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I know you're a skater, and I can see references to classic vintage skate graphics in the Dunk project and some of your other work. For me, I think it was skating that got me interested in design & clothing in the first place - do you think your skating background informs the way you create graphics?

Yeah definitely. Skating will always play a part in my work at some level. I was never that great on a board, and now I find I have less time to do it. Maybe that's why I concentrated on the graphic side more, but I have many influences that boil down in my head and then spill out on the page. American culture is the main influence, with many offshoots that formed later on.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Does living in London have an effect on your work in graphics & streetwear? With the "Plates of Meat" custom AF1s you used a uniquely English concept even though both burgers & sneakers are primarily associated with the USA...

I really enjoy living in London now, but as a kid I always wanted to live in the States. They had everything I wanted. As much as I love it though, I can't rely solely on America for influences, as we've all seen them before. I try to mix them with my English roots and my realization that America isn't this amazing haven I had perceived as a kid. I try to stay true to my surroundings and make work that I can identify with, and that possibly shows a little of my identity. For instance some of my friends reckon I speak with a cockney accent, and the "Plates of Meat" customs were based around the cockney rhyming slang for "feet". Also it's almost an anti-custom against airbrushed graffiti, and poking fun at the whole custom culture.

 

 

 

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