When Daniel Pizzarelli watches sports, he feels the way most passionate fans can at times. 

"It’s a little nerve-wracking," he said. 

But it's for a different reason than presumably every other fan. He's not even necessarily watching what's happening on the field. 

Pizzarelli said he is laser focused on one thing: their shoes. 

“It always surprises me the cool orders that I get," he said from his home studio in Brooklyn.

Pizzarelli is an artist – specifically, one who paints customized shoes. Usually, they are cleats for athletes around the country. 

"I feel blessed to do it, honestly," he said.

He always loved art, even serving as a teacher at public schools in Brooklyn. But a few years ago, he wanted to pursue it as a career.

He said he saw people painting shoes online, so he decided to do the same, sharing them on his social media. One of these posts changed his life. 

“I clicked on his page and I saw his work," said Alex Katz, a professional baseball player. "It was awesome.”

Katz is a relief pitcher for the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs in the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. But when he's not playing, he is running Custom Stadium Kicks, a company that customizes shoes. Oftentimes, it's cleats for athletes.

“I thought it would always be a side hustle. Just a few pairs a month," he said. "I never thought it would turn into what it has turned into today.”

Katz said they get orders from around the world. He has a design team that works with the clients to create the shoe of their dreams. The order is then sent to artists like Pizzarelli, who bring those mockups to life. 

“If I wanted to work forever, I could work forever. That’s how many orders are coming through," he said. 

Some of those orders have come from players playing in games many of you have likely watched. 

In Super Bowl LIV in 2020, Kansas City Chiefs defensive end Derrick Nnadi tackled San Francisco 49ers running back Tevin Coleman for a loss about a minute into the game. He was wearing custom cleats that Pizzarelli painted. 

And for the Yankees’ home opener this year, Pizzarelli got an email about a customized order he'll never forget. 

Juan Soto wanted to make a big splash for his home debut with the New York Yankees. Pizzarelli, a lifelong Yankees fan, was tasked with making that happen. 

"It’s like a dream come true,” he said. 

The intricate design featured Times Square, Broadway and the subway, with laces that lit up. 

“I guess I have to say that’s my Mona Lisa,” Pizzarelli said with a laugh. 

The cleats drew plenty of attention.

"That is nice," longtime Yankees television play-by-play announcer Michael Kay said about Soto's cleats during the broadcast.  

"I love it and we just rock with it," said Soto after the game in a press conference. 

The love was obvious a few weeks later, when Pizzarelli said he got five more emails about cleats for Soto. 

In late May, NY1 watched as he designed his latest customization: pinstripes all around the cleats with a neon big apple, Statue of Liberty and Empire State Building. 

What became clear quickly is that painting is only a part of Pizzarelli's job. He does all the stenciling outlining the design. He also has to create the specific paint color requests. 

“There’s no bottle here that says Yankee blue,” he said.

It took several layers and lots of tinkering for it to match the color Soto wanted. 

“These things take, if you’re lucky, four or five hours," he said. 

For this design, it took three hours. For one cleat. 

“The goal is to make it look like it’s not painted, like it just came out of the factory,” he said. 

Pizzarelli puts a protective coat on the cleats when he is done so the athletes can continue wearing them.

"I’ve seen cleats last for years," he said. "Playing in them every day."

Juan Soto has worn the cleats twice already this month.  It's another moment of pride for Pizzarelli, but he said the work doesn't stop.

“I wouldn’t trade this job for anything,” he said.

Next to his workstation is a stack of shoes, blank, ready for customization. He shuffled through them, rattling off the names of athletes that will be wearing them one day.

He's four years into this job. And he said he loves it.

"People discourage you when you’re an artist. Oh, you want to be an artist. There’s no future in it. They say there's no money in it," he said as he painted. "There’s no money in it. Maybe they’re right generally, you know. If you don’t try, you don’t get anywhere. And now I’m here."