Features

When did you come on board with Hypebeast?

I officially started with Hypebeast on March 13th, 2007. Why do I know the exact date cause I still remember writing that first post for a pair of Fake London x K-Swiss shoes.

As Managing Editor what does your job entail?

It's mostly a glorified name for what is essentially a blogger haha. I'd like to step away from the mindless writing sometimes and work on more comprehensive and meatier things but at the end of the day, Hypebeast does rely on the blog as its bread & butter. But if I really had to go through some of my duties... content creation, organization of content, communication with brands regarding upcoming releases (for content/featuring), preparing features/interview, making a mess of the office, lacing shoes, the list is pretty endless. I don't mind putting my hands in a bunch of different things, and since we're a small team that's intern-less, there's often some overlap.

Given that the site’s founder Kevin Ma is only 26, I’m imagining a pretty young team at Hypebeast. Is it a fun environment to work in?

Yeah the office environment is super chilled and fun. Not to say we don't get shit done, but in all honesty work done in the office is just a fraction of what goes on. Internet-based jobs blow, whenever I'm on the computer there's always work to be done. When I'm wanting to go to sleep, somebody across the world is just waking up. However, the team itself is awesome, I spend five days a week with Season, Jason, Kevin and then still chill with them on weekends.

I rarely see the offices of others but I can only imagine this industry probably has some of the best work environments around, no Google but the creative/easy-going people make up for it. Sometimes this feels like high school all over again and before we got overloaded with stuff we played table tennis pretty frequently, at least a few times a day in hopes of one day destroying the streetwear world... hasn't happened yet though.

It is now truly the era of the blog site, with so many streetwear focused sites to compete with how do you think Hypebeast stays ahead of the game and differentiates itself?

Hypebeast is in a fortunate position having been among the pioneering crew which thanks to the work and dedication of Kevin has led to a pretty well-known entity. In terms of doing things to stay ahead of the game, I don't think that we actively set out to “change the game”. That would be rather unauthentic and contrived, we do shit ‘cause we think it's necessary or a reflection of what we feel is needed. I think for us, we've been successful for our diversity. Merging many different genres together on the same page (for better or worse, I'm sure some gain/lose brand equity) as well as incorporating other so-called “lifestyle” elements that aren't necessarily fashion and streetwear driven make for a good combination.

We're all getting older here and tastes change. We don't exactly forget about what got us here but there are soon endless bridges that go from what we all know streetwear to be that then follow mini-jumps into different forms of fashion. I think Kanye West has been a stunning example of this. His ability to go seamlessly from being Bape'd and Nike'd out one day to a well-tailored suit is a reflection of what we feel many people are taking out. There's no need to wear only one hat but rather have a diverse wardrobe.

Being based in Hong Kong has the concept of offering the site in Cantonese ever been considered?

We actually did have a Hypebeast China site up for over half a year and we kept it in its soft launch stages. But to be honest, China is one messed up market. Everybody is licking their chops at the prospect of entering this gold mine, but in all honesty there are some massive hurdles to concur. Our main problem was the lack of respect for intellectual property. Sure you get ripped off and jacked quite often in the Western World as well, but it really isn't as bad as China.

It's difficult to grow and justify continuing when all the hard work you've done is instantaneously copy and pasted onto a new site. They go as far as to cover up your watermarks... pretty ruthless haha. The market for China is there obviously, but to crack this nut is quite difficult. Many of the sites that are popular and do well have previous backings as printed media or incorporate a range of content including porn. There's no PornBeast yet... so we're shit out of luck for now.

What are the pros and cons of being based in Hong Kong?

Hong Kong has an interesting business mentality to it, and I usually give it an over-generalized theme that I don't think is too undeserved when it comes to how people approach everything. There's a certain hustler's mentality that I'm sure comes down to being such a competitive environment that is further promoted by many of society's extravagances surrounding you at each corner. But sometimes, I think that on a creative level, everybody seems to always be business first. I think the creative community in Hong Kong is sort of lacking ‘cause everybody sees themselves as competitors to each other rather than wishing to be a collective of individuals creating something together as a group.

If you look at other big cities like your Tokyos and your New Yorks, I have a feeling there is a more open agenda and everybody offers a greater opportunity to uplift as a team. Other cons to being located in Hong Kong include the fact Hypebeast has such a large US and North American readership, you always fear a bit of a disconnect knowing full well we don't hit up the US as often as we should. Everybody says how great the Internet is but it does have its glaring weaknesses ‘cause at the end of the day, the Internet is still a curated piece of work.

The real world is full of nooks and crannies that aren't always “uploaded” and featured on the Internet, there are things nobody will ever know about aside from a select few unless you go and experience it yourself. This is where personal interactions and getting your fat ass off the blogs and forums is advantageous. But going back to this disconnection and really missing out on a lot of real world action, nevertheless this hasn't seemed to be a problem yet, as I think that for myself being born and growing up in North America for 22 years of my life, there are still a lot of values and upbringings I hold strong to me that relate back to North America.

I'm not exactly embodying much of the traditional Chinese way of thinking that's for sure. For pros, a lot of people see Hong Kong as a destination city and a gateway to China before they do production, so we have had a few chances to meet a lot of people we perhaps otherwise wouldn't have. Going back to that hustler's mentality, it's so competitive here, you either get with the flow or get lost real quick. I think if you can work in Hong Kong, many other places will seem like a breeze. Being pretty much my first real job, I think being in Hong Kong has given me a good sense of work ethic.

Are there particular rules that govern your decisions on what is featured on Hypebeast and what is not?

