Soul II Sole – The challenges of starting a skate footwear brand in Europe
Starting a skate shoe brand is a difficult endeavour anywhere on the planet. Starting one in Europe would seem to border on the impossible. And yet, the first ever pro model skate shoe came from just that—a French-born company named Etnics, headed by pro skater Pierre-André Sénizergues, changed its name to Etnies and released their Natas Kaupas Pro Model in 1989. As most of you know, Etnies and Pierre moved out to California, gave birth to éS, Emerica, Sheep, the Sal 23, the Rap, the Koston 3, the Accél, Menikmati, Altamont, Stay Gold and the rest—and grew into Sole Technologies in Lake Forest. While everything has changed over the last 20 years with the intrusion of Nike, adidas, New Balance, Converse and the rest of the multinationals, the skater-owned shoe brand is not dead yet, especially not in Europe.
Since the success of Pierre André and Etnies, many have tried to replicate his feat. Aeon and Link were both launched from France in the ‘00s with star-studded teams and extensive marketing campaigns, only to wither on the vine after a few years of operation. Bucking that trend, Last Resort—Pontus Alv, Sami Tolppi and Polar Skateboard’s Swedish footwear cousin—has been growing steadily worldwide since their launch in 2018. Other EU brands, like Michael Mackrodt’s Fishing Lines, or Basile Lapray and Bram De Cleen’s Village PM are now also seeking their own slice of the skate shoe pie. Will the sports corporations ultimately win out and complete their hollowing out of skateboarding from top to bottom? Or will some skater-owned brands give them a run for their Euros—even at this late stage in the game? We checked in with all parties, past and present, to gauge the future.
Words by Mackenzie Eisenhour
Etnies (Est. 1986)
In 1988, French pro freestyler Pierre-André Senizergues met Yvon Rautureau at the Trophée de Paris skate contest. The Rautureau family had been cobblers for over 200 years in a small village in the middle of France, and Yvon had launched a shoe company called Etnics in ’86.
Prior to meeting Yvon, Pierre had ridden for Vans and then Vision Street Wear and found the products lacking. “It caught my attention right away because I was thinking I always had shoe problems. The problem, I think, was that the people who made skate shoes weren’t really shoemakers. We needed to make better shoes for skateboarding.”
Etnics ad, 1987
Pierre and Yvon set out to do just that. In Pierre’s words, “I met those guys at the very beginning of Etnics. A brand in the UK called Nicks was trying to stop us from using the name Etnics, so we changed it to Etnies. Then I launched Etnies in the US in ‘89. I told them the best place to launch a brand was in California. It was the birthplace of skateboarding after all. And I was living there already by then.”
Pierre had initially been homeless. “I had first come to the US in 1985. I thought I would come for a month or so. I had a job for a few months to pay for the plane ticket. I arrived in Venice and just lived on the streets. Maybe a combination of couch surfing and sleeping on the beach.” Eventually, he connected with Per Welinder, a fellow pro freestyler he had met at the Swedish Eurocana Skatecamp, and the two survived by performing freestyle demos on the boardwalk for tourists.
After Steve Rocco asked Pierre to ride for Sims and sent him to a contest in Vancouver, Pierre won first place and $1000 that he used to purchase a van from Rocco, who, in addition to being the Sims TM, also doubled as a used car salesman in Redondo Beach. Pierre made that van his new home.
Etnies ad, 1990
By ’89, Etnies was ready to launch the first-ever pro model skate shoe—the Natas Kaupas. “Yvon, my partner, had already contacted Natas. He came to Santa Monica. It’s a really crazy story. He picked up a Thrasher magazine at the hotel in Santa Monica, and Natas was on the cover. So he went to Rip City Skate shop and asked them like, ‘Do you know this guy?’ And they were like, ‘Yeah. We know Natas. He lives down the street in Santa Monica.’ So Yvon went and knocked at his door! Natas answered, and Yvon told him, ‘I’ll give you a Pro Shoe, $1000, and then $1 per shoe sold.’ That was how it started.”
The Natas shoe design was inspired by the Jordan 1. “It was designed by the original designer in France along with Natas himself.” While the Natas shoe was released to some success, the entire industry all but collapsed around 1991.
Pierre explains, “Right when we launched Etnies in the States, it was the beginning of a recession. Vision went bankrupt, Vans began to decline, and Airwalk eventually left the market completely. So suddenly, all the skaters had no shoes to skate. And I found myself being the only one left for a while. It was so small, though. I was surviving on debt.”
