How Kamren Kinchens Turned My Cause My Cleats Into a Tribute to Family, Miami, and the Kids Who Need Him Most

LA Rams safety and Miami Northwestern alum Kamren Kinchens uses My Cause My Cleats to spotlight “Charms of Life,” the family-run nonprofit shaped by his grandmother’s influence and his own commitment to youth empowerment

Custom cleats, to support Charms of Life, worn by Los Angeles Rams safety Kamren Kinchens, during the NFL's My Cause My Cleats weekend. / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

At the NFL’s annual My Cause My Cleats weekend—where players trade traditional designs for purpose-driven art—LA Rams safety Kamren Kinchens shows up with more than a message. He carries a legacy.

Charms of Life: A Three-Generation Mission to Lift Up Kids

The former Miami Northwestern High School standout has always been known for his toughness and instincts on the field, but the heart behind his cleats this year comes straight from home: Charms of Life, the family-founded nonprofit led by three generations—Kamren, his mother, and his grandmother Carol.

And when Kamren laces up, he’s not just repping his cause. He’s repping his city, his childhood, his high school and the people who shaped him.

Los Angeles Rams safety Kamren Kinchens (26) leaves the field after defeating the Seattle Seahawks at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

“Helping the Youth… That’s the Whole Point”

Kinchens lights up when he talks about ‘Charms of Life’. The mission? Simple: give kids the kind of support he once needed.

Holiday toy drives. Thanksgiving meals. Back-to-school shopping sprees where Kamren personally chooses families and hits the aisles with the kids, making sure they walk into the school year with fresh clothes, shoes, and—more importantly—confidence.

“Those small interactions matter,” he says. “You get to actually talk to them, hear them, motivate them. You don’t get that in a big crowd.”

Even during his University of Miami days, Kamren was pulling up to his former elementary school with gifts and pep talks for tiny pre-K and kindergarteners who looked at him like a superhero.

And now? He’s expanding his annual football camps—open to boys and girls—with fundamental drills, skill stations, prizes, and something new: financial literacy, because as Kamren puts it, “awareness off the field matters just as much as anything on it.”

Grandma Carol: The Source of Kamren’s Heart for Service

Ask Kamren where his heart for service came from and he doesn’t hesitate.

Grandma Carol.

She kept “goodie baskets” in her trunk for anyone in need. She made helping others feel like a reflex, and Kamren absorbed that long before he ever absorbed a defensive playbook.

Even in high school at Northwestern — where he became a four-star recruit and earned a path to the Hurricanes — her impact kept him grounded. The same competitive fire that defines Miami high school football was strengthened by her reminders that life is bigger than the game.

Kamren Kiinchins during his high school days at Miami Northwestern. / Miami Hurricanes On SI

“Teddy Bridgewater used to come talk to us,” Kamren recalls of another Northwestern alum who returned often to mentor young players and eventually became the Bulls head coach, leading them to state championship in 2024. “But my grandma… she was my motivation.”

The Cleats: Blue, Gold, and Personal

For My Cause My Cleats, Kamren wanted something bold but meaningful. His logo’s blue-and-gold palette became the anchor, and he let the designer freestyle with complementary patterns—one cleat in shades of blue, white, and yellow; the other flipping the color balance.

“I loved how it came out,” he says. “It feels good to put your cause out there for the world to see.”

And he’s right: a pair of cleats can tell a whole story.

Which brings us to some of the people who make some of the most imaginative cleats in the game.

The Art Behind the Icons: Inside Chummy’s Customs

When NFL players want to turn their cleats into collectibles, they don’t look for hype—they look for an artist. And although Chummy’s Customs was not involved in designing Kamren Kinchen’s cleats, they have participated in the “My Cause, My Cleats” in years past.

Founded by Colin Chomsky, Chummy’s started in a college dorm room at Kent State where an architecture major decided he’d rather build sneakers than buildings. A cousin wanted a custom shoe. Colin learned by watching YouTube. He posted photos. People noticed. And suddenly, the hobby snowballed into a brand working with celebrities, NFL athletes, major companies, and even Justin Timberlake

From Jerseys to 3D Prints: A Creative Playground

What sets Chummy’s apart?

Craftsmanship. Creativity. And a willingness to go weird—in the best way.

• They deconstruct full retail shoes, rebuild them with new materials, and stitch every panel by hand.

• They’re famous for their “jersey shoes,” in which real game-worn jerseys are cut up and sewn into the design.

• They experiment with crocodile textures, 3D-printed elements, costume materials (yes, even Pennywise from It), fur, football leather—anything that tells the story.

“When I come up with a theme, I Google everything that’s been done before,” Colin explains. “Not to copy it—so I can avoid copying it.”

The goal is always originality, always storytelling.

“When I come up with a theme, I Google everything that’s been done before,” Colin explains. “Not to copy it—so I can avoid copying it.”

The goal is always originality, always storytelling.

The Charity Connection

While their art is eye-catching, their mission is heart-first.

Chummy’s regularly partners with players’ foundations—like Saints TE Juwan Johnson’s Second Harvest Food Foundation or Aidan Hutchinson’s House of Hutch.  They’ve worked with the Eagles Autism Foundation and built multi-pair collections from Eagles DE Brandon Graham’s game-worn jersey and football, later auctioned for charity.

When Graham opened his custom pair and teared up, it wasn’t because of the hype. It was because pieces of his own history—real game artifacts—had been transformed into something he could display forever.

That’s why Chummy’s calls their creations “trophy shoes.”
Not just footwear. Storytelling. Memory. Impact.

Where Football, Art, and Heart Collide

Whether it’s Kamren Kinchens honoring his family’s mission through My Cause My Cleats or Chummy’s Customs transforming player stories into wearable art, the intersection of football and philanthropy is alive and thriving.

Both represent what My Cause My Cleats is truly about:

Not the colors. Not the hype. The cause.

The community.

The kids and teenagers who see these players and think, “Maybe I can do something big too.”

Kamren Kinchens is already showing them how.

And somewhere in a workshop full of jersey scraps, leather, 3D-printed elements, and spools of every thread color imaginable, Chummy’s Customs is ready to help tell the next story—one custom cleat at a time.