There have been two constants in 19-year-old Chaitanya Dixit's life—art and sneakers. Both loves run deep. The two happened to meet when he was browsing YouTube videos and found one on the trend of sneaker customisation. "It blew my mind," he remembers. "I binged on the designs and decided to put my skills to test."

One year and 300 pairs later, sneakers are his canvas. Operating out of his Lokhandwala apartment, Dixit hand-paints at least one pair every day. Having given the class XII exams, he has enough time on hand to take it on like a full-time job. "I started drawing on shoes for myself, and then for friends. Soon, I realised I could make money from it." He prefers to go by the name Che (@chaitanya_dixit) and is known as much for his cartoon illustrations as his abstract works. "My style is punk and guerrila," he clarifies. "But, now that I have decided to make a business of it, I also make what others like." The design requests are usually rooted in personal experiences of customers, just like tattoos. "People want pets, and motifs that say something about their personality or their journey." He charges anywhere between Rs 3,000 to Rs 12,000 for the paint job.