It would be a lie to spew that “I don't care what others think, I do what I want to do” bullshit, as we've all but conceded Hypebeast is a media source where people come to check out many different things. We realize people don't like everything we put up and likewise we might not be super down with everything we choose for content. But some hard fast rules come down to presentation for us. It's usually pretty important to have high quality imagery but sometimes that gets done away and trumped if the news is “hyped” (I hate saying that).

If we can help it we usually prefer to photograph product shots ourselves. My philosophy is that yes, we're a product-based site and that if your first experience with a product is via online, you better make sure the product looks its absolute best and you answer any visual questions viewers might have. You really are trying to take the guess work out, you're doing nobody justice with sub-standard presentation. Your site looks like shit, the brand doesn't gain anything ‘cause their product looks terrible.

Ironically many MANY brands don't get this. On another note and previously touched upon, moving forward and with maturing tastes, some things  to me just don't really relate and have out-stayed their welcome. Real cliché concepts and themes such as half-naked chicks covering their funbags with a pair of Dunks is a little over the top for me as I reach the quarter century mark. I will never turn my back on graphic tees or sneakers but you have to realize I can't be well into my 30s putting up certain things... actually I'd rather not be blogging when I'm in my 30s haha.

Outside of Hypebeast what else are you involved with?

Unfortunately, Hypebeast occupies seriously a lot of my time. Once again ranting about shitty Internet-based jobs haha... Shit never ends it seems. But on a serious note, I definitely want to enter the realm of product creation. Enter a flipside look at things going from somebody who has continually consumed and critiqued product to somebody who is on the other end putting together what is hopefully a solid and well-designed product. I think as well it will provide another creative outlet.

Hypebeast at times is stifling, we're mostly objective in our tone and it really makes for some boring writing as you really just lay-out info that everybody can see anyways... and I'm pretty sure most viewers just look at the pictures anyways. But for sure applying creativity via product creation seems like an interesting and fun move. It won't overtake Hypebeast, but it will surely compliment the current situation.

What is the plan for Hypebeast moving forward?

We re-launched not that long ago and with a new lay-out and brought a new dedication to features. We had tried the features route two site updates ago, but were misguided and ill-equipped. On a personal note, I felt that looking at t-shirts and sneakers is cool and all but after looking at that shit everyday for god knows how long, I think I might actually be getting bored of that shit. In comes the features section which I feel will give us a great chance to highlight the individuals and brands from a conceptual perspective. Making something look fucking dope is hard enough as is, but if you can offer up a good concept as to why things are the way they are, that's essentially the full circle grand slam.

As well given the super fast pace of Hypebeast's front page, it was shitty when somebody offered their thoughts and insights only to see it swept into a wave of (relatively) less important posts and lost in the Hypebeast shuffle within 48 hours. Ultimately I'd much rather Hypebeast be known for more than just a glorified buyer's guide and actually present something to the culture. Something that incites ideas, thoughts and offers something people can read and take away some solid knowledge.

What trends do you predict in streetwear for 2009?

It's difficult to answer this question given a number of things. Everybody is on this grown-up shit and I concede that I've succumbed to it as well on certain days and more-so than ever I've been confused with the very cloudy and murky definition associated with streetwear. True- nobody shares the same thoughts, but looking at the current landscape, streetwear of the past was founded on rebellious youth culture. I don't see any of that shit now. The last and most prominent one seemed to be skate, but look at where it's gone now, straight ESPN/X-Games. It's not rebellious to be a skater anymore is it?

With the resurgence in workwear, will that be the new streetwear uniform? Can you call it streetwear? Blogs are now the biggest voice. All of the highly trafficked “streetwear” sites feature a core group of writers and founders that have essentially grown up and matured with the times. While streetwear was able to be nursed on the backs of these (at the time) new sites a few years, there really isn't going to be that same free lunch many brands enjoyed back 2-3 years ago.

Sub-standard labels will have a tougher time developing as a brand if they aren't making the cut and won't have the chance to break-out. You had more opportunity for exposure when nobody had a fucking clue what was up, but as people, both the people that are down with this stuff and the media get smarter, wackness can't thrive. As early 20-somethings a few years ago, bloggers connected with people maybe a couple years younger, but now, the gap widens and there is an obvious disconnection with the newest incoming generation. That free promotion isn't there anymore for these brands that delve in a different and “new-youth” inspiration. And with it comes a huge uphill battle that was easier in the past. Not to say that when you're 16-17 you should be up on the grown-man tip, but in terms of appeal to the older people that wield the “almighty” Internet voice, I see it becoming difficult.

Blogs are so niche that it can reach the right people who are interested in insane numbers, something you can't do in print obviously and there isn't exactly a streetwear channel. So I guess in closing, streetwear as you know it is going to struggle a bit or a lot as we see maturing/changing tastes. Of course I've gotten this far without mentioning the economy. Nobody is recession-proof these days, absolutely nobody. But... the cleansing begins so I guess that's the positive. It's like a forest fire, it's devastating but cleans out the weak and offers a chance for the great to rise up.

Any upcoming brands that you recommend people keep an eye out for?

I hate this question, I see way too much shit (and not all entirely bad at that) to be able to give solid answers. As well, seeing that it’s entering the spring/summer season, a season I hate cause I love outerwear which definitely sticks with me much better. I would say two of my favorites are White Mountaineering and Deluxe, both out of Japan. I admire White Mountaineering for its ability to combine a traditional and classic aesthetic with some awesome contemporary material updates. Deluxe was probably the most consistent brand for me of 2008. Every time my RSS refreshed to see their newest stuff, I was continually blown away. The stuff is understated but not to be confused with boring. Their detailing comes across as so natural and seamlessly integrated.

Don't front you already know where Hypebeast be at so even though we're giving you their link we know you've already got them bookmarked. If you're interested in following the travels of Eugene himself then go add him on Twitter.

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