver Donte Moncrief. Avery again modified the Nike logo, this time taking the subtle approach of adding white dots to the swoosh to mimic the similar markings on the Colts horseshoe logo.? Texans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins. Hopkins got a pair of NASA-themed cleats, complete the NASA logo on the insole and moon craters on the exterior. ? Giants wide receiver Sterling Shepard. Wheres Waldo? Right on Shepards cleats. ? Bills cornerback Kevon Seymour. Seymour went with a Sonic the Hedgehog theme for his custom cleats.Other Fabes Sole High customers have included Titans tight end Delanie Walker and Bills quarterback Cardale Jones, among others. The NFL often frowns on custom footwear being worn in games, so most of these players have worn their Fabes Sole High cleats only for pregame activities. But some have managed to get them into games. The guys who police this stuff for the league, theyll tell the players during pregame, You cant wear that during the game, but they usually dont check after that, Kerber said. So some guys, like Cardale Jones, have switched to regular cleats for the first half and then worn their custom designs during the second half.Kerber handles most of the communication with the players, but Avery executes the designs. Ill start by roughing the shoe up with a sanding pen, so itll hold the paint better, Avery said. Then I use whats called an adhesion promoter, which is usually used for automotive paint jobs, which also helps the paint to adhere. I use Angelus paint, which is designed for leather. Its made to flex without cracking. I mostly use an airbrush, but Ill use do small details by hand. And then I use a heat gun to cook the paint onto the shoe. The whole process takes about 20 hours. The player usually provides the cleats, and the price for the paint job is generally in the $400 range.Avery said the players usually leave the designs up to him. They might specify what color they want, but otherwise they leave it pretty wide open for me to do whatever I think looks good, so theres a surprise factor, he said. I dont do any mock-ups or preliminary versions for their approval because the designs usually evolve as Im working on them, so the final version would look different anyway.But a few players have taken a more active role in the design concepts for their cleats. Cardinals cornerback Marcus Cooper, for example, requested a pair that celebrated the upcoming birth of his daughter, so he provided Avery with photos to use, including a sonogram image.Players arent the only ones whove taken notice of Fabes Sole Highs work. With the NFL allowing players to wear custom cleats to support charitable endeavors during the games played on Dec. 4, Kerber and Avery have temporarily relocated to Oregon, where theyve been working with Nike to create footwear designs for many of the players affiliated with the sportswear giant. ESPN.com will provide previews of those designs soon -- stay tuned.Paul Lukas writes about uniforms for ESPN.com. If you like this column, youll probably like his Uni Watch Blog, plus you can follow him on Twitter and Facebook. Want to learn about his Uni Watch Membership Program, be added to his mailing list so youll always know when a new column has been posted or just ask him a question? Contact him here. 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England internationals Ollie Devoto and Thomas Waldrom, James Short and Will Chudleyall went over for the Chiefs, while fly-half Gareth Steenson weighed in with 12 points - three conversions and two penalties - as last seasons beaten Premiership finalists regained some form at the expense of a much-improved Newcastle side.Newcastle were roared on by their biggest home crowd of the season - 8,061 - but, despite tries from hooker Scott Lawson and full-back Alex Tait - failed to claim the consolation of a losing bonus point. It was Exeters first Premiership fixture since Semesa Rokodugunis 88th-minute try consigned them to an agonising 13-10 defeat against Bath three weeks ago, but they got off to a flying start on a freezing night on Tyneside.Newcastle were attacking on the Chiefs 22-metre line when their England Saxons scrum-half Mickey Young flung out a telegraphed pass which England centre Devoto snaffled before racing clear for the opening try. Six months half price Upgrade to Sky Sports to watch England v Fiji on Saturday and get the first six months half price Steenson landed the conversion and, with just two minutes on the clock, Exeter held a 7-0 advantage. They were pegged back to 7-3 when Newcastles Kiwi fly-half Mike Delany nailed a 40-metre penalty after 13 minutes.Exeter enjoyed the lions share of possession as the opening half progressed but they spurned a couple of line-out drives in the left corneer and were made to pay when Newcastle cut loose on the counter-attack after 26 minutes.ddddddddddddWing Marcus Watson, an Olympic silver medallist in Rio with Englands Rugby Sevens squad in August, sliced through the Exeter defence with a diagonal run and, after lock Will Witty was stopped just short, Lawson followed up to score from close range and put Newcastle 8-7 up.Delany hooked the conversion wide, which gave Exeter the chance to build a handy cushion before the interval. Waldrom, Exeters New Zealand-born No 8, powered over from a line-out drive in the right corner after 33 minutes and Steensons conversion gave the Chiefs a 14-8 lead.Two minutes into the second half Steenson stepped up to nail his first penalty, stretching Exeters lead to 17-8. They only held their nine-point advantage for three minutes, though, Delany stroking a penalty to cut the visitors lead to 17-11.After Newcastle lock Callum Green was yellow carded for deliberately playing the ball on the floor, Steensons right boot made it 20-11 to Exeter.As in the first half, the Falcons hit back. Flanker Mark Wilson did the damage with a crash ball break, paving the way for Tait to score after 56 minutes. Delany could have cut the gap to a single point but again hooked wide his conversion attempt.Then, on the hour, Exeter opened up a 27-16 lead as Short exploited some lacklustre defending to score the Chiefs third try which Steenson converted.Delany kicked a penalty after 66 minutes and after full-back Phil Dollman spilt possession when diving over on the right, the livewire Chudley darted over from the blindside of a short-range scrum to clinch the bonus point after 77 minutes.Upgrade to Sky Sports now to watch England v Fiji and Ireland v New Zealand and get the first six months half price! ' ' '