How long have you been designing sneakers for and how did you get started?
Professionally, coming up on 3 years. I started out with adidas at the Brooklyn Farm. I was just posting my sketches on Instagram and reaching out to designers I look up to and eventually it led to an internship.
How important have internships been to your growth?
Very. Beyond teaching the physical skill sets that you’ll need to succeed in your industry, I think they definitely teach you many of the nuances of workplace interaction.
How have you gotten those internships?
Primarily through social networking. I’d reach out to brands and designers that I align myself with and put my best work forward. Always viewing the internship as a learning opportunity.
Have you faced any challenges in the sneaker industry? (any beef or situation where your ideas have been pushed aside)
Nothing I’d really call beef, it's not on-sight with anybody. As a young designer, I do sometimes feel like it’s easy to be dismissed because of inexperience. Everybody has times when a concept has been shelved. So as where I might not be getting a shoe into production, I’m still learning from the feedback and taking it into account for the next project.
What projects have you been working on recently?
Been taking time away from working and just focusing on school. A lot of the sneaker related work I’ve been doing recently is just work I’ve been doing in my free time and for my own enjoyment. Professionally, I’m in the infancy of developing my consultancy and expanding it.
Where do you draw inspiration from?
I draw inspiration from a ton of different things, Ironically relatively little inspiration is coming directly from current sneakers, a lot of my inspiration is coming from artists and creatives working in disciplines vastly different from my own, architecture, film, illustration, sculpture, concept art, etc. I find that what I’m listening to at the moment has an influence on my work.
Lastly, anything you have planned for the future or near future?
Like I was saying earlier, my primary project right now is growing and solidifying my consultancy. I want to get away from contributing to projects as myself being a sole entity. I feel that I have a network of immensely talented young collaborators that can all contribute to projects and I want that dream to be realized in the near future.