DEFGRIP INTERVIEW

Defgrip have been one of my favorite BMX sites ever since I first found out about their site. I got at Harrison for a little Q & A:

1) When did Defgrip start and what was your goal in starting it?

Defgrip started as Deathgrip maybe three and a half years ago. Rich and I wanted to do some sort of fun creative project outside of the projects we were involved in at the time. We started working on ideas right when I was starting school and right when Rich was starting Lotek. We had a bunch of concepts, but nothing panned out. Two years later, I had graduated school and starting working full time at a design firm in Seattle. Rich and I would always send random stuff back and fourth and were always on the phone talking about ideas and things we had seen we were psyched on. I just thought, why not put this all down somewhere and start a sort of creative hub for BMX. So I just put a blogger site together and started posting on random stuff.

The goal, at the time, was to just put together a site for our friends and see what happened. We would talk about our future goals, but at the start it was really unclear where the site would go.

2) Who is involved in Defgrip?

Its Me, Rich Hirsch, Nuno Oliveira, Mike Ardelean, Andrew McMullen, and I’m typing this before its up on our site, but we are adding a UK contributor, James Fairbank, the Carhartt TM, to help out and keep us connected with Europe a bit more.

3) How long have you been into streetwear/sneaker culture and how did you get into that?

I’ve always been into clothing and shoes. I was super into sneakers when I was a kid... All my friends had Jordan's, but I was just rocking shoes from Fred Myers just cus my parents weren't into spending a hundred bucks on some shoes for a 8 year old... But the first shoes I really wanted and got were Reebok pumps, then probably Adidas Sambas... So I guess when I was still in elementary school, I had a think for sneakers. Thinking about it now... I had some dope shoes when I was little.

I definitely got more into the whole culture as I got older... Buying more shoes and following brands more closely. I only really went through a year or so where I got a lot of shoes. I’m still into kicks, but more Vans and Converse these days.

4) Do you feel like the BMX world is getting a lot better in terms of presenting actually fashionable fashion choices to kids? Is BMX still way behind?

I definitely feel BMX is catching up. People are dressing well, companies are investing in their image, and just overall BMX is looking so much better. If you open a magazine from three years ago and you open one today, you’ll see a huge step visually. Photos are better, typography is cleaner. I was just looking at the 2006 Transworld Media guide and Edwin is on there in some Evisu’s... You think you would of seen that three years ago? Nope.

5) What kind of reaction have you gotten with the site since you started it?

The reaction has been incredible. Nothing but positive feedback. When I was just running it off Blogger, I wasn’t checking stats, so I had no idea how many people were checking the site, but as soon as I moved the site to its own server, I was able to check and I was blown away. Its also crazy because a bunch of times we have posted on non-BMX stuff and the people we post about comment on the site or drop an email to say thanks. The internet is NUTS!!

Make sure to bookmark Defgrip.

You can comment on this post by clicking here.