On top of debt and recession, Etnies was also struggling with manufacturing. “I was having problems with the production. So I went to the factory in Korea to learn this whole process. I went with a few samples, and I remember the guy looking at me… I was in my twenties, but looked sixteen. They were used to seeing owners of companies who were old men. They didn’t even believe me to start with. Luckily enough, I had my skateboard with me. I asked everybody to sit down, and I did a freestyle demo for the whole factory. Like, ‘See.’”
After locking down production—Pierre also noticed the changing design landscape, “The Natas came out, then the Rap, and then I designed a shoe called the Senix—which was the first puffy shoe with the big tongue. It was designed to go with the pants that were getting bigger. That was a mid-top, but then we realised everyone was cutting the shoes down, so we needed a low top. I made a few that were even puffier, and that became the Lo-Cut—then we did the Screw, the Scam, and the Intercity. Puffy skate shoes were born.”
Natas Kaupas Etnies ad, 1990
Right around then, the industry began to pick up again, with Pierre and Etnies sitting exactly in the right spot to become the shoe choice of the new street skating generation. “I didn’t understand what was happening. ’86
to ’94 was such a struggle. Then boom!”
As business picked up across the board, Pierre believed he might have a strategy to finally pull skateboarding out of the up-to-that-point ten-year boom-and-bust cycle. “I had already suffered through the ‘70s. I started in ’77. Skateboarding rose like a rocket from ’77 to ’78. There were millions of skaters in France. And then it just went almost to zero in a few years.”
“As it picked up in the mid ‘90s, I thought, ‘How do I change this?’ I wanted to create a good shoe, but I also wanted to create a system for skateboarding to flourish.” Pierre believed the solution was in the skate shop shoe wall. Up to that point, most skate shops didn’t even have a designated wall for shoes. Most shops had a few pairs of shoes sitting on the ground.
“I thought, ‘If I can create a really good shoe, they will come into the skate shop. Then we make the skate shop look really good too—put some money into the marketing. Sponsor some people. Make videos. Make it attractive. Then we get people from outside coming into the skate shop we can convert them to skateboarders too.’”
Quickly, it dawned on Pierre that the more brands they could put on the shoe wall, the better. “My idea was not only for Etnies. It had to be a bigger movement. Etnies had become one style. Then some of our riders, like Jamie Thomas and Andrew Reynolds, were a bit more rock n’ roll, so we started Emerica. Guys like Sal Barbier, Muska, and Eric Koston wanted something more technical, so we started éS. Ed Templeton was vegan—so we started Sheep.”
This philosophy even extended to competitors: “Ken Block and Damon Way wanted to make shoes for Droors Clothing. So I helped them with some of my Etnies factories, and they started DC. Eventually, at the peak, there were something like 30 brands of shoes run by skateboarders. Almost like the tribe idea we had originally with Etnics. It had all started with this idea of trying to design something different. Bring a direction that skaters wanted and to create a movement that feeds the whole industry. The level of creativity was so high. It was a golden age basically. I thought okay—we made the wall. It’s going to be really difficult for Nike or adidas to come in. For a while it worked (laughs).”
Etnies ad, 1994
The wall held until around ’03, when Nike finally succeeded at planting itself inside skate shops with SB. Pierre remembers, “First they tried to do Nike 6.0 which was basically copying Etnies. Then they did Savier almost as a stealth brand. Even before that, they did the ‘What if all athletes were treated like skateboarders?’ ads and the Bam Margera shoe. Nothing worked. They approached me to buy Etnies, and I told them I would never sell.”
Pierre continues, “Then they decided to do SB—kind of like éS. They wanted to get Paul Rodriguez from éS, and (Eric) Koston, also on the éS team then, was pissed. Eventually, Koston went too. Later, they got Nyjah (Huston) and everybody else. But in the beginning, it wasn’t working, even with SB. There was still resistance. I think when they got Koston, that’s when things shifted in people’s minds.”
Pierre begrudgingly credits Nike with using the Dunk to get their foot in the door: “The Dunk was very important to that, too. They didn’t need to design a technical Nike sports shoe because they could just remake those old models. When all the sneaker collectors started going to the skate shops to get Dunks, it flipped the power structure of the industry. Now the shops depended on Nike.”
Would he have done anything differently in ’03, looking back now? Pierre answers, “No, because for me, I did it the old way as far as I could. As a privately owned company, putting my own money into it. When I was doing really well, I was investing in real estate, in the stock market, knowing that one day it would get tough. And then I would bring it back into the company, which is exactly what I did. We put everything back in to keep it going.”
