Hailing all the way from the fantasy island of Mermaid Beach and tucked nicely into the sunny shoreline of Queensland, Sneak and Destroy are heating things up in the local sneaker game. Headed by mates Mark and Rob, the sneaker store prides itself on offering a stock list of brands not usually seen Down Under. Add to that a healthy dose of vintage apparel and kitsch vinyl toys; Sneak and Destroy are set to put fun back on the street map. One look at their new t-shirt brand, you'll get a quick idea into what floats their Sneakin' boat. We took ten out with the lads to crack a coldie and jive about the good old days and why they mack so hard on the freshest era, the ‘90s. Cowabunga!
Are we wrong to assume that Sneak and Destroy is the only sneaker joint in your area?
Yeah pretty much, there are a lot of skate/sneaker/surf stores around, but for sneakers and sneaker culture clothing we are pretty much it until you hit Laced in Brisbane.
Has this been great for business?
Yes very much so. The Gold Coast scene is small but like everywhere the general civilian wants something that everybody isn't rocking. We bring brands to the Gold Coast that no one is doing and probably never will.
What a dope selling point! When did S&D open and how have you maintained that loyal customer base?
We opened about 15 months ago, right when everyone thought we were GFC mad to. It worked out good as we have grown through the worst time for retail in not only Oz but in the world.
Considering the heat up North, what's the standard look for street-loving Queenslanders?
The wrong conception is that the G.C. is hot all year round. Basically the weather between March till November is very nice. You get away with wearing jeans in that nine-month period so any footwear and clothing is viable. It's when you get to the summer months that it is a problem. Forget about jeans, in fact, you're cutting them off and wearing Vans eras and Air Max period.
Hells yes! You guys stock a lot of product not generally available so easily Down Under... can you give us a run down on the brands you stock and just how you choose what hits your shelves?
Footwear - we cover three bases needed: Everyday crew = Vans, the fresher consumer = Nike, and the skater = adidas Skate. Next year we're stoked to be throwing New Balance and Huf into the mix as well as heading into Vans Vault. As for clothing we try to stock brands that have fun with their ranges. The G.C. is very much a tee and cap kind of place and the market is flooded so we hunt for stuff that isn't in every surf/skate shop. We stock a massive brand mix which include Huf, DQM, Acapulco Gold, Anything, Diamond, Dissizit, Only, Lower, 10 Deep, Mishka, Undercrown, The Hundreds, Capital, Rocksmith and Carhartt. As well as doing Australian brands such as Supply, Domestique, Grand Scheme and our home brand ‘Sneak and Destroy' that has been received really well. We also dabble in Casio and are lucky enough to have an Oakley Frogskins account.
What's the obsession with Starter and ‘90s sportswear?
I guess it started with growing up in the ‘90s, skateboarding and playing basketball. Everyone thinks that the ‘80s was the time of this gear but it was the early ‘90s that the real good stuff was produced. We love the hunt of finding dead-stock gear and being able to sell it to people that once rocked it 15-20 years ago. The ‘90s (even if you didn't grow up during that period) was the best, not only in clothing and footwear but in movies, comics, toys, music and sports. Vintage snapback caps from this period have become a solid part of the store now. We hunt down NBA, MBL, NHL and NFL caps of the '80s and '90s. We chase down brands like Starter Cap, Sport Specialities, The Game, New Era, Logo 7 and more. Of course everyone wants a Raiders Cap or Bulls Script logo cap so they are getting more rare with each sale, but we have a ton of others from traditional logos to super wacky colourways.
Did this influence the Sneak and Destroy tee-shirt brand?
Very much so. Our tees are more of a reflection of what is missing in the market place right now. Things have gotten very serious lately and we are basically making tee graphics that other people once did, but putting our own swing and mashed up colourways to them. We love bright colours and a good throwback.
Tell us who's involved in the S&D clothing label?
Just us two (Mark and Rob) and we are fortunate to have two graphic design friends who interpret our concepts and then do the graphics for us.
Are there plans to expand on a national or even international level or will you keep it grassroots for now?
Grassroots for now, we are however looking at putting a small store on our website soon to sell our tees and vintage caps. We get a lot of love from interstaters (and Kiwis) so we ship to people all the time. Over the next year an online presence seems like the natural progression.
Oh before we leave, how was the response to S&D at the BNE Swap meet? Make a few new fans?
Yeah it was rad to meet up with people who knew about the store, and especially meeting people that liked the sense of humour of our blog. Some guys would just launch into a discussion about a post we did, it was kind of flattering I guess. We sold some stuff and bought some more. It's a mellow crew here in Queensland, all the stores get along and have a joke with each other.
What's up next for Sneak and Destroy?
Gearing up for our summer months, we will release our third pair of our sunglasses, we are working on releasing four new tees a month from now on and hopefully working with some of our favourite shops and people around Australia for some funny collaborations. We're also planning our new cut x sew program for S&D winter apparel. We will be doing our second sneaker art show ‘One Offs' before the year's end. Last year's party was epic, with a variety of excellent artists (from graff to tattooists and musicians to big brand art departments) doing their spin of custom kicks. We also hired a KISS cover band to play out the night, too funny. Overall basically having fun selling quality footwear, good printed tees and embroidered caps. We know it's not really ground breaking or life changing stuff, but at the end of the day we just having a lot of fun doing what we do.
Thanks fellas!
