If you have a taste for creativity in football culture, chances are you’ve encountered Jon-Paul Wheatley. The wildly talented British designer, better known as JonPaulsBalls, hand makes some of the rarest footballs in the world using whatever materials come to hand. Now you can take a step inside his St.Louis-based studio courtesy of U.S. football media platform, Boost Futbol.
While the pandemic was a pretty negative experience all round, there were a few positives to come out of the situation: working from home, a greater appreciation for life and the outdoors, better public hygiene, and JonPaulsBalls. Yep, the time spent stuck inside for lockdown led British designer Jon-Paul Wheatley to try his hand at creating his own football… and we couldn’t be happier that he did, with the results being some of the most uniquely brilliant football creations out there. Bespoke brilliance at its very best.
These are some of the rarest footballs around, purely because each one is one-of-a-kind, made from hand in his studio in St.Louis. The only restrictions to his creations seems to be his own imagination (which thankfully seems pretty limitless) and the materials he can get his hands on. From a special ball made using Steven Gerrard’s old boots, to his most recent creation, produced using eight pairs of Nike Air Force 1 shoes, nothing is out of bounds.
“The Gerrard boot was made from boots that he wore throughout his career. It captured the essence of Steven Gerrard by having football stickers of him shredded and put inside the ball,” Wheatley explained to Boost Futbol on their recent visit to his studio, a space that fully characterises his creative eccentricities. “I love the idea of making a ball something that encapsulates a story. I’d love to maybe work through different players; each month to have a new player, and really start from scratch each time, not just the boots, but really get down to what’s this player’s story, what’s their deal and how could I make them something that I’d love, that’d truly be a grail piece for them.” Yes please.
Speaking about one of his most iconic creations, the adidas ball, created using old Predators and World Cup boots, Wheatley said: “It felt like football boots were kind of the ultimate material to make a football from; it’s already got the spirit of a thousand kicks already inside the leather before I even turned it into a ball."
Due to their unique nature and the cost of the materials, the balls are sadly currently not for sale, though Wheatley seems only too happy to take on any new suggestions that come his way. “The inspiration is the easiest bit now. I have a growing list of things that I want to get to.” Music to our ears.
Not content with the aesthetic pleasure that the balls bring, Boost Futbol also recruited the help of YouTuber, Jack Griffiths to test out their performance, and you can check out the results of that here. Not imagining they'll be appearing in any cup finals anytime soon, but a place on the mantlepiece is just fine with us. We've said it before and we'll likely say it again, but these are some of the most creatively-driven and beautifully bespoke balls ever made, and we can't wait to see what else Wheatley has up his sleeve in the future.
Check out more of Jon-Paul's work on his Instagram and at jonw.com
Imagery courtesy of Boost Futbol.
