INTERVIEW with Lakai Head Designers and Team Riders Eric Koston and Lucas Puig

Interviewed by: Matt Bauer Web Editor

Eric Koston:
Lakai Team Rider

What was your specific objective with your new shoe design?
Besides making something functional that looks good, my main objective was to out-sell the Osiris D-3. I'm still waiting...

Did you throw anything special in for the 10 year anniversary?
Yeah. I brought back my 1st shoe that I did eS. It's funny that a 12 year old shoe design with an air bag could actually hang in a market that's 80% vulcanized.

Any cool unique ideas you had that didn't make the final cut?
I wanted to make a skateable cowboy boot. You know, for skating and partying. It got shot down....don't know why.

How many pairs of kicks do you go through in a year?
I go through about 35 to 40 pairs in a year.

So if Lucas is secretly a professional soccer phenom what’s your hidden talent?
What secret talents don't I have??? Kayaking, curling, cross-country skiing, extreme jet skier, rock climber.....the list goes on and on. I don't want to be known as just a skater, I'm on some Richard Branson shit.

Lucas Puig:
Lakai Team Rider

What was your specific objective with your new shoe design?
I wanted a real skate shoe, classical and simple with a cup sole.

Did you throw anything special in for the 10 year anniversary?
I did what they asked me for, and for a 1st shoe I tried to do it right and don't think about fantasy.

Any cool unique ideas you had that didn't make the final cut?
I tried to a shoe like the MJ3 with a flared on the side and a little bigger tongue.

How many pairs of kicks do you go through in a year?
As much as they send me...

So you got to tell us the truth, the commercial for you kicks, fake or real? Are you the next Ronaldinho?
For sure I'm not the next Ronaldinho but I'm pretty good at soccer... just kidding.

Scott Johnston, Howard Lu and Amir Dia:
Senior Designers, Footwear

What was the process like when you picked the brains of Lucas and Koston for their ideas on the new shoes?
Scott: Lucas wanted something very similar to the MJ3, the shoe he was skating at the time. Eric’s new shoe really came from the brand manager (Kelly Bird). He wanted to see Eric’s first shoe with a better shape. The original was fresh but the shape was a potato. So we addressed an old style and tried to update it with a more current and sophisticated shape.

Howard: Prior to sitting down with Lucas, we knew we had to look to our history of classics because that's all what most skaters love. And Lucas was very open to making it more of a progressive design and our new technologies to make it skate better. So the process is taking their ideas and making a fusion of classic and new.

What is the priority in building a signature shoe, function or style?
Scott: Both are important. Style is almost first because that is what will help set it apart from the others. You need shelf appeal to stand out amongst the rest. Once you have their attention, now it’s time to follow up with function.

Howard:In term of a signature shoe, even though style plays a big part on how the shoe is selling. But I have to say to have the shoe function best will pay off in the long run. When the skater loves to ride his shoes to all events and to film his best video parts, that's confidence to all at its best.

Amir: Priority for Building a Signature Shoe: Bottom line for a Lakai Pro model is skate-ability.’ This has a two-fold definition, the first is literal; the shoe needs to skate well. The second meaning refers to the timing (shape, construction, details) within the market, and of course our team Pro has to approve all aspects of the design.

Did you use anything out of the ordinary for inspiration on these styles?
Scott: Not really for Eric’s. For me shape is everything so that is all I worried about for this style.

Howard: I always do some research on the side, not specifically for a project, just to be inspired by things around us like furniture, science projects, artifacts from the past, old posters, and youtube.... etc. They call me the surfer in this room. At the time, I was surfing and looking at 70s & 80s tennis rackets and looks; it played a part in the inspiration.

What is the smallest and largest size shoes you’ve ever designed/ produced?
Scott: I think the smallest is a men’s 6 and the largest is a 14.

Howard:I had designed a sandal called Slap which had been made from men's all the way down to a kids size 3 for Reef Brazil. Same happened to the Royal Elastic shoe Icon.

What pro has had the weirdest request on shoe design and what was it?
Scott: Carroll, can’t remember what exactly but I know it’s Mike FOR SURE!

Howard:They could all be weird if they're trying to do something new.

Amir: This award would have to go to Mike Carroll. He likes to do what I call Mr. Potato Head with shoes. . “This upper on a this outsole” sort of thing. . Our entire team has great input and a sense of what retails well. . We typically find a meeting point between their needs, and what sells. I think Carroll wants a shoe that syncs up with his iPhone and programs his Tivo, but our R&D department still has not come up with anything yet (laughing).

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