Lakai Limited Footwear


Lakai Limited Footwear is an American footwear company based in Torrance, California that creates shoes designed for and inspired by skateboarding. Lakai was founded by professional skateboarders and Girl Skateboards co-founders Mike Carroll and Rick Howard in 1999. Lakai Limited Footwear is part of the Crailtap Distribution along with companies Girl Skateboards, Fourstar Clothing, Royal Trucks, and Chocolate Skateboards.

History

Beginnings

Both Carroll and Howard decided that they wanted to make a contribution to the skate footwear industry by founding their own company rather than being sponsored. One night in April 1999, while at Largo Comedy Club in L.A., Tim Gavin proposes an idea to Rick Howard about starting a new shoe company. After talking to Mike, they decide to partner up with Podium Distribution to launch Lakai Limited Footwear.
In August 1999, Mike contacts Cairo Foster and asks him if he'd like to ride for his “unnamed” shoe company. When he calls to quit, Cairo can only tell his current sponsor “Mike Carroll asked me to ride for his shoe company, that’s all I know”. After hanging up the phone, he confidently becomes Lakai's first official team rider. In the next couple of months Andy Jenkins hires designer Andy Mueller to develop a logo for Lakai, which later becomes known as the “Flare”. Andy Mueller moves to L.A. shortly thereafter to become Lakai's art director. Anthony Pappalardo, Rob Welsh and Jeff Lenoce agree to become Lakai's first batch of amateur talent, earning a whopping $250 per month, and in November 1999, Scott Johnston decides to leave his current shoe sponsor D.C., making him the final rider on Lakai's introductory team. Kelly Bird is also officially hired as Lakai's team manager. By May 2000, the first line of Lakai shoes are delivered to shops worldwide.

Additions, First Pro Models, Changes

In June 2000, after filming together for Tranworld's Modus Operandi, Mike Carroll decides that Brandon Biebel has to be part of Lakai. In April 2001 Scott Johnston's debut pro model is released and Danny Garcia joins the team. In November 2001, JJ Rousseau becomes Lakai's first official European rider, laying the foundation for what will eventually become The French Connection. In March 2002, after waiting for almost a year for his existing shoe contract to expire, Lakai welcomes Marc Johnson to the team. His first pro model comes out a little over one year later. Cairo Foster's first pro model comes out in December 2003. In January 2004, Lucas Puig and JB Gillet join the team, officially forming The French Connection.
In May 2004, the first ever co-brand shoe with Girl Skateboards is released, paving the way for several more notable collaborations. Among them, The Art Dump, Dominion, Wrench Pilot, The Quiet Life and Where the Wild Things Are Series. In May 2005, Guy Mariano joins Lakai after a long hiatus from skateboarding. Jesus Fernandez also joins the team, as well as Brits, Nick Jensen and Danny Brady, who were dubbed as The Royal Family. In September 2005, Alex Olson, son of veteran pro skateboarder Steve Olson, becomes Lakai's first amateur in almost five years. After months of speculation Eric Koston joins Lakai in May 2006.
In July 2006, Danny Garcia is the first skateboarder to leave Lakai, and moved onto his next shoes sponsor, éS Footwear. Mike Mo officially gets announced as AM in August 2006, and Guy receives his first pro model shoe. Eric Koston's pro models release in December 2006. In January 2007 - Scott Johnston joins the Lakai design team, beginning his transition from professional skater to footwear designer. Johnston told ESPN: "... that was my plan, to end on a good note and not bleed this career dry the way some guys do by not letting it go. Skating was so good to me, and I want to be good to it and not be one of those guys that won't go away. I still skate, I don't need to get paid for it, though." In May 2007, Brandon Biebel's first signature shoe is released and in August, Independent Trucks partners with Lakai to release their first footwear collaboration ever, the Koston Select / Independent Limited Edition. In November 2007, Lakai's first full length video, Fully Flared is released.

