Greg Dacyshyn - keepin’ in the mix
[ complete version of this interview you'll find exclusive in the printed issue 1 / 06 of stw2d! ]
Snowboarding has always been a lively topic
of discussion in the skateboard based streetwear industry. When
snowboarding first became popular within the skateboard and streetwear
community across the board in the early nineties, it was received
with mixed emotions. Granted, people had almost been snowboarding
as long as people have been skating, nonetheless, it didn’t
enjoy the same level of acceptance and respect as skateboarding
and bmx’ing did for some reason. Sure, skaters were laughing
it off because, well, the board is attached to your feet and
it and you when you fell, you landed in snow. Actually, those
arguments came later, and similar to skateboarding the first
heydays of snowboarding were just as optimistic as they were
with skateboarding. Great video’s like Day Tripper and 411Snow
were coming out and the general mood was one of excitement. That
didn’t last all too long though and snowboarding, by becoming
larger and more commercialised in every sense lost some of its
grass root respect unfortunately. As a matter of fact though,
the heads behind and in the snowboarding industry didn’t
really seem to care all that much about having the hype. Rather
than falling into that trap, as so many skateboarding and streetwear
brands did, the serious snowboard brands concentrated on continuously
producing very technical and functional equipment as well the
as the corresponding apparel, which, howeverthroughout the 90s
wasn’t exciting the streetwear industry. Ironically enough,
the story has really gone full circle in the last ten years.
Where the traditional skate influenced streetwear has stagnated
and become relatively boring, the snowboarding apparel world
has become ever so interesting and challenging. The demand for
more technical, high quality clothing has increased significantly
and with that the need for those products to become more fashionable
as well. No other company realized this and delivered those products
better than Burton and her companies, which include Gravis Footwear,
Analog, Idiom, Anon and Red. Each one of those brands has their
individual touch and over the years have set the bar in terms
of appeal and functionality. What is incredible though, is the
fact that all of them are being creatively directed by one person.
Greg Dacyshyn is the man behind all these brands. As Creative
Director he is responsible for the amazing products and all the
individual amazing collaborations that have appeared over the
years with all the Burton brands.
Where most people fail with one brand he has been more than successful
in catapulting each brand to the forefront of progressive streetwear
apparel and yet maintaining a level head and approach to the
industry which is seldom seen. We had the pleasure and honour
to talk to Greg about his role at Burton and the brands he works
for in this exclusive interview.
Steven: How are you doing?
Greg: Good, really
busy at the moment. I just got finished with an Executive MBA
which I did at Harvard, along with being Creative Director for
7 brands here at Burton. It kind of keeps me busy, you know.
It’s all done now, it’s crazy, I’m a Harvard graduate
now, man, never thought that would happen, but there you go,
it’s quite an experience.
What’s your background,
personally & professionally?
Ok, that’s kind of a long story. It all started with having
a real passion for product and apparel when I was a kid. I used
to go downtown between classes and after school just to hang
out in the shops, there weren’t really any sneaker shops
then, they were more like your classical sport shops. They would
get all the new sneakers in there, and we used to just fiend
over them, even then. I already had a real passion for product
then, starting with sneakers, not that any of my friends shared
that with me, for the most part they just thought I was crazy.
I remember when the first Nike Waffle Trainer came out, I put
those on a shelf when I got them like they were a prized possession,
same with the original Clyde’s, the early Superstars and
so on.
Going through High School that passion just developed beyond
sneakers and sporting goods into acquiring an eye for fashion
and without being properly trained just knowing what’s good
and what isn’t. I always worked in shops throughout that
time, after which I tried a year at university, which really
didn’t work out that well. I was taking some design courses
up at this place called “The Academy” in Toronto, and
then I took a major break from it all and worked with my father.
My Dad was, what was called then the impresario for the Soviet
Union’s Ministry of Sports and Culture. So the first project
I worked with him on was when the Moscow Circus came over here
in 1987. My role was acting as an intermediate between the KGB
and the local security throughout the tour, which for a 19 year
old who just wanted to hang out and party was pretty obscure.
Good thing was that I got to travel around the world and learn
how to interact with all kinds of people.
Throughout this time, I remained really in touch with the skate-snowboarding scene, and when my father passed away, I decided to move on and really do what I wanted to do. At that time, my good friend, who later became my brother in law moved down here to Vermont to start working for Burton as an in house sales manager. My wife and I were going to move to Whistler to snowboard for a while, and then this situation came up where Burton wanted to ramp up their Soft Goods line, after being a Hard Goods focused company for some time. I had always loved and been a huge fan of Burton and was stoked on the opportunity to get on board. So, I came into Burton at a great time when we started pushing the outerwear initiative and I started as a Product Manager when the department was quite small. I then started the first in house design department, after which I became Creative Manager and then Director of Soft Goods.
I just moved on from there, just showing what I could do from a design point of view, rather than just product development. I then took over Soft Goods as Vice President, and now I am a VP and Creative Director for all Burton Brands, so that’s Burton, Gravis, Analog, Red, Idiom, Anon.
Not really the most typical career but something that is quite
similar to a lot of other people in this industry, don’t
you think?
I guess not, but then you don’t really go to Parsons or
Harvard ( laughs ) to learn how to do this job. You grow into
it, from having a passion for the products from a young age onwards.
It really comes down to really knowing what people want rather
than imposing your own style on them, and that’s not really
something you can learn in school. I think listening to people
is far more important than being a formally trained designer.
I’d rather consider myself a good Creative Director rather
than a good Designer. I think that is the key to our success
here. We don’t design by committee; we work with our team
riders as much as we can, since they’re the best focus group
you can think of. They’re always in the mix, you know, and
especially in this industry, if you want to sell the dream you
have to live the dream. For me, obviously it’s cool to design
something that I like, but I really love it when I design something
for someone that I respect and they trip out on it.
Where do you get your inspirations
from and how do you keep them separate from each other, obviously
having to design for quite individual brands?
I think that is an issue for just about everyone who is involved
in the creative industry, that is, trying to keep being inspired
and producing fresh products and not getting stuck in one style
or theme. I think the key to being inspired is going out there
and talking to people and seeing different things to keep yourself
fresh, not just professionally but also on a personal level.
For me, a lot of that comes from all the travelling I do as well
as the fact that I never sleep and just love to go out there
and meet new people, always being in the mix. When I’m chilling
at home for the most part, I’m reading two magazines, while
surfing the net, with the TV on. The ease of information right
now makes my life so much easier because at any given time I
can find exactly what’s going on anywhere in the world.
The internet is just phenomenal in that way, yet, I maintain
that it will never substitute meeting people and experiencing
real life.
...
[ complete version of this
interview you'll find exclusive in the printed issue 1 / 06 of
stw2d! ]