THEM SKATES presents : COLLABORATIONS | Skating

The word collaboration is funny to me. Someone asked me, like, who do you want to collab with next? I'm like, I don't even know what that means. I think the people I work with are people that are friends. We're into the same things, obviously, and organic relationships. We're all in the same vibe. I think with social media, people can... I think we can show other people what we do, and it's not like another culture is showing the world what we do. And I think that's what's been the case for the past, I don't know. Yeah, like, before social, there was TV. Back then, corporate business was representing our sport. Now it's like, we represent ourselves, you know? Good timing for that. The fact that, like, skating is really sick right now, and the fact that we can actually show that ourselves. When something organically grows the way this sport has lately, it's, like, super authentic. It's hard not to be attracted to it. You just want to be a part of it. I think that's how collaborations are collaborations that have come about. We appreciate what those brands and those people are doing as much as they appreciate what we're doing. We can start with just coffee. That kind of collaboration started just because Earl, who roasts all the coffee, he's, like, the mad scientist behind the roasting. He was attracted to skating, and I'm, of course, attracted to coffee. I'm more down that people are down with skating, so I want to support that. Or even skaters, like Kyle. He skates, and he understands the sport. I want to be part of that. I want to support that. And the fact that they have such a big following is even sicker. It's like, wow, you know? We have the opportunity to excel within their reach now. Brain Dad's down with blading. It's like, that's tight. I actually remember when John first told me, and I was just like, oh, shit, there's going to be skates on Fairfax. That was really sick to see, because we're not necessarily collabing with someone who is so outside of the culture. He's well aware of what's going on and what's happening. So when Clarks is here to do the same thing, it's like, wow, we have an opportunity to excel within their world. Or if Complex is here, it's like, here, we want to cross-pollinate what you're doing to our audience. I think those are the opportunities that we've been given lately, and that's what blading needs. If there's a shoe that you want to rock that is down with blading, this is it. The reason we got Clarks is because Matthew from Clarks Originals UK, he's the brand manager, contacted Greg. He wanted to flow Greg's shoes. There's something really cool there that you can just kind of like, damn, Clarks is down with skating. That's sick. Or there's a skater involved with the brand, and it just kind of opens that door. It's kind of cool to have these brands come in organically, and in that way, at least I feel like skating will be in good hands when it comes to the future. I never really wanted inline skating to get super mainstream in some way, but I always wanted it to be healthy, you know what I mean? Having a future. I agree 100%. I guess it's just the appreciation for the brands that are down for skating. Clarks is one of them. Braindead is another one. Intuition is another one, you know? So it gives us more opportunity to shine our way with their reach, you know? The concept that blading can grow with these collaborations, more people getting exposed to brawl blading, that's exciting to me. It's not just about the collaborations. It's about the state of skating, whether it be people wanting to go outside all the time and finding what they did in the 90s, or whether it be just finding it for the first time. All these factors, whatever it may be, skating is in a healthy place right now. We're lucky to be in this situation, but I think we also earned it. As long as skaters are doing it with honesty and what we believe in, I think that's really cool.