Walk-on Western Michigan TE elevating team’s shoe game, ‘brotherhood’ with tailored footwear company

Published Jul. 21, 2023, 2:47 p.m.
By Matthew Ehler |
KALAMAZOO, MI – Moments before the launch of a new Western Michigan football era, first-year head coach Lance Taylor was met with a meaningful gift in his office.
A true warm-hearted salute from Blake Bosma – and the rest of Broncos nation.
Nestled inside a box were a pair of Bosma’s freshly gold-inked, customized Adidas sneakers branded to the nines in WMU’s logo and Taylor’s new ideologies. The team’s heart was set on opening its arms the right way to its new coach, and they knew just the guy to fabricate an eloquent introduction.
“It was a welcome to Western,” said Bosma, a former walk-on and the Broncos’ starting tight end. “It was a team thing and we wanted to give him a little welcoming gift. That’s just what Western is about in making people feel welcome.”
Bosma, a former West Ottawa wide receiver and prep star, has been the epitome of hospitality to all of his Broncos teammates and beyond. The redshirt sophomore has developed an artistical knack for enhancing footwear – something he donned as Over The Top Customs, a footwear business known heavily around Western’s campus.
Taylor, who sported the tricked-out shoes during WMU’s spring showcase, said it was one of the best gestures he’s ever received.
“At that point, I was getting pulled in so many directions that I felt like I hadn’t built many relationships with the players,” said Taylor, who was introduced as WMU’s head coach in December. “But when we came back from winter break, and right before our first full team meeting where everybody’s there, Blake comes into my office 10 minutes before our meeting and hands me a shoebox.
“I had no idea what it was or that he had a company,” Taylor continued. “He gives me those Adidas that were Bronco branded with my initials on it and it was awesome. It was one of the best gifts I’ve ever been given. That was really the first moment I put a name with a face and knew that this guy was all in and I appreciated that he took the time to do that.
“It was authentic, and it meant a lot to me as a first-time head coach.”
Since the footwear company’s birth a few years ago, Bosma has transformed over 100 cleats and sneakers for a myriad of WMU athletes, coaches and Kalamazoo-area shoe junkies. It’s an opportunity for the Holland native to decorate and reveal people’s passions beyond the game, similarly to the NFL’s My Cause My Cleats program.
“They usually do it for some organization or donation and sell them, and when I first noticed them doing that, I wanted a pair,” Bosma said of the NFL’s program. “But they were like $600 so I just made my own pair. Since then, teammates have wanted pairs and it’s taken off from there. Now I’ve been able to make cleats for former Western players that have gone on to play in the NFL, which is really cool to see it go full circle.”
Bosma has crafted cleats and sneakers for a pair of former Broncos that have gone on to the NFL, including Super Bowl winning Kansas City Chiefs wideout Skyy Moore and Houston Texans offensive lineman Dylan Deatherage. He’s also made cleats for Austin Strickland, a former Kentucky pitcher who just recently was drafted by the Pittsburg Pirates.
“The ones I made for Deatherage are probably my favorite pair because they were Kanye West styled from his Graduation album,” Bosma said. “And they were for his graduation from Western so I thought that was pretty cool.”
The former high school all-state wide receiver has also customized shoes for WMU softball coach Jenny Rohn, along with a slew of his Broncos teammates. Not to mention, Taylor’s entire family, including his wife Jamie, his two children, Jet and Jemma, all now have a pair of customized kicks of their own.
“We went through him and did customized shoes for my whole family and they were all unique based on some of their personalities and what we thought would be great for them,” Taylor said. “He’s got a great product and he works hard at it and he’s passionate about it. The thing I love about it is he’s earning money and an NIL opportunity in the right way – he wants to earn it.”
Bosma has a collection of roughly a dozen of his own shoes and cleats in his wardrobe, and primarily uses leather paint to style up customers’ kicks. He says he never really grew up with a keen eye for art, he just worked at it like a lot of things in life.
“That’s the fun part of it all is that you’re trying new things on different materials and it all comes out differently,” Bosma said. “That’s the cool aspect of it is that you’re never doing something exactly the same. I was never a really great drawer but it’s just a good way to get your mind out into the world.”
And that doesn’t mean it’s been easy, either, as there’s been plenty of trials and tribulations along the way. Nothing’s ever been handed to the 6-foot-3, 230-pound skillful pass catcher.
But that’s been the story of his journey.
“My work is much better now than it was two years ago,” said Bosma, who’s also a frequent disc golfer. “I’m sure I’ll be saying that about the work I’ll do two years from now. That’s the cool thing about art and life in general, the more you do something, the better you get at it.”
That sings true with Taylor, who was also a walk-on wide receiver at Alabama, and had to grind toward earning a roster spot.
“This is a perfect example and microcosm of his life and who he is,” Taylor said. “He’s had to earn and work for everything he’s gotten and he works harder than any guy I’ve ever been a part of. He catches 500 passes a day on the JUGS Machine and he’s there morning, noon and night. He finds the time to do his graphic design on shoes and develop his own brand.
“He’s just very hardworking and self-motivated and I think whatever he does in life, he’ll be successful at,” Taylor added. “It’s a man after my own heart being a walk-on at Alabama. It takes a different breed to be able to walk-on, and so I’m proud of him and where he’s come from.”
There’s optimism that the Broncos will have the opportunity to wear Bosma’s customized cleats during a game this season, but Taylor said there’s still plenty of kinks that need to be ironed out before they’re given the green light. One thing is for certain, Bosma’s creativity has already strengthened the bond within the team.
“It promotes and bolsters that Bronco brotherhood,” Taylor said. “It gives them that ownership of being a part of a team, but also being able to be themselves and be authentic to what they believe in which is extremely important in their lives.”
On the field, Bosma should be featured as one of the Broncos’ main pass catching targets this season, especially in a new-look air raid offense under offensive coordinator Billy Cosh. It should also help that Bosma, who caught 20 passes for 145 yards and a touchdown last season, is finally healthy heading into fall camp after injuring his shoulder late last season.
“He’s just scratching the surface on his potential and I think we’ll be able to use him in multiple ways this year,” Taylor said. “He will be critical to what we want to do in our offense.”
“I wasn’t really utilized last year to my strengths,” Bosma added. “I feel like I’m more of a split out guy and I think we have a few big bodies in the tight end room that can create mismatches and I think we will be utilized a lot more than previous years.”
There very well could be a quantum leap for Bosma on the gridiron this fall, with his shoe company strapped along for the ride.
And a whole band of Broncos kicking it with him, too.
“The worst thing that can happen when you try something is you mess up, and it’s like nothing ever happened, Bosma said. “Everything takes time and if you put in the work, do the little things right every day, it’ll all work out. That’s everything in life. Eventually, your goals and your dreams will come true if you put in the time.”