CLEVELAND — Jonathan Hrusovsky has been making his visions come to life through art since he was five years old. His art will be on full display on Monday Night Football as the Browns take on the Denver Broncos—and for good reason.
The Cleveland native has always loved creating. But in 2016, he switched his medium to something a little more unique: custom shoes and cleats.
Hrusovsky got his start designing cleats when he sent a message to pitcher Carlos Carrasco in 2016.
"I just literally reached out to him and said, 'Hey, I love to do art. I see the whole new craze of custom cleats and I was wondering if I could interest you in doing a cleat. So that's how that kind of got started," Hrusovsky said.
Carrasco said yes, and Hrusovsky designed a pair for him. Then, he kept designing them. Hrusovsky created the cleats Carrasco wore after he won the Roberto Clemente Award in 2019. He's designed cleats for Guardians first-baseman Josh Naylor and a number of other Major League Baseball players.
But what keeps him extra busy this time of year are the cleats he designs for the Browns during the NFL's My Cause My Cleats campaign.
During weeks 13 and 14, NFL players can wear custom cleats representing an organization, foundation or charity important to them. After they wear them, the cleats are usually auctioned off, and the proceeds donated to the cause represented on the shoe.
This season, the Browns have a number of players and coaches choosing to wear custom cleats for things important to them.
Here's the full list of Browns’ players/coaches and their causes:
| Player | Cause | Charity |
| S D'Anthony Bell | Depression | Mental Health America of Georgia |
| LG Joel Bitonio | Pediatric Cancer | A Kid Again |
| LB Mohamoud Diabate | Education | Mali Rising Foundation |
| G Michael Dunn | Ulcerative Colitis | Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation |
| CB Martin Emerson Jr. | Gun Violence | Everytown |
| RB Jerome Ford | Gun Violence | Everytown |
| CB Mike Ford Jr. | Youth Sports | Student Athletes Leading Tomorrow (Salt) |
| DE Myles Garrett | Sclerosis | National Multiple Sclerosis Society |
| DT Shelby Harris | Veterans Affairs | FireIce Frogs Corporation |
| LB Jordan Hicks | Personal Foundation | True Strength Ability Awareness |
| RB Nyheim Hines | Muscular Dystrophy | Muscular Dystrophy Association |
| K Dustin Hopkins | Autism Awareness | The Well Foundation |
| LB Khaleke Hudson | Gun Violence | The Karlie Short Better Tomorrow Foundation |
| LS Charley Hughlett | Childhood Sickness | Project NICU |
| DT Maurice Hurst II | Education | Stay in the Game! Attendance Network |
| WR Jerry Jeudy | Trisomy 18 | Trisomy 18 Foundation |
| T Dawand Jones | Breast Cancer | Susan G Komen Breast Cancer Foundation |
| S Rodney McLeod Jr. | Youth Education & Empowerment | Change Our Future |
| CB Cameron Mitchell | Prostate Cancer | American Cancer Society Ohio |
| CB Greg Newsome II | Gun Violence, Youth Empowerment | DNA Level C Boxing Club |
| TE David Njoku | Burn Victim Awareness | American Burn Association |
| DE Ogbo Okoronkwo | Autism Awareness | Easterseals |
| LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah | Community Development | NKWA Foundation |
| LB Winston Reid | Breast Cancer | American Cancer Society Ohio |
| RB Pierre Strong Jr. | Autism Awareness | Arkansas Autism Foundation |
| LS Rex Sunahara | Veterans Affairs | Tunnel to Towers |
| QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson | Cancer | Jessie Rees Foundation: NEGU |
| S Juan Thornhill | Depression | American Foundation for Suicide Prevention |
| WR Cedric Tillman | Community Empowerment | Random Acts of Kindness Everywhere (RAKE) |
| CB Denzel Ward | Heart Health | Make Them Know Your Name |
| T Jedrick Wills Jr. | Social Justice | Urban League of Greater Cleveland |
| QB Jameis Winston | Youth Education & Empowerment | Jameis Winston Dream Forever Foundation |
| WR Michael Woods II | Black Fathers | Black Father's Foundation |
| QB Bailey Zappe | Youth Empowerment | Boys and Girls Club of Victoria |
| G Zak Zinter | Pediatric Brain Cancer | ChadTough Dream Forever Foundation |
| Offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey | Dyslexia awareness | International Dyslexia Association |
| Offensive line coach Andy Dickerson | Blood donation | American Red Cross |
| Assistant defensive line coach Jordan Thomas | Dementia/Alzheimers | Alzheimer's Foundation of America |
Of that list, Hrusovsky designed and painted the cleats of eight players and four coaches. His art represents groups like the American Cancer Society of Ohio; the Make Them Know Your Name Foundation, the Random Acts of Kindness Everywhere (R.A.K.E.) foundation and many others.
The players get to be surprised by the art Hrusovsky creates and that they will wear on their feet during the My Cause My Cleats games.
Running back Jerome Ford, who is representing Everytown, a foundation aiming to end gun violence, said Hrusovsky's work means a lot to him.
"It means a lot. Him helping all of us push what we want, things that are important to us, it means a lot to us," he said.
Cornerback Mike Ford Jr., who chose Student-Athletes Leading Tomorrow (SALT) as his foundation, a sports-based youth development organization using athletics and physical activity to engage and be present in the lives of youth," said that Hrusovsky being local added to his excitement for him to paint his custom cleats.
"I think it means everything around here in Cleveland. Especially the Browns, we treat this team as a family and to have someone local be able to work on the team’s cleats, we introduce and bring him in as a family. So it's just great bringing the city together, bringing the team together and everyone together to be one big family," he said.
Each cleat or sneaker Hrusovsky creates is made with love and passion. He preps each shoe meticulously and hand paints them each with care. He lets his creativity pour out, using players' interests within each design.
Take, for example, Cedric Tillman. His support of R.A.K.E., known for handing out bagged lunches around Northeast Ohio with inspirational post-it notes, is clear on the cleats. But Hrusovsky also incorporated Tillman's love of the show "Stranger Things," with the character Eleven on the front and Mike next to a brown paper lunch bag. The signature Christmas lights from the shoe take up one side of the shoe, and creatively, on the sole, the words "The Upside Down" in the show's font are boldly painted.
Hrusovsky took the trust Tillman placed in him and turned it into a truly unique design. That's what brings Hrusovsky so much joy in his work.
"Oh, it's big. I love it," Hrusovsky said. "Just the fact that they trust me to take their product, their organization that's near and dear to their heart and allowing me to just use my skills and my judgment and bring that to life for them has been big and I love that trust factor there and it's amazing," he said.
The Cleveland shoe artist works his magic on each pair of cleats he creates. Each pair takes around 6-7 hours, if not more. Then, he ships them off to the players and starts the process over again. For this round of art, Hrusovsky will get to see the designs. He heads to Denver this weekend to catch the game at Empower Field at Mile High, where he will get to see his works of art in person.
After the My Cause My Cleats campaign ends, Hrusovsky will get to watch his art get auctioned off, and thousands of dollars get raised for the foundations they support.
