Did you wake up to find ‘Satan Shoes’ trending with absolutely no idea why? Well, we’re here to tell you what actually went down with these shoes that have a drop of blood in the sole. Yup, you read that right. 

Lil Nas X, the singer famous for his song, Old Town Road collaborated with MSCHF, a Brooklyn based company known for its ‘off-beat’ designs, to create a Satan shoe. 

The shoes are actually modified Nike Air Max 97, with a drop of blood in the sole. Blood which was ‘sacrificed’ by 6 of the employees at MSCHF. According to Daniel Greenberg, MSCHF’s founder, a drop of blood was mixed in with ink that fills an air bubble in the sneaker. 

The shoes have a bronze, pentagram-shaped charm on them and the text “Luke 10:18” (the biblical passage which says, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven”), printed on them.  

MSCHF launched 666 pairs of the shoes, with each pair costing $1,018 (₹74,393) and they sold out in less than a minute! The brand has previously sold Jesus shoes with holy water in them, so these should come as no surprise?  

The shoe also made an appearance in Lil Nas X’s MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name) music video where Satan himself is seen wearing the shoes, as Lil Nas seduces him. The song sheds light on Nas’ struggle coming out of the closet, as he shared in a letter he wrote to his younger self. 

Watch the song here:

On the other side of the controversy, Nike has sued MSCHF in U.S. District Court over the shoes, alleging that the “unauthorised Satan Shoes are likely to cause confusion and dilution and create an erroneous association between MSCHF’s products and Nike.” Looks like there is no side of the coin this shoe left unturned. 

Sacrilegious or art? 
All images in the article are from the MSCHF website unless mentioned otherwise.