Dozens of Raiders walked by boxes of custom cleats on display at the indoor practice field last Wednesday.

One by one, they were guided to their pair of cleats designed for NFL's My Cause My Cleats initiative, and as each player unboxed their cleats with their personal causes painted on them, one question was continually asked.

"Who made these?"

The attention to detail, bold color palette and creativity remain to be astonishing on each pair – even as My Cause My Cleats enters it's 10 season as a league-wide initiative. The Las Vegas Raiders reached out to three local artists this year with the intent of bringing these designs to a level yet to be seen – and the artists sure brought the talent.

Gabi Sparks

Gabi Sparks, a Las Vegas native, coincidentally grew up a Raiders fan.

Her father is an union carpenter who played a role in the construction of the Raiders headquarters in Henderson, Nevada. Through her father, she got connected with Bob Romanski, the team's head equipment manager.

Romanski was previously in charge of painting all of the team's cleats for the My Cause My Cleats campaign, and was looking to bring in help with the project. While Sparks had ample experience with painting portraits, she had never brought her artistry to a pair of shoes until being asked by Romanski.

"Bob sent me three pairs and he gave me complete creative freedom on them," Sparks said. "He just wanted to see what I could come up with. It was really hard coming up with something to fit the surface area of a shoe after not having done that before."

Dazzling the equipment staff with her trial run, Sparks has been painting cleats for the team since 2021.

Of the dozens of pairs she's customized, the ones with causes catered to military veterans are most dear to her heart. She just recently moved back to her hometown with her husband, who is an Air Force veteran.

"Adding the simple aspect of really cool looking cleats to games can bring awareness to so many issues," Sparks said. "And it really does impact people and help them, especially with having important phone numbers to outreach for people on them or even making people aware of these certain situations. I think it's really cool that the NFL does this and players are given the opportunity to show something more personal on the field."

Follow Gabi Sparks on Instagram: @gabipaintsshoes

Andrew Lewis

Andrew Lewis, a Boise State alum, has been customizing sneakers for 15 years, starting when he was in high school. He's made a name for himself in Las Vegas for his vibrant creations, previously doing some work for the Vegas Golden Knights and Las Vegas Aces. When asked to work with the Raiders for My Cause My Cleats, he jumped on the opportunity without hesitation.

Lewis customized 31 cleats and sneakers for players, staff and Intermountain Health patients. Some of his personal favorites included Ashton Jeanty, a fellow Boise State Bronco, who choose Hope Means Nevada for his cause. Lewis also mentioned Jack Bech and general manager John Spytek among the other creations he takes pride in.

Bech's pair has a portrait of his late brother Tiger, with his cause being his family's foundation in Tiger's honor. Spytek's pair, supporting the National CMV Foundation, bears a portrait of his daughter who passed at 21 months old.

"It's important to me because it's allowing me to use what I'm good at to bring awareness to all of these foundations," Lewis told Raiders.com. "It kind of gives my art a bit more purpose then it otherwise would. I'm able to use my gifts to hopefully shine some light on all of these different causes and organizations that otherwise would probably get overlooked."

Follow Andrew Lewis on Instagram: @andr3wtl

Salvatore Marcum

Arguably none of the artists have a bigger emotional tie to their work than Salvatore Marcum.

Originally from Minneapolis, Minnesota, Marcum has previously worked with the Minnesota Vikings on designing cleats for this annual initiative. He's endured a lot physically and emotionally since moving to Las Vegas five years, as he's currently battling through Stage 4 cancer.

Despite hours of chemotherapy and operations, Marcum has been persistent in his fight. Customizing cleats for the Raiders has helped him take his mind off his daily stresses, and he knows what he's doing is for something much bigger than just what's painted.

"It's hard for me to even explain how much it means to me to be a part of this project, but let alone I can relate to a lot of these causes and a lot of these situations that people are dealing with," Marcum said. "For me to be one of those people dealing with it and to also still able to create and bring awareness being an artist, honestly it brings a lot of joy to me. At the end of the day, it makes me feel really good."

My Cause My Cleats has given Marcum much more than just an opportunity to spread awareness for cancer.

"Being able to still have the feeling to create while going through all of this is one thing," he said. "But to have the Raiders reach out to me and be a part of this, it drives me to keep going and definitely motivates me to keep creating."

Follow Salvatore Marcum on Instagram: @mpls_customs