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FEATURES 10 QUESTIONS Ten Questions - Brooke McGregor of Sabre Vision
FEATURES 10 QUESTIONS Ten Questions - Brooke McGregor of Sabre Vision | Ten Questions - Brooke McGregor of Sabre Vision |
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| Thursday, 29 November 2007 | |
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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. 2. How did Sabre get started? Sabre started as a blog-style website before the whole blog wave had started. It was more to document the crazy life that my friends and I were living...partying, surfing, skateboarding....and a splash of art to make us look mature! We had a few politically incorrect Sabre bumper stickers made up for a laugh - "Support mental health or I'll blow your fuckin' head off" and "Home honey I'm high" - just stuff like that! As it turned out the Kids had 'em on their bikes, their parents' cars and all over town! Next thing I know I'm living in Costa Mesa doing Sabre. 3. What made you want to establish Sabre HQ in So Cal? Love it or hate it, America has such a strong influence on the international street culture fashion markets. I have always been very interested in LA's street scene. After years of closely following and supporting brands like Stussy, Vans and Freshjive, it has become a place I gather much inspiration from. 4. Who handles the design of the Sunglasses? Primarily "Tab the Terrific" designs the sunglasses. She is amazing at converting my retarded verbal vomit, plugging it into our super-charged Commodore 64 and making it just how I pictured the concept in my head. Between Tab's design experience and some crazy ideas, it turns into Sabre. Thanks Tab for your patience, you're one in a million. 5. I see all types of people rocking Sabre. Who do you believe - if any - to be the customer you envisioned when you started Sabre? Are you surprised by the demand from other types of customers? I think when anyone starts any form of extension of personal taste - be it music, fashion or any other creative medium - you have a picture in your head who will rock your stuff...and I have been really, totally surprised by who buys our stuff. The old saying, "you can't smell the pile of shit when your standing in it" is very true - you become almost too close to your brand, what you think your brand is and what others perceive it as are sometimes totally different things! That's why I really think balance is important - friends, family and midget-tossing. Otherwise you would go mad and start freaking out! 6. How do you explain Sabre's success in marketing to various demos and lifestyles? I think if you stay tuned to what made you love a brand or lifestyle and relay that, it will always work!Remember the days when you would not peel the back off a cool sticker because you didn't want to wreck it? I have always been a sucker for branding. If it wasn't Stussy or Vision Street Wear when I was 14 I wouldn't wear it! Tragic I know..what a victim. But nothing much has changed I'm sad to say. 7. When are you going to invite me over to skate that mini-ramp in your warehouse? Fuck dude, it's open anytime you like! I have an old lame neighbor who cries like a 12 year old girl with no Barbie when he hears the ramp getting fired up! But other than that you're welcome to skate it whenever you want. Mad shout out to Tom Knox who, except for some badly cut bits of wood from me, built it single- handedly. She's pretty tight but we didn't have much room to work with!
Oh this is critical! Right now most industries, not just Action Sports, are filled with tired brands looking to re-ignite the youth market. They think if they just hire some cool kids the brand will work! A-ron proved that with aNYthing - the day he parted ways was the day the brand's hype died. That's not some weird coincidence. Passion is all you have, kids can smell a phony a mile away. 9. There are quite a few new eyewear companies that have popped up in the last five years - many of which all look the same and/or are the product of another company's decision to branch out into the eyewear market. How has Sabre been able to make a name for itself in the midst? The action sports industry in particular is very conservative today. I mean, everyone's so worried about offending or losing a customer by doing something directional it's making it easy to look different. It's all so predictable - dude with hot chick wearing standard sunglasses looking popular...Please! I want more to think about and provoke creativity. And I think the kids want more too.....I think that's why blogs are so popular - you can only say so much in a double page advertisement, so the blog opens a door into the world of Sabre. 10. What's next for Brooke and Sabre? Next for Sabre is more of the same, I really enjoy creating a lifestyle and community around the brand and really want to keep growing this. It's cool to bring people together that would not usually be hanging out together. The brand is stepping into very exciting times and I can't wait to see what's around the corner. Comments (2)
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So stoked that he is doing well in the USA just want to know what his email address is?