What better way to put human blood to use than to put it in merch and sell it to your fans. In case Lil Nas X and Tony Hawk are reading this, yes I am being sarcastic. Why would you think it’s a good idea to sell shoes or skateboards with real human blood in it? Did someone forget to tell you that when you say you spent “blood, sweat and tears” when you work hard, it’s not to be taken so literally.
After the release of his infamous song “Call me by your name”, Artist Lil Nas X had put up customized Nike shoes for sale which included a drop of real human blood as part of the shoes. This maneuver led to the artist catching slack and hate from everyone and the rumors his association with demonic rites spread like wildfire. However, this was just a publicity stunt to create a buzz for his song using the controversial music video and his controversial merch to go along with it. And it worked well, the whole world was talking about Lil Nas X, not in good ways but still we know that there’s no thing such as bad publicity. After being threatened by Nike for a lawsuit, the shoes did not sell in the end.
Lil Nas X’s Satan Shoes with a drop of Human blood (Credits: MSCHF)
Recently, arguably one of the greatest skate boarders of all time, Tony Hawk had put up skateboards for sale. The twist here is that the paint used on these skateboards had his blood mixed in it. Lil Nas X did not take to this lightly, he claimed the internet tried to cancel him when he tried to sell merch with his blood but they didn’t give Tony Hawk the same treatment. Nas replied to a post on Instagram about Tony Hawk’s skateboard by saying “Nah he tweakin”, and after some controversial tweets the two celebrities decided to meet up and clear the heat. Lil Nas X posted on his Instagram a photo of the two hanging out at a skatepark with the caption “nah WE tweakin”.
Tony Hawk’s blood board collaboration with Liquid Death
Lil Nas and Tony Hawk may have cleared their scuffle. But what is your opinion on celebrities using their blood in their merchandise, is it a cool personal way of connecting with your favourite personalities or is it just straight up creepy and satanic?