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Whether you call it football or soccer, the sport is growing more popular in the United States. Among pro athletics, Major League Soccer has the youngest fan base in North America, with the average age of its fans at 39.6. And during the recent World Cup tournament, the United States women’s national team attracted record-breaking viewership.

All this new energy around soccer is prompting some fans to redesign or reimagine aspects of the game.

Jon-Paul Wheatley, an avid soccer fan in St. Louis, got into leatherworking as a hobby during the pandemic. Shortly thereafter, he combined those passions — creating soccer balls with unique patterns and unusual materials.

Wheatley has documented his creative journey on TikTok and come up with some unorthodox ideas, including a ball that looks like a globe and another made completely out of Nike Air Force 1s. 

“I feel like the ball is this underexplored medium for design,” Wheatley said. It’s “very fun just to explore what kinds of different materials you can use to make a ball, and you can basically use anything.”