I ask Pierre what the biggest thing holding back skater-owned shoe brands today. He replies, “I think it’s the demand. Back in the day, the model was pretty simple. You get a rider; you get a good design. You market it in the magazines. Make a video. Everything was like a funnel to the market to create demand. Then you had the big athletic brands coming into that and using our structure at first—placing ads, paying riders, making videos. Then social media came. And that really made everyone a marketer. Everybody can sell too. There is a bunch of re-commerce. People are selling their vintage stuff. The shops are suffering because the brands sell direct online now. And then the shops are also making all their own product and selling it at their shops. Again, just to stay in business. But it broke down the old structure.”
In May of 2024, after 38 years as sole owner, Pierre sold Etnies, éS, Emerica and the snowboard boots brand ThirtyTwo to Nidecker, the Swiss-based ski and snowboard brand. Pierre describes the decision as very difficult. “I tossed and turned, debating with myself if this is the right thing. But when you look at the facts, I concluded this was the best decision to make.” Pierre remains CEO of the brands under new ownership.
All is not lost in 2026. Pierre sees hope, “In terms of brands launching in Europe today, when Etnies started, it was impossible. I had to take it to the States. Today, I think it’s possible from anywhere. I see Village PM doing it. Last Resort is doing it. It’s cool to see what Pontus (Alv) is doing. He used to skate for Emerica. It’s great to see what he has done with his brand all from Europe. Village PM is also very interesting. I met them in Paris. They’re surging right now. They bring a different point of view. I think there needs to be innovation. Something unique or very different. It has to be functional. It always has to look cool too. It terms of what the solution is. I think it’s still coming up with something different.”
In the end, according to Pierre, it is the skateboarders’ creative and defiant DIY DNA that will make the difference: “Trying to do it your own way—that’s the purest sense of skateboarding. Inventing all the time. I think the thing that I learned the most and am constantly reminded of over the past 50 years is the fact that skaters are creative thinkers. They are constantly challenging everything. How to do it better. How to make it your own. That’s what we need to keep skateboarding exciting. We need to keep taking risks.”
Marcus McBride Link footwear ad, 2003
Link Footwear (2001-2003)
During the aforementioned golden era of the skate shop shoe wall, it seemed like every skateboard company on the planet tried their hand at launching a shoe brand. Even those in Europe. Many seemed destined to flourish with all the right ingredients. This included Lyon’s Cliché skateboards as they rose to prominence as one of the first EU-based board brands to thrive without having to move to California.
Al Boglio, who served as brand manager, breaks it down, “Link had already been in development under adidas/Salomon for about a year in Annecy before we brought it under the Cliché roof in Lyon in 2001. We were already aware of it since Cliché was owned by adidas/Salomon. Our friends Axel Bourg and Jacques Bertholon were part of the early development team. My friend Brett Margaritis joined as team manager from Perth. Then Salomon came to us with the idea of integrating Link into Cliché’s sales and distribution structure. At the time, it made sense.”
Cliché founder Jeremie Daclin shares his memories, “They came to Lyon, and on one side we had Cliché, and on the other side we had Link. Al was taking care of Link, and I was taking care of Cliché.” Boglio adds, “Our vision was focused on technical skateboarding. Lyon’s own JB Gillet was the main figure, and he brought Marcus McBride along — that Deca connection worked well. Lucas [Puig] and Cale Nuske joined naturally through the Cliché connection.”
With the team and marketing taking shape, including their signature neon light ad campaign, Boglio travelled to China. “I had to take a crash course in the footwear world, which meant travelling to China to visit the adidas factories where the shoes were being made. It was a real eye-opener and very different from the hardgoods environment. We were confident we could make it work, especially with adidas/Salomon’s footwear expertise behind us.”
JB Gillet Link footwear ad, 2003
The shoes themselves were definitely on the higher end, design-wise. Boglio shares, “Jacques’ designs were ahead of their time, no doubt. The JB Pro shoe he designed still stands the test of time. We had a model for Marcus McBride in development.”
Very quickly, however, challenges began to pile up. Boglio explains, “The biggest challenge was aligning the designs and product with the trends of the time. We inherited certain moulds from Salomon that we couldn’t change. Another challenge was keeping Cale and Lucas. Cale joined the éS roster early on with an offer we couldn’t compete with. As for Lucas—Lakai and his idols (Koston, Guy, MJ, etc.) were already reaching out, so it was only a matter of time.”
