Congrats on the new Etnies collab shoes Fos! They both look splendid.
This isn’t your first project with the Sole Tech brands (now Nidecker) – I’m thinking of the éS X Heroin Eggcell Accel Og Shoes from a couple of years back. How did you first get involved with the brands? Was it through Altamont?
Actually, I was approached by someone at A4 (sole techs UK distributor at the time) years ago, when the idea of doing collabs was relatively new, I think it was around 2004 or so. We did a Fos x Heretic for Emerica. Then a couple of years later did a Ridgemont (slip on). It was through these collabs that I became the art director when they started Altamont. I’ve worn sole tech shoes forever, so it all kind of made sense to me.
You’ve chosen 2 new styles from Etnies this time. The Emerson and the Lo-cut vulc. Why those 2 styles specifically?
Well they were the two styles that they wanted to push, I was super down for a low cut as I’d remember those from back in the day, and the Vulc option made it even more appealing. And then the Emerson was this new style they wanted to put out and I was down. Those things are comfy!
The Lo-cut vulc is a really nice, more refined take on the Lo Cut from 1993. Did you ever skate the original Lo Cuts back in the day? If so, did you get hold of them before Adidas forced Etnies to remove the sideways ‘E’ from the side?
Ah I never got a pair back then, always wanted some, maybe that’s what drew me to that style. I remember the thing with adidas.
You’ve chosen a vulc and a cup sole in the Lo Cut and the Emerson. Are you a vulc or a cup skater? People tend to be pretty strongly one way or the other.
I can go between the two, I usually side with vulc for that board feel, but I’ll do a cup now and again, the éS Eggcell mids were cup sole and I really liked those.
Navy is a straightforward colour for the Emerson, whilst you’ve gone for baby blue on the Lo Cut vulc. A little riskier but a colour that we find tends to sell well, maybe because it is a rare beast. What inspired these two colours?
Navy was really a no brainer like you said. I always like the pastels, and that Pantone ice blue is always present in my work really. Plus there was a Sal 23 back in the day that colour, so maybe a subtle nod to that.
Your eS Accel colourway on the other hand was banana yellow, which is pretty polarising colour to say the least. How do you approach colourways like that? Obviously, you have to hit minimums at the factory to get something made, which makes choosing colours harder. Do you think about sales numbers when you choose a colourway or simply aim for something you are stoked on and want to see made? I imagine if it were merely a sales figures thing, all shoes would be black….
I feel like it had to be that yellow because of the egg colours I was using in all our graphics. We do a big Easter egg hunt every year and so it made sense to me to do the teal and yellow. I never really think about the minimums and trying to play things safe as far as sales, I just really kind of do what I want and if it sells, then that’s nice. It’s kind of a luxurious position to be in. Look at the new Wingee Thingee board that we dropped today! That’s a good example of taking risks.
Both Lo Cut and Emerson colours have your unmistakable art style on the footbed. You can clearly see you know your Etnies’ history. What is your process for producing art that is so relevant to Etnies? Did you do research or do the ideas just flow because of how well you know the brand?
A bit of both, I wanted nods in there to Natas the first pro shoe and his contribution as well as some other key elements. I had to look up some of the older Etnics era graphics.
Etnies has a huge back catalogue of styles. Is there a shoe you would like to see Etnies reissue in the future? Like the OG Natas or the Vallely?
I just had a convo about the Vallely, the imprint shoe skates like those. It could be time to see that again, with a lot of the OG styles coming back.
When I think of Etnies, I think of the Marana. Long lasting, with uprated Michelin soles and no-nonsense styling that Sheckler and Joslin both repped hard in the past. When you think of Etnies, what is the first shoe that pops into your head and why?
Sal 23 and Raps, that was my time when I was first running them. I bought a sun damaged pair of navy Sal 23’s from exit in Manchester for cheap and ran those for months.
Are you getting much time to skate yourself these days? If so, what’s your thing right now and what board do you ride considering Heroin makes some of the most varied boards out there? I’m imagining curbs and transitions?
I like Garvanza park and a lot of local DIY spots. DIY spots are great, they’re kind of saving skateboarding and making it Interesting to me. I think the vision to be like “oh let’s make this to skate and have fun with it” is such a great and empowering idea. Clive Dixon’s DIY is great we were there last weekend, super fun. I’ve been filming the lads more than rolling myself of late, but it comes and goes like that.
I noticed Maple Lab are doing the sickest Heroin fingerboards. Is that an official tie-up? I had no idea high-end fingerboardswere a thing until recently and now I really need a Heroin x Curbkiller fingerboard in my life.
Yeah, what those guys are doing is wild. I love it. I’m not a huge fingerboarder myself, but I love how people are so into it and so you know, good for them. Charlie Gush actually found skateboarding through fingerboarding, so I back it. I might know someone who can help you with that curbkiller board, ha ha!
Thanks so much for taking the time out to answer all this Fos and keep doing what you are doing – you make skateboarding a much more fun and exciting place! Cheers!
We’re Having fun with it all. Thanks mate
