Getting some Sole with a Brother named Chris...

While down in Virginia I had the pleasure of chatting with Chris of Solebrothers in Norfolk VA. His skate shop is one of the Tidewater areas dens of many well known streetwear brands. Chris' history is deeply rooted in the areas skateboard culture, and has watched local skating grow into what it is now,... a force that is helping to power an industry. Check out what this solebrother had to say...

What does VA mean to you?

I am way over Virginia, to many laws around here, and stupid ones at that...Va. is behind the times...they need to get up to speed.

How has skate impacted the youth in VA?

It gives the kid who do not like score board sports to have fun and be active..remember its all about having fun.

Are you seeing more skaters in VA now then when you were growing up?

I think back in the day skateboarding was not as big as it is today with all the x-games and Commerical's that you see out there today about skateboarding. On the other side back in the day Skateboarder's were more into skateboarding not fashion. Now you will see the kid in here that wants to match has shoes with his shirt.

Where are some places in VA to hangout at?

Club wise...I like Scotty Quixx's in Norfolk, any spot in Norfolk really.. VB is all hype.

How long has your store been in around?

3 solid years.

How did you come up with the name sole brother?

My co-partner came up with it.

What are some of the hick ups that you ran across with starting the store?

Not to much, mostly was getting some clothing lines, and money together.

What are some of the problems of running a store even with your tenure in the game?

Making everyone happy with limited amount of shoes, you know when a hyped shoes comes out, and there is only 20 total pairs to give out to the public..people get upset.

If you could roll back the hands of time what would of done different with your store?

I think a better location, the company (no names mentioned) that I give money to for rent are so against skateboarding, its not funny...must be to old to understand it. I would have also done this be myself, no co-partner..

What are some of the brands that you carry?

Your basic skateboard companies..clothing from Krew, Altamont, Fallen, Emerica, Volcom, Nike SB and from the streetwear clothing we carry Shmack, the Hundreds, Mishka, Fuct, Mighty Healthy, Upperplayground, and some new local companies Space Dungeons and BlackList.and for shoes NikeSB, ES, Emerica,Lakai, DVS, Fallen, DC shoes for now, and open accounts with I Path, Adio, and Cicra..

Tell us about the infamous Dave Chappell skateboard and how it came about?

Well i got a phone call one afternoon asking me if there was any way that i could make a board for Dave Chappell. She worked for the place that was hosting the show on Friday (it was thursday) and she wanted to put that into his care package(free stuff for him), I told her I think i can do something for her as I had a Solebrother shop board that I thought would be good. I also had a good friend of mine who is a artist( Jude Aurilio), who said he could get it done within 24 hours which is what was needed. If all this could happen within that time frame we could get some free tickets to the show (dead center, 4 rows back from the stage).It happened and the show was insanely funny...

How deep is your sneaker collection?

Lets just say well over a 100...

What brand and style takes up the largest quantity in your collection?

SB's of course, and a healthy amount of Jordans

How important is skate in the streetwear community?

Not to sure on that one, what has happened is that the streetwear community has embraced skateboarding!

What are some of the most influential brands in streetwear right now?

The 100's, Shmack, Mighty Healthy, and more but we dont carry them, so iam not going to tell..

What are some cool streetwear brands that you think are still below the radar?

Fuct..

Where do you think will be the next evolutionary step of streetwear?

Wow, thats a good question! I hope I am a part of it.

Drop a jewel for the kid out there that wants to spark up his own streetwear brand?

Business sense, business marketing in school and work in retail for a minute, so you know what people are looking for.


Tell a friend to tell a friend so we can BUILD!!!