Getting Started with the Glow
So, I saw some stuff about Naomi online the other day, you know, from WWE. It got me thinking about her whole “Feel the Glow” entrance. Pretty cool stuff, visually speaking. Always stood out.
That kinda sparked an idea. I thought, hey, maybe I could try and make something similar? Not the whole outfit, that’s way too much work. But maybe just the light-up shoes she used to wear? Seemed like a fun little project to try out.
The Hunt for Parts
First thing, I went online. Spent a good while just looking at pictures and videos, trying to figure out how those shoes actually worked. Looked like EL wire or maybe LED strips? Hard to tell exactly from the footage.
Then came the actual shopping part. I figured I needed:
- A pair of plain sneakers, probably black.
- Some kind of flexible light strip, maybe battery-powered.
- Batteries, obviously.
- Glue, tape, maybe some basic wiring stuff.
Finding the right lights was tricky. Everything was either too bulky, not bright enough, or needed some complicated setup. I eventually settled on some thin LED strips that seemed flexible enough. Grabbed some cheap sneakers too, didn’t want to ruin my good ones if this went sideways.
Putting It Together (or Trying To)
Okay, back home with my bag of stuff. Felt kinda excited. Laid everything out. The first challenge was figuring out where to stick the battery pack. Most sneakers don’t exactly have pockets. I tried tucking it near the ankle, but it felt weird.
Then, attaching the light strips. I thought glue would work. Big mistake. Some types of glue just didn’t hold onto the rubber sole, and others kinda melted the plastic casing of the LEDs a bit. Switched to trying strong double-sided tape, which was a bit better but still felt flimsy.
Running the wires was another headache. Trying to hide them, make sure they wouldn’t trip me up. Snapped one of the delicate wires clean off while trying to bend it around the heel. Super frustrating. Had to try and solder it back together, which, let’s be honest, my soldering skills are pretty basic. It looked messy.
The Reality Check
After a few hours spread over a couple of days, I had one shoe kind of done. It lit up, mostly. But the lights weren’t quite even, the battery pack was awkwardly strapped on with velcro, and I was pretty sure it wouldn’t survive actually walking around for more than ten minutes.
Looking at that one semi-finished shoe, I kinda just stopped. It wasn’t going to look as slick as hers, not even close. Made me appreciate the work that actually goes into making costumes and gear like that look so effortless on TV. It’s way more fiddly and technical than you’d think just watching it.
So yeah, the project stalled there. Didn’t even start the second shoe. It’s still sitting in a box somewhere. It was an interesting experiment, though. Learned that sometimes, admiring something cool is easier than trying to replicate it yourself. And that’s okay.
