DC’S MASTER OF ALL TRADES

1990 was a curious year for Hip-Hop. While “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air” was serving up easily digestible, saccharine bites of urban attitude, Tupac Shakur was cutting his teeth touring with Digital Underground as a roadie and dancer. It was during this crucial moment in Hip-Hop history—one year before N.W.A.’s ground breaking sophomore effort became the first hardcore rap album to hit no. 1—when Compton’s culture began to infiltrate mainstream America. Meanwhile, a Caucasian skateboarder by the name of Ken Block, influenced by the burgeoning Hip-Hop scene and infused with a personal fixation on action sports, sought to single-handedly combine his passion for urban music with skateboarding culture and start a clothing company.

When he met fellow skater Damon Way at Palomar College, his motivation solidified. The two had a passion for snowboarding, skating, and style. They used their T-shirt silk screening class to start a company called “Eight Ball.” The name referred to a simple formula. As Block defined it, “Young adults with no money = cheap beer.”

Though the name suggests an appreciation for booze-inspired numbness to the outside world, Block and Way were intuitively in touch with their surroundings and the cultural zeitgeist of the moment. In fact, they were so in tune with skateboarding trends that Eightball developed a cult following in spite of the fickle nature of trend-driven, boutique clothing companies. Afraid of falling into the all-style-no-substance trap, the company produced the first ever “snow jean” in 1992, which used water-resistant nylon to withstand the rigors of snowboarding.

By that time, Block and Way had formed the spinoff company Droors (which was a play on the word “drawers”), and they used the company’s fledgling skateboarding team to flaunt their street-savvy style. With Colin McKay and Danny Way (Damon’s younger brother) as unpaid team members, DC found the perfect way to broadcast their homegrown aesthetic. Though their marketing methods were unscientific, the buzz was strong and the company’s cutting edge designs, along with the team’s charismatic energy, paved the way for more spinoff ventures. In 1993, Blunt magazine, which featured rapper Del tha Funkee Homosapien on its first cover, was born. The company also expanded into snowboard manufacturing, launching the Type A brand.

As their business ventures grew, so did the duo’s interest in creating a shoe. Like basketball or running, shoes were an essential component of the skateboarding world, and it seemed inevitable that market share could be claimed from companies like Vans. Dub Outerwear (no relation to the magazine) was created in 1994 as Eightball phased out. Introducing, innovating design details such as hand gaiters built into its snowboarding jackets, Dub continued the company’s trend of marrying street-smart style with functional design.

Blunt was sold to a company that was resold to Larry Flynt Publications, and it eventually folded. “They eliminated the publication because they intended it to be a tame ‘ski’ type of magazine,” explained Block. “Blunt just wasn’t that.” Freed creatively from the distraction of running a publication, but now armed with more publishing and marketing knowledge, Block and Way could now focus on their core idea: producing a skate shoe.

Based on a contraction of “Droors Clothing,” DC Shoes was formed as a style statement that incorporated practical construction based on firsthand skating experience. By outfitting their skate team in the distinctive kicks, DC used professional skateboarding as a venue in which the product could be showboated to its target audience. As the skateboarding team grew so did its exposure; by 1996, it had doubled, and in 1997, DC’s Super Tour assaulted Stockholm, Amsterdam and Frankfurt with its unmistakable style.

Once again bursting with aggressive growth, DC dug into yet another market: snowboarding boots. The DC line included the “Serum,” “Cortex” and “Lupine,” which debuted in 1998 with the newly created DC Snowboarding team. In the winter of that year, the company’s first ever catalogue was published as well. In addition to skating and snowboarding, DC also formed a surfing and a motocross team. Block described the lure of those sports, explaining that, “…individual sports are more approachable and possibly more enjoyable than traditional team or stick-and-ball sports. They also push athletes’ limits more than team sports do. Because both [co-founder] Damon and I grew up here in Southern California doing these sports, it was very natural for us to do a business that manufactures and markets shoes for these activities.”

In order to focus more effectively on the daunting task of catering to several sports, Block and Way sold Dub and Droors, choosing to concentrate on DC instead. “Once DC started taking off, we decided to sell off the other brands to World Industries magnate Steve Rocco so we could focus just on DC ”, Block says. “Looking back, it was one of the best decisions of our lives.” As the focus narrowed yet again, the innovations kept coming; Danny Way engineered the first Super Ramp, on which he set a world record for the highest air, and DC introduced PAL AB2000, a hybrid of polyurethane-coated leather that has the flexibility of leather and the durability of rubber.