Post-Fully Flared Era

In March 2008, Alex Olson and Anthony Pappalardo make the decision to part ways with Lakai in pursuit of footwear opportunities with, Vans, and Converse CONS. In the following month, Vincent Alvarez becomes Lakai's newest AM. Lakai celebrates their 10-year anniversary with a special catalog showcasing the history of the brand. Eric Koston is next to leave Lakai, in pursuit of sponsorship with NIKE SB. A skit in the same vein as his Lakai introduction is made as a send off for Koston. In 2010, Lakai introduces Riley Hawk, Daniel Espinoza, and Raven Tershy as their newest AMs, along with their video introduction, AM I AM. In 2011 Lucas Puig leaves Lakai for Adidas. Sebo Walker is announced as Lakai's newest am with his clip in the "Carroll 5: Out of Control" commercial. Lakai leaves Podium Distribution, to join Girl Skateboards Distribution. Lakai wins Thrasher's King of the Road competition with 6060 points. This also marks Mike Mo Capaldi's last Lakai trip as he goes on to join DC Shoes in December 2011.

The Flare Era

After adding names such as Stevie Perez, Jon Sciano, Ronnie Sandoval, and Miles Silvas, a meeting is held at Spike Jonze's house in early 2014. Discussion is made for Lakai's next full length video, which would eventually be titled, The Flare. Throughout the filming for the video, the team goes through massive changes with riders such as Miles Silvas, Ronnie Sandoval, Brandon Biebel and most notably, Guy Mariano and Marc Johnson, leaving the company. Lakai Brand Manager, Kelly Bird, and Shoe Designer, Scott Johnston leave the company in 2015. Amateur riders such as Cody Chapman, Simon Bannerot, Tyler "Manchild" Pacheco, Yonnie Cruz, James Capps, Nico Hiraga, and Johnny Jones join the company, as well as veteran pro, Rick McCrank. The Flare releases in July 2017, unveiling Lakai's next additions to the team, Jimmy Wilkins, and Tony Hawk. Lakai leaves Girl Distribution and joins HUF under
Griffin Gass is later announced to the team in February 2018.

Videos

Similar to the other brands distributed by Girl, Lakai has received a considerable level of attention for its video productions. Videographer and director Ty Evans has been responsible for the majority of Lakai's video productions, followed by Federico Vitetta.

Australia Tour 2001

Lakai's first release was a quick tour video through Australia and New Zealand, featuring original riders, Brandon Biebel, Rick Howard, Jeff Lenoce, Anthony Pappalardo, Scott Johnston, and Rob Welsh. Also along for the ride was lensman, Ty Evans, team manager at the time, Kelly Bird, art director, Andy Mueller, and photographer, Mike O' Meally. Missing on the trip was Mike Carroll and Cairo Foster. Stars of the video include up and comers, Brandon Biebel and Anthony Pappalardo, showcasing personality and skill.
The video was released on VHS for skateshops only, and came with a zine featuring photos and interviews taken on the trip by Mueller and O' Meally. The video was later remastered onto "The Final Flare" DVD boxset as a bonus feature.

Beware of the Flare 2002

Lakai's second release was a much bigger production. A 30-minute tour video through Europe, introducing Marc Johnson to the team as well as a sneak peek of flow riders, JJ Rousseau, and Lucas Puig, who was eventually dubbed as the "French Connection" in Fully Flared. Although not all riders were present on the trip such as Cairo Foster and Danny Garcia, they were later included in a team montage at the end of the video.
The focus of the video was to document tour life, showcasing a behind the scenes look at travelling, injuries, packed signings, and a huge amount of demos. The video includes commentary about each of these topics, as well as demo and street montages. The video was shot by Ty Evans and Dan Wolfe, with photography by Atiba Jefferson, and was released on VHS in June 2002.

Fully Flared 2007

Lakai's first full length video, Fully Flared, premiered November 16th 2007. The video had an enormous amount of hype surrounding it, mostly due to high-profile riders being added to the team, such as Eric Koston, a rumored 13 minute Marc Johnson part, the return of Guy Mariano, and a release date that was pushed back multiple times throughout 2005–2007.

