I got a chance to kick it with Todd Askins of Shmack. We chopped it up a bit, check out what he had to say.....
Above pic from left to right Frankie (Shmack head designer), Todd (Shmack), Leland, Chris (both from Garage Works/ Made by Monsters in HK)
What did you want to be when you grew up as a child?Grew up in the slums of Lynlier, (The hardest upper/middleclass neighborhood in VB) we had to walk to school up hill both ways.
What was it like for you growing up in VA?It was good. It’s a melting pot of rednecks. Nah, since we have a huge navy base here we get influences from all over. Most of my days after the womb were spent in the back yard on the mini half or at the beach surfing. I was never a team sport dude, so I gravitated to the individual sports.
I was lucky to have that in my life it kept me out of trouble until 12. Then I went on a tirade of court cases, institutions and treatment centers.
How was it to grow up with a pilot as a father?It was dope. I got to go around the world and see all of the things I read in school. I was a lucky kid until I had my flying privileges revoked when I was 18 for……….(that another story, saving it for my memoirs)
Being able to travel at a young age I was able to broaden my perspective on things. It let me see how lucky we are to live in the USA were anyone can start a tee-shirt brand.
Naw, but my pops was cool father and a great role model. (The smartest guy I know)
What are some of your favorite spots to hang out in VA?Virginia Steak house. (Best meal in the world
Chicho’s on 22nd and Atlantic; A dude just got killed there the other night? Crazy shit
Her bedroom
Flipper McCoy’s
1st street
What was your major in college and what is your degree?BA business administration
I remember when you had the little Red Bull truck zipping all over the place. How did you land the Red Bull job?Fresh from college, my friend hooked it up. Easiest job around. All the people I worked with were funny as hell. I would dip from work for like 3 hours to go surfing, pick up tees form the printers or deliver some Shmack. It gave me tons of freedom to work on my side hustle. Oh and it’s the only job I’ve been fired from. But I got a severance package and unemployment= a Tacoma truck.
How long have you been doing Shmack and where did you get the name?It’s been around for 5 years now. But Josh Malbon and I started another brand while we lived in D.C. called Haute. We made some shirts and deconstructed jeans but never sold anything. I was trying to finish school and josh was busy selling him self on the corner.
While we were going over names I was in Daytona at the 500 necking out. I called josh to do some Logos or treatments for Smack. In his drug induced state he thought I said Shmack…….And there you have it. We checked the Trademark site and no one had that as a mark. So we stuck with it. Josh is much better now thanks.
How do you feel the brand aesthetic has grown and what differentiates it from other brands?(The only thing that is constant is change) Man it’s changed from the start. Shmack is a reflection of me and my environment. We try and never reuse the same designs (we do have a few that we run more than once). I know some companies do it often and it helps to reinforce your message to the customer.
For us we just try to keep evolving to keep things interesting.
We always try and give the customer more than they ask for. Some of these companies should be wearing masks, cuz they are robbin people blind. But that was then and this is now. The Hype is over and customers are getting back to there sense. From the start we always wanted to be at a reasonable price point and offer the best fabrics, quality and packaging we could for a fare price. We have to be conscious of this because a good portion of our accounts are skate/surf shops. Most of those type brands are doing dope shit at a reasonable price.
Another thing that separates us from the pack is for the past 2 years we have been making lifestyle products. We started with denim in ’05 then now we make shoes, watches, bags and whatever else that makes sense.
How does VA beach influence your design style?We have a nice life down here. Yall city folk wouldn’t understand. Lol But for real I have this debate often. We are pretty much by our selves down here and so we don’t have other influence (good or bad). I think by being away from the cities we can percolate on other subject matter. But I will say we don’t have the level of style or fashion the major cities do. We travel often to get perspective. But I love VA and I love the fact that at lunch we go surfing for an hour then come back to the office and grind.
What is your prize pair of kicks in your collection?A pair of Keds that are painted like the old #43 NASCAR
Who will you be 10 years from now? Still in my parents house
Drop a jewel for the people that want to start their own brand.Just start. Everything else will come
Tell a friend to tell a friend so we can BUILD!!!
Labels: CLOTHING, LYNLIER, PILOT, RP55, SCHMACK, SHMACK, SNEAKERS, STREETWEAR, TOD ASKINS, TODD ASKINS, VIRGINIA