Daclin elaborates, “Salomon had projections and benchmarks that had not been met numbers-wise. They had a way of thinking where you develop a product for a very long time. Our approach was more skate and just sort of get it done, and then market it. They spent a ton of money on the R&D. To be sure, the shoes were indestructible. I skated many pairs. But the problem was we weren’t profitable quickly enough. We launched ads in Thrasher, Transworld, and Skateboarder with the neon sign and the team riders, but the shoe still wasn’t ready to be in the ads.”
Marcus McBride Link footwear ad, 2003
How did it end? Daclin shares, “Eventually, they just told us it was dead. That it had taken too long. Al didn’t have anything to work on with Link gone, so I told them I would step back a bit. I became a consultant and team manager at Cliché, and Al would run Cliché. Jacques and Axel went back to Annecy. Axel is still at Solomon, and Jacques works at Decathlon now. He’s the one doing all the skate stuff for Decathlon.”
Is there still a space for small shoe brands, maybe even founded from the EU? Daclin replies, “It’s really complicated now. But I think it is still possible. I think that’s the case for Village PM. They brought a real new design to it. I think today you have to bring something different to stand out. In a skate shop, you have three axes that are critical. The hard goods, the shoes, and the textiles. A few years back, it was the shoes that were bringing most of the money into the shops. That is falling now. The past two years, it has been textile with Carhartt and Stüssy, for example, paying the bills. That is also cooling off now. But the hard goods are coming back right now, thankfully. Luckily, there is overstock at most of the manufacturers, so shops can actually order hard goods for quite cheap now and sell them with a decent margin. The shoe business has always been complicated, though.”
Frank Barratiero Aeon ad, 2004
Aeon Footwear (2002-2006)
Around the same time that Cliché was rising into a global force and trying their hands at Link, Lordz Wheels, founded in Paris in 1998, had also been gaining momentum. Initially funded by an investor named Stephen Teng, the first riders had been Luypa Sin, Stephane Larance, and Nao Nussbaum. Nao quickly became integral to Lordz and took care of the marketing and art direction. Meanwhile, the brand shared offices with Puzzle, the first European Video Magazine, and Puzzle videographer Benoit Copin took the reins at Lordz as TM.
After Lordz released their 1st video, Conspiracy in 2001 and began to film for what would become the legendary They Don’t Give a Fuck About Us (’03), the team had grown to include global superstars like JB Gillet and Bastien Salabanzi. Interest in the European skate scene—the plazas in Paris, Lyon and Barcelona, and the brands and skaters was rising like never before.
The powers that be at Lordz decided to try their hand at footwear. Nao explains, “We launched Aeon in 2002. It was an independent project funded through personal investment. The founders, along with a Swiss businessman, provided the initial backing. After a few years doing Lordz and Puzzle, we had some real momentum. Aeon, as a footwear brand, felt like the right project to build an even larger business that could help European skateboarders envision a real career without having to move to the US. That meant a lot to many European skaters, so it felt like a meaningful way to move forward.”
The vision of the brand in Nao’s words, “Style, style, and tech. With Alex Carolino, Franck Barattiero, William Phan, and, in the very beginning, Flo Marfaing, we had the dream team we wanted to build around. At that time, Parisian skateboarders’ expectations in terms of style and inspiration were slowly drifting away from US influence. This shift was already visible in clothing, and we were convinced it would happen with footwear as well. The plan was to create a European-style clothing line alongside shoe designs that would introduce something new.”
Aeon rider William Phan, kickflip shifty, Barcelona, 2004. Ph. Sébastien Michelini.
Aeon quickly ran into some difficulties. Nao elaborates, “The main challenge was skate shops. They were already under pressure from the pre-order system established by big brands, which shifted much of the financial risk onto them. Many were genuinely supportive of European brands but simply didn’t have the resources to follow that vision. They had to go with the flow, and shelf space for shoes was limited.”
In addition to challenges with cash-strapped shops, Nao identifies the second major hurdle was the early stages of the digital transformation. He explains, “It was already clear that this shift would be bold and revolutionary, but the infrastructure and mindset weren’t fully there yet. We didn’t fully execute the digital transformation we had envisioned. If we had, the value and trajectory of the project could have been very different.”
