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Wednesday, 02 January 2008 |
This week we interviewed Steve Trayner, the founder of creative sales and PR agency Brnd Nu. Trayner is responsible for distributing some of the most forward brands, spanning the globe from Australia to Sweden. We had a chance to sit down and talk to him about what it is he does, how he does it and his opinion of the trends and marketplace here in the United States. This interview is a nice change of pace, as Trayner offered insight into his corner of the fashion world as well as an interesting approach to this industry. Hope you enjoy it. 1. Steve what is your background? How did you come to be a part of this industry? I lived overseas for 4 years, worked for an ad agency, studied music and also theology. Living overseas gave me perspective on great fashion and style. I really wanted to start a company that was known for discovering highly talented labels and bringing them to a market in need of style-defining gear. When I got back from Australia I worked with a great denim line called Iron Army doing sales and then PR. |
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Wednesday, 19 December 2007 |
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This week we interviewed Jesse Roberts, founder and president of Rise Up International (RIU). RIU is an international organization that empowers disenfranchised children, women and families through community development programs. Typically this is through - but not limited to - the creation of schools and orphanages, servicing the marginalized in poverty-stricken countries. One of the ways Rise Up raises awareness of these issues and its operations is through Rise Up Clothing. Additionally, all of the profits from Rise Up Clothing are used to fund the projects. In our interview we had a chance to ask Roberts about the clothing aspect of Rise Up and how he came to the fashion industry, and what it 's like to do what he does. The result is an interesting read with an interesting man. 1. Jesse, would you tell us a little bit about yourself?
I’m kind of a cross between Johnny Depp, Brad Pitt, and Mahatma Gandhi…I hate these kinds of questions. I’ve always fallen into adventure. At 17 my obituary was printed in the Fiji Times (true), but that’s another story... |
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Wednesday, 12 December 2007 |
Andrew Chen is the founder of 3sixteen and an all-around nice guy. In just a few short years, Chen's brand has grown into a relative powerhouse in a market dominated by younger streetwear brands and constantly changing trends. Tightly distributed with a well-maintained image, 3sixteen is a brand we expect to do some big things in 2008. We recently got the chance to sit down and ask Andrew some questions about himself, streetwear in general, and 3sixteen specifically. It proved an interesting experience and we hope that you enjoy reading what he has to say. More... photo: Dan Chen |
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Thursday, 29 November 2007 |
We sat down with Brooke McGregor, founder and owner of Sabre Vision, and asked him a few questions about his life, his brand, and the industry. This is a very insightful read about a young company that is making a lot of noise in both the surf and streetwear communities respectively. Just a reminder, these editorials usually go up at around 2PM (PST), but as we mentioned earlier, the site was down for a short while today because we had to increase our bandwidth. While waiting for the site to come back, one TLS staff member drove to the bank and enjoyed a redlight conversation with a friend, in which said friend was complimented on their Sabre sunglasses by said TLS staff member. They are everywhere. Take a break from ADHD for a moment, and you will love the humor and perspective that Brooke brings to the table. Let us know what you think in our new "Comments" section at the end of each article. 1. Can you tell us a little bit about your background and how you came to the Action Sports Industry? It's been a relatively natural progression. I grew up skateboarding and listening to metal in the suburbs of Melbourne, Australia! I remember the Ramp Riot came to town when I was 14 - Hosoi,Gator and my all- time favorite Lance Mountain showed up! It was then that I was obsessed with skateboarding and street culture. I worked in a skate shop when I was young, then went on to work for a couple of brands just waiting for the time and opportunity to start Sabre. |
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Wednesday, 21 November 2007 |
This week we interviewed Adam Bryce, founder of www.slamxhype.com. Based out of Auckland, NZ, Slam X Hype is an online magazine as well as one of the most popular sites on the internet covering streetwear and its community. Adam offers some interesting insight on the world of streetwear and the changing tides within this subculture, on which he is definitely an expert. Always a pleasure to interact with, we are pleased to feature this interview. 1. How do you feel about the overnight success of many new brands in what was once a niche market? There are two ways of looking at it, and two distinct properties which exist among those brands... The first is a positive - the internet has made it possible for brands without huge resources to break into the marketplace and get as much attention as those with more money and/or connections. It has allowed them to first break into the scene through media attention, then its enabled them to survive and even thrive through online sales, and also there is worldwide coverage of the market - opening the market into a much larger cluster...continued |
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Wednesday, 14 November 2007 |
Mark is the owner/operator of MashKulture - see question 10 if the link isn't working yet, but make sure to check back on his site soon - a streetwear & lifestyle website based out of Budapest, Hungary. 1. What made you want to create a blog on this subculture? I've been a sneakerhead pretty much ever since I got a pair of fire red AJIV's from my dad when I was in grade 5. So I've always been into kicks since then, but started getting a bit more serious as I reached my teen years and high school. The whole fashion/culture aspect evolved from there. I also started skating in grade 9 which also had a big impact on my life/lifestyle. About 2-3 years ago when blogs on sneakers and fashion started up I was stoked, 'cause I had been living in Hungary since 2000 and couldn't always keep up to date with all the latest sneakers and what not. A big contrast between Hungary and Toronto (where I'm originally from), is that the sneaker/street scene is almost non-existent here. Besides a few people I knew, there weren't many who were into sneakers, or who were into that scene. I figured there must be more peeps out there, or there has to be those who would definitely be interested in it if they knew that this subculture existed. So it took me until early 2006 to ask myself why shouldn't I start my own site in Hungarian to help bring the scene together here. Since I'm just as fluent in english, making the site bilingual wasn't really that much of an effort.
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