Zac Vine is no ordinary science teacher.

Vine started teaching at Journey Middle School in Sooke this year, after moving to the Island from Vancouver, and it didnB次元官网网址檛 take long for his students to find out who he is B次元官网网址� one of the top ranked custom shoe designers in the country.

Vine, originally from the Toronto area, graduated university with an education and physics degree, but always found himself doodling in class.

He then got a job working as an educator for Inner City Youth, and started an after school program restoring kids sneakers to make sure they had good shoes to wear.

B次元官网网址淚 got really in to it, and would look up techniques online on cleaning up shoes. Kids in the neighbourhood would bring in really old shoes and say B次元官网网址榙o whatever you want to themB次元官网网址� so I just started doodling on them,B次元官网网址� said Vine. B次元官网网址淭he kids would tell me, B次元官网网址榊ou have to post this stuff on social media,B次元官网网址� so I did, and things kind of just exploded for me.B次元官网网址�

Vine started getting tons of attention through Instagram, and decided to start his own business called Yeevy.

Shortly after, Nike caught word of his business and flew him out to their headquarters to meet with him and see the work he was doing.

It has been five years since Vine started his business, and he has designed shoes for multiple celebrities and professional athletes, including Drake, Logic, Cory Taylor, and Aroldis Chapman.

B次元官网网址淛ust last year Def Leopard came to Vancouver for a few weeks and hung out with me, and I made them shoes to wear on their latest world tour,B次元官网网址� said Vine.

Often clients will send an idea or photograph they want on the shoes, but sometimes they will let him freestyle on it.

B次元官网网址淥ne of my favourite things to paint on them are city skylines, IB次元官网网址檝e done them for a lot of cities IB次元官网网址檝e been do,B次元官网网址� added Vine.

A pair of shoes takes him around 30 to 40 hours to make, and sells for anywhere from $1,000 to $3,000 depending on the design.

Each client sends him the pair of shoes they want designed, and Vine strips the shoes of all the factory paint until itB次元官网网址檚 just the natural leather. Then he dyes and paints them himself, and then coats them with a finishing spray.

His business has taken him all over North America, including places like New York, Hawaii, and California.

B次元官网网址淎 lot of my business comes from California, which is actually why I decided to make the move from Ontario to Vancouver,B次元官网网址� said Vine, adding that although he loves running his shoe company, it got lonely after a while painting in his apartment, and he wanted to start teaching again.

B次元官网网址淚 was hired last year to come and do a mural in Sooke, and I heard they were looking for teachers. So that was it, my family and I moved here.B次元官网网址�

He hasnB次元官网网址檛 given up the shoe business though, in fact, Nike just sent him a pair to design for a Humboldt Broncos player. He is also designing a pair of shoes to raffle off, helping fundraise for Journey students to go on a European trip next year.

B次元官网网址淚 always want it to be something I can fall back on and enjoy,B次元官网网址� said Vine. B次元官网网址淲hen I sit down and paint a pair of shoes, everything leaves. ItB次元官网网址檚 my time to slow down, escape and just be totally focused on that. ItB次元官网网址檚 very peaceful.B次元官网网址�

On top of it all, Vine has been doing an exploratory program with 41 Journey students, helping them design their own pair of shoes.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 been amazing to see the kids so engaged, and so passionate about making the shoes their own,B次元官网网址� said Vine. B次元官网网址淚 love challenging them to think outside the box, and then seeing those light bulbs go on. Suddenly I have a room of 41 kids that are silent, totally encapsulated in their project. ItB次元官网网址檚 really cool to observe.B次元官网网址