Red Bull has this really cool video series called The Ripple Effect, where they feature different brands in the action sports world, and for episode 2 of their inaugural season, they featured our beloved Vans. This is hands down one of the most thoroughly entertaining and knowledgeable videos about Vans’ history, their identity, and their vision. Sit back and enjoy this 23 minute video, featuring some familiar friendly faces!
Hypebeast recently sat down with one of our favorite skate legends, Christian Hosoi, to reflect on his professional skateboarding career, and more specifically his role with Vans. He’s one of the most recognizable skateboarders of all time, and it’s no surprise Vans approached him a long time ago, along with many other greats, to go out and represent the brand and be the cultural icon that he undoubtedly is. This interview is great, and full of small stories that you’ll enjoy if you’re a fan of skateboarding history, culture, or just a fan of him. Check it out over on Hypebeast!
Here’s another article about Vans and their 50th Anniversary, this time from the Los Angeles Times. Check it out and read it from another interviewer’s perspective.
Article by Adam Tschorn of the LA Times
Steve Van Doren, himself
As we come up on Vans’ 50th Anniversary this Wednesday, Vans has been featured in a few articles around town, and Orange County’s own OC Register sat down with our friends over at Vans, to discuss the past, present, and future, and were also kind enough to get Laylan Connelly, the one who wrote the article, to reach out to me for our perspective on the brand, and how people like us represent Vans in the current sneaker collecting community. We had a nice phone conversation, and I’m sure I rambled on a little too much, as I normally do, but it was just nice to see that she even included my part, lol! Anyways, read the great article over on the OC Register.
Everybody’s favorite vintage Vans fanatic, @pillowheat
info via Laylan at the OC Register
It looks like Ellen has caught wind of the “Damn Daniel” viral video, and had Daniel and Josh come on to her show to talk about it. The high school kids are from Riverside, CA, so that probably made it a little bit easier to get them on, but the coolest part is that Ellen, known for her awesome gifts for her guests, gave Josh, the friend who took the snapchat videos of Daniel, and who’s voice deserves most of the credit for the viral clip, a brand new surfboard. Daniel got the coolest gift of all though. A lifetime supply of Vans shoes, thanks to Vans. What perfect timing for the 50th anniversary of Vans!
James Drakeford, or as we know him as MrKingJD, is that dude. Always dressed in something fresh, with a unique style as eclectic as his choice in sneakers. Being a part of the Sole Classics team sure gives him a lot of exposure to different styles, and he’s been fortunate enough to help design some of their collaborations (some unreleased as of yet), and he sat down with Authentic® to talk a little bit about himself, and how he approaches his design work. You’ll also get to see a few of his custom designed shoes from various ID programs from different brands. Get to know our friend a little better by reading his interview over on his site!
CLICK HERE TO READ THE INTERVIEW
Hypebeast sat down with our favorite in-house designer at Vans, Taka Hayashi, to talk a little bit about his background, how he got connected with Vans, and what helped inspire his design aesthetic that he’s known for today. If you’re a Taka fanboy like we are, or you’re just into sophisticated Vans, then take a little bit of time out and read his interview when you get a chance!
Highsnobiety recently visited our friend Henry Davies, owner and #1 vintage Vans curator of The Other Side of The Pillow. We get a cool, first-hand look into his shop, and get schooled on our Vans history. Henry has a wealth of knowledge for Vans, and without him, I don’t think Vans would have as much of a connection to their past, particularly with the designs and array of models. The community is still small, but it’s been steadily growing, and one day I hope to make it across the pond to visit his awesome shop, but until then, we’ll just live vicariously through Highsnobiety and their Highsnobiety Visits features.
In the world of sneakers, customization has always been present. People have this need to put their personal touch on them. Sometimes it’s as simple as swapping out laces. Sometimes it’s as complex as taking apart an entire shoe, and reconstructing it with an entirely different material. There are many who are making a name for themselves in this growing custom sneaker culture, but only a handful have been able to successfully get their artistic creations reproduced by a major brand, and when you look back at all of the shoes of this genre, you have to show respect where respect’s due, and that’s with our friend here, Mark Ong, aka Sabotage. His claim to fame, is of course the Royalefam Nike SB Dunk Low aka “Sabotage Dunk”, one of my all-time favorites, but he’s also helped create some other successful releases for the likes of New Balance, DC, a custom pair of Nike’s for Kobe Bryant, and the list goes on and on. He’s always been into the punk scene, and grew up skateboarding in Singapore, so naturally, you’d think he would’ve already done some work with Vans, right? Well, no he hasn’t, and we hope that we can help get something setup for him real soon, or at least with us, on some custom project of some sort! Which leads me to our exclusive interview we have obtained with him. Being able to get closer to his roots in skate and punk rock, Mark has decided to switch his focus to Vans sneakers. He’s always worn them, but he’s sort of been loyal to the athletic sports brands that he’s been lucky to collaborate with over the years. Mark thought it was important to first reach out to the true base of Vans fans. Those who give a fuck about what he’s doing, and those who get it. Well, he’s come to the right place, and we’ve officially converted him to the dark side!
Enjoy the conversation we had a few days back, and check out the awesome video that him and NON Beijing created for this collaborative project above.
(interview starts after the jump)
Jeff Potocar, of Syndicate and Supreme LA sat down with Ice-T awhile back, and had an in depth interview on Ice’s background. They discuss a number of things, like why he called their circle a “Syndicate”, how he got started in his music career, the notoriety over Body Count’s “Cop Killer” song, and also how Ice is a big time online gamer. If you watch Ice Loves Coco, then you’d already know that. Huh? What? I mean…that’s news to me! It’s an interesting read, and I figured you all would get a kick out of his humor, and even more importantly, admire his realness. It’s something that’s becoming harder and harder to find these days.
Head on over to the Vans Syndicate page to read the entire interview!
Currently on a little hiatus, but normally you can drop in for the live Twitch stream, or you can get caught up later on, by viewing us on our Youtube channel. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Anchor.
Check out and add to our collaborative playlist on Spotify. Let's hear some of your favorite, obscure, B-side, and personal selections. The funkier and more eclectic it gets, the better. Let's show everyone how much range our community has!
