What is the most entrepreneurial (new, innovative, creative) aspect of AsOne? What makes it different from the other surf/skate companies?
I think the fact that AS|ONE is pretty well received across the board from skaters to just plain people who dig artistic clothing concepts makes us pretty unique. Although I would definitely like to get the company to the point where people recognize the name or logo in passing, I am perfectly happy with people latching on to it just for their love of a certain design we put out. When I started I kind of shied away from putting to much in your face branding on the product itself. I felt that people would want it for the artistry, luckily people do seem to like it for that reason, but I have definitely come to recognize the need for brand recognition if we expect to see any real growth. I also feel that my choice to create something that will eventually be heavily involved in giving back to it’s supporters and the organizations that they are interested in will set us apart. I would love for AS|ONE to eventually have the kind of money that allows some of the bigger companies to act and give back on a more global scale. Something to work towards I guess.
When was AsOne launched?
- What was the original concept/goal for the company?
- Was it difficult reaching this vision?
Officially the company launched around September 1st of 2006. I had a vision to create a clothing style that would appeal to variety of different tastes and styles. In a sense I envisioned a brand that would stay neutral, never committing to being strictly a skate influenced company or a surf only style. I wanted something that all walks of life could relate to. What I saw was how influential the sub-cultures of music, art and the various action sports had become on the modern world and felt that if they could all work together towards a positive goal, it would create an unstoppable force. My decision to launch with the original 6 designs, donating a percentage of the profits to SurfAid International, that was the companies vision in it’s raw form. Unfortunately without the weight of a big brand new behind the idea it did not go over quite as well as I had hoped for. But as our brand becomes more well recognized that is the direction I see us leaning towards. Have we reached this goal yet? In one word, no, but I each decision I make for the company does in some small way have that goal in mind.
In your opinion, what is the typical growth of a surf/skate company?
That’s a tough question to answer. I think that most recently the most rapid growth in the industry has been realized in the skate, surf and snow lifestyle accessories. If you take a look at companies like Vestal it seems like they came up almost overnight. I think as actions sports and the lifestyle that comes with it begins to grow there will be more opportunity for companies that present a product that “completes the look” so to speak. It’s not just about a good pair of skate shoes or boardshorts anymore. This could be a good thing or bad thing depending on who you talk to. It is however hard for a new company to really break into the core of the industry that is still heavily guarded by those that are really out there diggin their heals in, skating or surfing everyday, not just claiming the lifestyle. I know plenty of people who own and operate small brands such as ours and are lucky to see the amount of sales in a year that a big company like DC or Quicksilver might see in a month or even a day in some areas. Overall though the industry, especially the clothing and lifestyle products sector of it all is definitely growing. New companies are popping up on the regular, but it will be interesting to see which ones can survive the test of time.