Timeline

Filming for the video started almost immediately after Chocolate Skateboards Hot Chocolate video. The first filming trip was to Arizona in November 2003.
In the Fully Flared book, that came with The Final Flare boxset, Marc Johnson explains the beginning stages of the video...
"It was kind of just known that we were all going to start this project. I don't remember a specific phone call. I didn't have any initial thoughts about the video. I didn't have any idea that it would turn out to be what it actually ended up being. Back then, in my mind, it was just 'we are working on a video.' It wad a lot more laid back. I'd just go skate with the bros and if you got a clip, you got a clip. The beginning was a lot more mellow..."
In February 2004 a handful of the team embarked on a trip to Barcelona and Mallorca. The goal was to have the video done by the end of 2005. During the trip it snowed, which the locals explained never happened. The team met up with European riders JJ Rousseau, JB Gillet, and Lucas Puig.
"The Barcelona/Mallorca trip was the first official 'oh this is really happening.' It was fucking freezing cold and it snowed. It was sick to have the whole crew there skating around. This was the first 'lets get up early in the morning, get down to Starbucks, blah, blah, blah.' You are just going and going and not stopping" - Mike Carroll.
In March 2005, with the original video deadline approaching, a rough cut of the video was made to let everyone know where they stand. While Marc Johnson already had 15 minutes of edited footage, others had as little as 30 seconds. It was evident that the team had a lot of work to do if they wanted to meet the deadline set for the end of the year. Marc felt embarrassed as if he was that guy, or that prick, that had the most footage.
A couple of months later, Lakai, adds Guy Mariano to the team after a 5-year hiatus from skateboarding. Initially, Guy thought he was just going to film a handful of tricks for the video as sort of a welcome back, but Ty decided that he wasn't going to put out the video unless Guy had a full part. Because of this, and the fact the rough cut didn't meet everyones expectations, the video was pushed to a 2006 release.
By the summer of 2006, the Lakai team had grown to an astonishing amount of 20 riders, the latest being Eric Koston. With the deadline quickly approaching, another rough edit was made at the end of summer. The team wasn't happy with where they were at, especially considering all the outside hype and pressure that the industry and fans were putting on them. Yet again, the video deadline was pushed to the end of 2007.
Well into the fourth year of production, the budget for the video is so tapped that the only viable option to close it out is with two vans, the open road, and cheap hotels. If there was one constant the final two years of production, it was definitely Motel 6. Riders quickly became accustomed to the Motel 6 tour life. Finding things like used condoms and cockroaches in their hotel room, living off gas station food, spending hours on the road, peeing in bottles, fixing spots, and staying up all day and night filming for the video.
"I just felt really bad when all the POP got out. Distribution bought all these cardboard stand ups, and these posters, and all this stuff. They were trying to pre-order it. We were running 'out now' ads. There were window displays. When I realized it wasn't going to the cutting room floor anytime soon. it was hard. Then I had to go back and say, 'we got to put another years worth of our marketing budget into this.' At the end of the third year, it was obvious what was happening with video sales. We were coming up with marketing schemes to help sell the video because we were convinced we were not going to sell any copies of this thing. We have almost a million dollars invested into this thing. It was hard math to justify. I was afraid it was going to saddle the company forever." - Kelly Bird
Towards the end of production, a timer appeared on the website, counting down the release of the video to the second. Alex Olson stated that he thought it was "the worst fucking thing they could do to us. It's like knowing the day you're going to die or something."