What does he see lacking still in the skate footwear world today? As Nao sees it, “The perception of what a ‘typical’ skate shoe is hasn’t really evolved in the past 20 years. Companies like DC did groundbreaking work back then, but since the early 2000s, many brands have imported styles from other segments instead of reinventing the core skate shoe identity. Years of this approach have led to a lack of desirability and excitement around skate footwear in general. For something as creative and inspiring as skateboarding—that’s a missed opportunity.”
Fishing Lines founder Michael Mackrodt, frontside feeble grind, Berlin, 2025. Ph. Friedjof Feye
Fishing Lines (Est. 2020)
As the saying goes, necessity is the mother of invention. When longtime European pro Michael Mackrodt found himself without a job or shoe sponsor overnight in 2020, he picked himself up, dusted himself off and decided to make his own skate shoes. Michi explains, “I had plenty of shoes from my former sponsor left, but didn’t want to advertise the brand with this much purchasing power for free. So I made some shoes just for myself at first. But after a short time, the factory didn’t want to produce only a couple of pairs, so I decided to make a small series.”
Officially established in 2020, Mackrodt’s Fishing Lines is now an independent skater-owned shoe brand and also
a one-man band of sorts. “I do everything myself except the manufacturing. Everything is fully independent, made through skate connections from previous trips, friends or friends of friends that all skate.”
Mackrodt’s foray into the footwear world began almost 20 years ago, when the Element shoe program he was riding for at the time had folded. On a whim, he ordered some sample shoes from a former skate pal in Shanghai to try them out. As it turned out, he was approached by Nike SB not long thereafter and offered a new contract. He left his own experimentation on hold and took the $woosh. Still, a seed had been planted.
Fishing Lines sketches, 2022. Ph. Michael Mackrodt
By the time Nike pulled the rug out from under him in 2020, he was ready to plant his own tree, or perhaps more aptly—bait his hook and cast his own line. Through a skate connection, he found a small manufacturer in Kosovo—ordered outsoles from Italy that were then assembled by hand. Things were moving in the right direction. However, the manufacturer then went out of business due to Covid. Going back to the drawing board, Mackrodt then tried manufacturers in Portugal, France, Germany and Italy. All were either too expensive, couldn’t produce what he wanted, or wouldn’t produce small numbers.
Giving up on the EU, he tried Tunisia. Still no luck. Running out of options, he finally reached back out to the same Shanghai connection from decades back, who was now operating in Hong Kong. A few weeks after sending over his designs, he received photos back of samples that looked very much in line with his vision. Putting up the last of his remaining funds, Michi pulled the trigger—ordering two models in three colours and Fishing Lines was born.
What is his biggest challenge today? Michael replies, “The biggest challenge for me is sales. I‘m not a good salesman. Maybe too introverted to ‘sell the dream’ (laughs). But tax and shipping are also a pain. There are always things you can do better.” Asked what he felt was missing in the skate shoe realm, Mackrodt is clear, “There wasn’t anything missing besides soul and genuine respect for the riders. At least that’s what I felt. The solution to that is simply more core skate shoe brands.”
LRAB rider Nick Rios, frontside pivot, Los Angeles, 2020. Ph. Matt Price
Last Resort AB (Est. 2020)
Pontus Alv initially made it in the skate world the old-fashioned way—by moving out to California and turning pro for Mad Circle in the late ‘90s. Yet, after a run with Arcade and a career that seemed to sputter, it was Cliché that offered him a landing pad back in the EU when he rode for the Lyon-based brand from 2000 to ’04.
While he famously quit (naked) in Bon Appétit and returned to Malmö, he had certainly seen Cliché’s success and retained the fact that operating a skate company was now possible from Europe. After his series of breakthrough videos beginning with The Strongest of the Strange (’05), Pontus founded Polar Skateboards in 2011 from Sweden and quickly became the leading skateboard company on the continent (if not the planet).
LRAB ad, 2020
In 2019, unhappy with the shoes he was receiving from his sponsor, Pontus connected with his longtime skate pal Sami Tolppi, who had already created a high-end fashion sneaker sold mainly in Japan. The two decided to pair up and launch a skate shoe brand by tweaking that existing silhouette. Almost immediately, Covid happened.
Sami breaks it down, “We launched in September 2020, our first pre-book was closed approximately a week before the pandemic, which made us question whether to continue or abandon ship. Since the reaction from shops and customers far exceeded our expectations, we decided to keep going. We wanted to show the side of skateboarding that isn’t necessarily performance-based—to try and capture the essence of what skateboarding is to us, which is feeling, style, and community.”
