The Skateboard Mag have a new interview with Daewon Song and Marc Johnson today who discuss their latest switch from skater owned brands to a billion dollar sports shoe brand. Press play for their own reasons why.
Tag: marc johnson
When the news came through Twitter that Marc Johnson had been seen in a new sports skateboarding video this week, we did ponder if it was true as his name as bold as the Eiffel Tower on the Lakai website.
Could MJ have sneakily cut a deal with a billion dollar sports brand after coating off their tennis shoes in a recent interview? Yeah, of course, because that’s sadly how pro skateboarders do their business today after long time friendships in the skate industry. It has become a joke, but today it became even worse.
Mike Carroll has just responded in a very open and cutting interview on Jenkem, the same site that ran MJ’s anti-sports brand rant a while back:
“I’m mad that he told me, point blank the night before the premiere, that there would be no announcements and that he would talk to his lawyer and we’d figure all that out. All the people that work hard for him, that design his shoes, the sales people, production people, the team – everybody that works for Lakai was there and for them to show up to the premiere and get blindsided like that… We didn’t do anything to him to deserve that. For them to find out that way? It just makes us look like fucking idiots, because this dude is a pathological liar. He couldn’t be man enough to tell me straight up.
The night before the premiere, when Marc and I talked, he could’ve told me… I would have been mad but at least he would’ve been honest and I could’ve called the team and told them instead of them finding out like that. He recently had things come up personally and I respect his privacy and distance. I’m just truly disappointed how he went about this. I’m curious to see what he has to say for himself. I can’t wait to see what type of lie he is going to say to justify his action.”
Read the full thing here but good on you Carroll, it’s about time people started discussing how these billion dollar companies are setting themselves up to ruin what skateboarders have worked tirelessly for. Choose skateboarding.
Lakai’s new drop of MJ’s now come in a wondrous leather version, part of their exclusive Echelon range. A shoe that is highly recommended for skating round these parts now performs off board for all the right reasons: They are leather, simple, comfy and look like perfection.
As someone that loves all these attributes in a skate shoe, these are probably the best chiller option out there right now, plus, if you were at school, you could easily sneak the black versions of these as part of your uniform.
Worn with cargo pants, jeans or chino’s, MJ’s latest smart pro shoe is a must have, especially in that dreamy caramel colourway. Roll on Lakai.
If you visit us regularly you will remember that last year when the canvas version of these Lakai MJ’s hit our feet there were some serious high fives going down. Not only has this simple, slim, comfy design moved forward, it’s become a skater’s shoe of choice worldwide.
This month Lakai have released an ‘all weather’ range for the winter months ahead and thankfully these arrived freshly boxed the day before a trip to Portugal’s stormy beaches. The good news is that they came back looking like they did when we left with them on, despite walking around on wet sand whilst we took photos of really bad surfing on 3 foot waves and avoiding puddles all over Lisbon trying to find skate spots. It tanked it down.
The oiled mahogany thing aside though, Lakai have produced a classic, timeless skate shoe that is not pretending to be some lame sports shoe copy, they’ve kept their class and delivered what we need; the shoes we skate.
Ask for them in your local skate shop, the one that really knows their shit – you’ll probably find Lakai’s full all weather range there that should assist you through the coming winter months.
The 3rd installment of Chocolate Skateboards’ 20 year Epicly Later’d series sees Las Vegas ripper Kenny Anderson in the spotlight discussing his admiration for Brian Lotti as he grew up skating for Chris Miller’s Planet Earth. Marc Johnson‘s journey to the sweet side also makes up half of this episode with tales of the Chocolate Tour, Evan Hecox’ classic artwork and portrait graphics that still remain a huge part of Chocolate’s identity for two decades.
If you missed the first and second episodes from this must watch series from Vice, scroll down and take all of this history in.
Chocolate pro Marc Johnson has new footage online this morning for his new Lakai pro shoe that is out this month.
Click for 2 minutes worth of Pretty Sweet ‘B-sides’ and take in that style. Once you have watched it, just imagine if your ‘b-side’ footage was as good as this.
More b-roll footage filmed for Pretty Sweet has made it to t’interweb over the weekend. Press play for extra angle footage that didn’t make the cut of Daniel Castillo, Justin Eldridge, Eric Koston, Alex Olson, Marc Johnson, Cory Kennedy and Stevie Perez.
You can pretty much tell straight away as your feet hit a new pair of kicks if they are going to be able to withstand the forces of nature that skateboarders are up against on a daily basis. Three weeks before my toes hit these new Marc Johnson’s, I was skating another pair of skate shoes that i’m sure were not even made for skateboarding, and just pushed out their to service the Dad brigade like so many are these days. Those shoes gave me a tasty heel bruise and didn’t have any cushioning whatsoever, but these new Lakai’s are the complete opposite, and enabled me to really have a crack at some new stuff due to the confidence factor. On first skate, straight out of the box, I knew I could run out of tricks and be confident that my heels were not going to be pummeled. The result, the best fucking sessions ever. Seriously.
I guess every brand has some sort of marketing chit chat to give their products but the Lakai people call it ‘Pu Shock’. It’s that crucial support needed, that’s derived from their design of absorbing impact through the sole. The last time I had a Pu Shock was back in 1991, whilst living in a student house full of skaters. The garage was housed as a dumping ground and had a blue bucket in the middle to host the eggs. The contents of this amassment were poured over a neighbours car on the eve of an LSD party that got out of hand and took the party to complete standstill. Confusion amongst many who were present was indeed priceless. Their faces bemused, disgusted and generally twisted like liquorice sticks.
Anyway, back to the shoes. These are by far the best kicks that have graced my feet this year and even come with a little Thrasher logo on the heel and KOTR branding on the tongue if you fancy the collab version. If not, they also come in various colour ways without. Put them on your Xmas list today.
See behind the doors of Marc Johnson’s gaff, where the trees sway in the wind and the books are piling up. Look out for the furry ones though…
The upcoming Girl/Chocolate DVD title has been announced today and it’s called Pretty Sweet. Get hyped on what will be dropping in November this year!
