"I was 32 when I started doing this," Mike Jordan said. "I had not painted since elementary school."

Mike Jordan, no- not that Michael Jordan, is the blueprint for never giving up on your dreams. At 32, he became the go-to guy for New York Jets players who want a pair of customized cleats, particularly for the NFL's annual My Cause My Cleats campaign.

The North Jersey artist has been creating custom cleats for athletes across the country for years. From eight-time NFL Pro Bowler Cam Jordan to two-time MLB All-Star Carlos Rodón, Jordan has designed a pair of cleats for some of the greatest athletes on the biggest stages. None of it would have become a possibility though without a player on the Jets' 2017 practice squad.

"I just happened to stumble across a YouTube video of another very popular artist doing this. I didn't know this was a thing," Jordan said. "I'm a huge sports fan, I always really liked art, but I just never pursued it. I told my wife and my friends, and everybody thought it was crazy. I just ordered an airbrush, some paint and just dove right into it. I really wanted to customize things for pro athletes, but I don't think I could imagine like what it turned into.

"When I first started playing around it was sneakers, friends would give me old sneakers and I would just play around and see what I could do. Then I really wanted to get into the sports world, so I would take old cleats of mine from high school and I would mess around with them. I would put my name on them but nothing even close to what it's become. I thought 'what's the best way to get in touch with pro athletes and get my foot in the door?' So, I started direct messaging on Instagram practice squad players from the Jets and the Giants."

"Two guys answered. JoJo Natson who was on the Jets and Shane Smith who was on the Giants. I ended up doing pairs for both of them and it took off from there through word of mouth.

"I didn't imagine it would go beyond that, but then JoJo Natson said: 'Oh, Robbie Anderson saw what I was wearing and asked me for your contact information.' So, I did some pairs for [Anderson]."

Jordan would have never guessed that would lead to being the Jets' trusted artist for the NFL's annual My Cause My Cleats campaign. For one game every season, players bring attention to charitable causes by wearing custom cleats with an organization, design or picture painted on them.

"I got to know some agents and then Sam Darnold's agency and his people reached out to me in 2019. They had said, 'Hey, can you do Sam's My Cause My Cleats this year?' and I was like, 'Oh, absolutely!' Then I was asked by Braxton Berrios who was still with the Jets at the time: 'Oh, can you do a pair for him too?'

"So, in 2019 it was two pairs and that was just for My Cause My Cleats. I was still doing stuff in season and doing some baseball cleats. Then it spiraled. In 2019 it was two, in 2020 it was 19 pairs, 2021 it was 23, 2022 it was 40 and then last year we did 49 pairs."

"I had to outsource some things and start partnering with another artist because with a full-time job, there was only so much I could do, and I had to take PTO time to do all this."

The time commitment differs with each pair of shoes. For a "basic" design where Jordan changes the color of the shoe and adds a logo, it takes 4-5 hours. For a more complicated and detailed design, it can range anywhere from 12-to-20 hours.

"I've gotten better and way more comfortable at it. It's still challenging because I want every pair to be so good. I take this very seriously and I really put my heart and soul into this. It's a challenge every year because you have limited time. I have about 30 days to get all this done so as much as I want to put 15 hours into every single pair, I have to temper my own expectations about what I can do.

"I couldn't do this without the equipment staff or the Community Relations team. Everybody does everything they need to do to put me in the best position. I couldn't do it without them. Obviously, they put their faith in me, and I cannot thank them enough.

"The Jets organization has really, over the years, taken me in and I feel like I'm part of the family.

"I become emotionally invested in it too, so it gives me even more of incentive. This is special. I have to knock this out of the park. It's for this special cause or a friend that passed away."

This Sunday, when the Jets take on the Seahawks at MetLife Stadium and host their My Cause My Cleats game, Jordan will have designed and painted over 30 pairs of cleats for Jets players and coaches. Even though this will be his sixth season working with the Jets organization, he is still at a loss for words all these years later.

"It goes beyond just football. There are so many people involved and I've made so many contacts that I have ended up doing pairs for way more people than I could have ever imagined.

It's been a crazy journey," Jordan said. "Every year, I don't know how long I'm going to continue it or say it might be my last year, but I just keep going. I look back when I was a kid watching the Jets and the Yankees, if I could tell that kid you're going to be walking through the locker room and talking to guys about painting the cleats that they're wearing. It's crazy. It really is crazy."