Jean-Louis Huhta for LRAB, 2020. Ph. Nils Svensson
Last Resort launched with the VM001 model and has since released another three silhouettes with low, mid, and high top options for each—including their pro model for Chris Milic. The brand makes no secret of its anti-corporate sports shoe identity, urging all skaters to “Break Free” from the soulless paper pushers as a “Last Resort”. Sami proclaims, “We openly challenge all CEOs, yes CEOs—not the guy running the ‘skate program’ of the big corporate brands—to a skate-off.”
Chris Milic LRAB ad, 2023
“We are 100% independent”, continues Sami, “Our inspiration comes from our collective memories and experiences rather than a specific source. Sometimes it’s from an urge to refine something from the past, or just do something totally different. Skateboarding needs independent alternatives—something where the energy comes from within. Then it’s up to the brands to present a compelling case, make products that are attractive and cool as hell, and present them in a context that makes you feel something.”
How goes the battle today? Sami replies, “We’re still here. We’re just getting started—thankful for all the support and trust we’ve been given from retailers and customers alike. I don’t think we would have done anything differently. We’ve followed our hearts and done things our way with integrity; that is all we can do.”
Village PM team, Paris, 2026. Ph. Martin Josserand
Village PM (Est. 2025)
From Basile Lapray and Bram De Cleen—originating in the French Alps, and now based in Paris, Village PM aims to shake up what they see as a ‘flattened’ skate shoe market and return skate shoes to their golden age of strong, unique, and innovative designs that set skateboarders apart from the mainstream.
With their first model, the 1PM in stores March 2025, Bram explains their initial motivation began about three years ago, “What launched us or what got us really motivated, I think, was seeing that people started wearing skate shoes like sports equipment—something you throw on to go skate and then take off straight away afterwards. That was a big signal for us. Like, ‘Hey, this never used to be the case.’ Maybe there’s something missing on the shoe wall.”
1PM development, Annecy, 2023. Ph. Matteo Challe
Simultaneously to their dismay with the current offerings in the market, Basile Lapray came from a background in footwear and already had access to a lab in France called All Triangles. “I used to work there, and they have all these machines to create footwear prototypes”, explains Basile. “I was close friends with Bram for a long time. We always discussed a lot of different things for hours, being such footwear nerds forever. At some point, it got more precise. Before realising we were already working on it, we were working on it.”
The initial 1PM silhouette—a shoe that looks nothing like the average skate shoe and takes much of its inspiration from outdoor footwear and climbing shoes, is neither vulcanised nor cupsole construction. Instead, Village PM uses what they call their signature Rubber Glove Construction to offer something unparalleled within skateboarding in terms of both durability and sensitivity. Since the initial 1PM model, Village PM has followed up with the 1.30PM
and just recently dropped their first mid-top.
With everything they do, Village PM aims to make it their own: “When it comes to ways of constructing, material choice, attention to detail, attention to volumes as well—our shoe is an actual unique offering. It’s not a remake or derivative — it’s an expression of our vision.”, declares Bram.
Village PM rider Jérôme Soussou, ollie, Lisbon, 2026. Ph. Alex Pires
Outside of the unique construction, Village PM takes its heart, soul and feel from the afternoon golden hour moments both founders remember from their youths growing up in small villages—most notably Wednesday afternoons when French schools give kids the second half of the day off. The brand sponsors a team that was unveiled in their inaugural video, First Times Are Special (’25), including Thaynan Costa, Joffrey Morel, Nico Gisonno, Logan Da Silva Ortiz, and Augustin Desiré.
Is it harder to launch a shoewear brand from Europe or France? Basile replies, “Right now, it’s pretty challenging with duties, tariffs, and all these crazy things happening, but I guess it also impacts American brands. Bram elaborates: “We never really tried to start this in the States, so we wouldn’t really know. I’m sure there are things that are challenging here that are less challenging elsewhere, but it’s good to do something from here, too. Being a Paris-based brand and being surrounded by everybody here has a lot of advantages too.”
1PM development, Annecy, 2023. Ph. Matteo Challe
Does it matter if a skate shoe brand is skater-owned? Bram replies, “We’re skaters, and we own this thing. So yeah, it means everything to us—definitely.” Asked to pick their all-time favourite skate shoes from the past, both Basile and Bram give a nod back to Pierre André. Basile picks the éS Koston 3 (2000) while Bram opts for the Emerica Marc Johnson 1 (1998). May this be the beginning of a new golden age.
