MattB Customs personalising New Balance trainers on-site at the London Marathon Expo

New Balance x MattB Customs: 820 Pairs Personalised in 4 Days at the London Marathon

MattB Customs has personalised product at the London Marathon Expo three years running, working directly with New Balance to bring on-site customisation to one of the world's biggest running events. What started as a single activation has grown into a standing partnership that now spans an executive gift, a mass-scale expo activation, and a dedicated apparel event - all delivered by the same MattB Customs team, in the same week.

Best fit for: brands running a live activation or expo at volume, needing bulk personalisation on-site plus a one-of-one executive gift in the same relationship.

A one-of-one gift for New Balance's CEO

Ahead of the Expo, MattB Customs hand-engraved a pair of New Balance trainers for CEO Joe Preston. The design etched the map of Boston - New Balance's home city - onto the shoe, alongside subtle nods to Joe's own career worked into the pattern. It's the kind of detail that only comes from working directly with a brand rather than producing generic merchandise: research into the person, not just the logo.

Hand-engraved New Balance trainers made for CEO Joe Preston, featuring a map of Boston.

820 pairs personalised in four days

From there, the team moved to the London Marathon Expo itself, personalising the event's limited-edition marathon shoe collection live, on-site, for runners collecting their race packs. Over four days, that added up to more than 820 pairs personalised - a volume that demands the same production discipline MattB Customs runs on its own drops, applied inside someone else's event.

Custom-personalised New Balance London Marathon trainers made by MattB Customs.

Closing the week with apparel and gifting

The week finished with a race-ready customisation event, personalising New Balance apparel and tumblers with runners' names and bespoke London Marathon-inspired illustrations - turning a finish-line memento into something runners keep long after the race numbers come off.

MattB Customs personalising New Balance trainers on-site at the London Marathon Expo.

Can MattB Customs run live personalisation at our own event or expo?

Yes - this is exactly the New Balance model: a MattB Customs team personalising product on-site, at volume, within your event's timeframe, alongside bespoke one-of-one pieces for VIP guests.

If you're looking to bring a similar activation to your next event or expo, get in touch via our Work With Us page or email business@mattbcustoms.com.