Ads, Names, Release Dates

In December 2004, Lakai's 60th ad, was the first to mention a video in production. The text coming out of Ty's camera read, "Another new video..... it just seems weird." It's a tribute to Carroll's infamous response when initially asked about the idea. The next ad with any reference to the video came about a year later in September 2005. The text reads "Another new video... get ready for the Heat Score suckas," thus sparking a long trial and error process of naming the video. In November 2005, ad #71 is released, with Scott Johnston's suggestion of naming it "The Full Flare." This ad comes close to having the chosen name, but it took another five months to evolve into the one that eventually stuck.
"I think we were on a tour kicking around names. Carroll was still trying to push 'Lakai or Die,' but no one was feeling that because of the Zero or Die video. Someone brought up the Beware of the Flare tour video, and I said, 'We blew it. That should have been the name of the official video. We used it on just a tour video.' Then I was like 'full length video. Full Flare. The Full Flare.' They were like all 'that's not too bad. That's a possibility.'" - Scott Johnston.
In February 2006, Ad #76, the name "Who Flares?" was thrown out. Ty was not happy about this and the working title "The Full Flare" returned. Next months ad was the first ad to use the triangular color prism that became emblematic for all Fully Flared branding. In April 2006, Ad #81 would be the first time the actual name of the video is seen. "Fully Flared" coined by Kelly Bird, which was a morph of "The Full Flare" title Scott Johnston had suggested.
The first trailer was also released, set to Whitey's "Leave Them All Behind." This song would become almost like a theme song for Fully Flared and was used for the main menu music on the DVD. In the summer of 2006 ads were released in magazines such as Thrasher Magazine and Transworld Skateboarding featuring the first of many premature release dates, this one in particular, stating it was coming in 2006.
In Spring 2007, convinced that the video would be finished, Lakai dedicated their entire spring catalog to the video. The inside had a mock editing timeline running across the bottom of every page. The first Fully Flared limited edition shoe was also in this catalog. Finally in November 2007, a release date is set and made public in Ad #102; November 16th. Ads #103-105 would also promote the release of the video.

The Introduction of High Definition (HD)

In 2006, Panasonic released the HVX-200, a HD camcorder with P2 technology. Quickly adopted by Ty Evans, the HD camera was met with mixed emotions. No one completely understood the concept of how this footage would be used in the video. It was sort of like a session kryptonite when it came out of the bag. The HD footage was later cropped to 4:3 to match with the standard definition footage. Most of the HD footage was used for b-roll shots such as riders dropping their boards, fixing spots, getting kicked out, or portraits. Some shots also served as alternate angles of tricks. All of the HD footage would later be compiled on the Blu-Ray disc of The Final Flare, shown in its proper format.
"At first Ty would use it for filming like a little filler clip, personality clip. So when it came out to actually film a serious trick, you almost felt like 'shit, I'm trying this hard ass trick and it's a little filler clip?' Which clearly it wasn't, but you know at first we were thinking 'if it's getting serious, screw that death lens on there and get in there close.' It was just that old mentality of the good old days of how we filmed videos. We didn't take these HD cameras too seriously in the beginning. Obviously seeing it in the end, it is the way things are going to go. It's a much better product." - Eric Koston

Release and Reception

The video premiered at UCLA's Royce Hall on Friday, November 16th, 2007, at 8:00pm. Along with the world premiere, came an international tour of premieres featuring Vancouver, on the 17th, London, on the 18th, Lyon on the 20th, and Tokyo on the 24th. The video received great feedback and won awards such as the "Best Video Award" at the 10th Transworld Skateboarding Awards. Marc Johnson went on to win Thrasher's Skater of the Year. Guy Mariano won TWS Best Street Skater, Best Video Part and the Readers Choice Award.. In Thrasher Mag's 2007 T-Eddy Awards, Fully Flared was Video of the Year, Guy Mariano was awarded Best Comeback, Ever, and Mike Mo Capaldi was Am of the Year.

The Flare 2017

The Flare, Lakai's second full-length video was released in July 2017, ten years after their first video, Fully Flared. Filming officially began in February 2014 after a meeting at Spike's house in LA. Throughout the video, there was massive changes to the team, both on the inside, and outside. This video would heavily feature the newer squad of up and comers, with appearances from the older dudes on the team. At the time of release, the only riders left from Fully Flared were Rick Howard, Mike Carroll, Danny Brady, and Jesus Fernandez. With Ty Evans, leaving Girl Films in 2013 after Girl & Chocolate Skateboards, Pretty Sweet, Federico Vitetta would take the lead role for putting the whole video together. Joining him was, Daniel Wheatley, Rye Beres, and John Marello.
The Flare premiered on June 13th, 2017, at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood. podcast was there to interview riders and people associated with the brand.

Team riders

Pro