"Once upon a time back in 2003, some guy called Mark Ong sat in his bedroom staring at a pair of all white Air force one's. He thought, 'Wouldn't it be great if I could take this simple, plain white pair and turn it into something entirely new?'
So he took out a paintbrush, mixed up some paints, and began to paint on the rather unlikely new canvas.
The painted shoe was surprisingly appealing and since it couldn't be framed and displayed on a wall, he decided to display it on the internet where it was received with a warm welcome and much love.
And so the first SBTG custom was born. "
It's been seven years since those first SBTG's were created on an Air Force One, and you could say we've come full circle.
SBTG grew from being just a one-man show to becoming a global brand. And Mark Ong expanded from being a solo artist into a design company known as Royalefam.
Sneaker customizing has gone from an obscure hobby to being acknowledged as a legitimate occupation as well as an respected art form. And the industry continues to grow and develop.
We believe there is room enough for everyone in the game, and our committment to our customers, supporters, and fans is to continue living our motto and Evolve Beyond Our Surroundings.
Here's wishing everyone a great new year in 2010!
Come 2010, Stussy will be celebrating their 30th anniversary with the release of a co-branded Ricoh GR Digital III camera. Ricoh, has previously never collaborated with a brand to offer a customized camera body in their cult favorite GR Digital line. Royal Blue seems to be the theme colour for the Stussy XXX Collection and the camera prominently features it on the shutter button, mode dial and lens cap. All the fonts on the camera have also been changed to the familiar handwriting of Shawn Stussy that has become a signature of Stussy and on the 3.0 LCD panel it features a XXX logo when the camera is shutting down. Limited quantities of this camera will be produced and will go on sale some in early Febuary 2010. Scroll down for detailed pics.
Just a short follow up from my previous post, This screen tee is exclusive to those who have been a part of The Sabotage Academy, Class of 2009. It has been a rocking year and we will be expecting more mayhem in 2010!
SBTG has came a long way and have definitely progressed way beyond my expectations. I still remember back in the days where I was painting in my parents kitchen together with Jean listening to Metallica. Who would have thought that it would have evolved into an academy?
Here in the SBTG Academy, our troopers will learn a wide range of useful skills to customize your shoes. It is crucial that our students are willing to explore the unexplored, to dare to take that step and believe they can do it. The SBTG Academy gives all a room to explore their creative side of the brain and to produce master pieces, no matter what the canvas is.
For interested applicants for our trial sessions, check back for more updates while we develop our course materials. We hope to see you here in the SBTG Academy.
I hereby declare the completion of Eileen Chan’s internship here at Royalefam. Taking full charge of the marketing, she has definitely kicked us up a few notches with her innovative mind and initiative. We know you have gave it your all in your time here and we wish you all the blessings the universe can provide, we will miss you dearly.
You will always be part of our family, Love,
Mark Ong & Fam.
It feels pretty damn awesome holding the pair of boots that the awesome guys at Lodger sent to me. I’m going to be customizing the pair and it’ll be up for auction for charity purposes.
It’s really exciting to be working on a totally new and different medium, and I can’t wait to get started on it. I feel like SBTG all grown up, from customizing sneakers to customizing handmade boots.
And man I have to say, these Lodger boots are PERFECT! Each pair of their boots are handmade and gorgeous. And the pair that I’ll be customizing is the Country Boot in a perfect shade of rustic tan. Anyway, check out the rest of Lodger’s collection on their website while I get back to work. Can’t wait to start!
The DJ AM Memorial Fund maintains the legacy of Adam Goldstein and his commitment to helping others struggling with addiction. Utilizing media partnerships to garner support and increase awareness, contributions will help organizations and projects committed to addressing issues of addiction and recovery.
While I was prowling through eBay today, I found a pair of SBTG customs on sale for the DJ AM Memorial Fund. It’s The Boulevard from way back! So if anyone is keen on getting The Boulevard, hit up the DJ AM Memorial Fund eBay via this link. Help donate, and all proceeds goes into the Memorial Fund, committed to helping those struggling with addiction.
These are the kicks I was rocking when I was in Auckland for the DC x Royalefam Circus of Mutants launch party, courtesy of the good guys at DC Shoes of course. This pair is the DC Life Admiral Sport ‘Metallic Silver’, which isn’t even launched yet! If you like it, be patient cos it’ll be available in 2010!
My kicks are even more awesome after my new buddies Renee Renee and Tru’fant aka Reuben Droughns signed it. Here are the photos!
On Wednesday morning, a bunch of us decided to go sailing! That was an awesome way to start off the morning, with the breath-taking view of Auckland and soaking in some of that sunlight! So the whole bunch of us boarded the American’s Cup yacht and set off sailing. Pretty damn awesome experience!
After lunch I had the honour of being interviewed by the WTV channel news correspondent, and I did the interview entirely in Mandarin. Check it out, if you haven’t seen it on the Royalefm Facebook page yet.
Then it was off to the Qubic store, where we finally got to catch up with our friends Frank, Ivy and Minky Moo Moo. They brought Sue-anne and I to go have the hokey pokey ice cream. No one should leave New Zealand without having a taste of the hokey pokey.
The highlight of my last day in Auckland was the launch party of the DC x Royalefam Circus of Mutants collection. The turnout at the event was overwhelming, it’s almost felt like my super sweet sixteen, haha! Renee Renee, my new buddy (who happens to be really talented), kept everyone well entertained and also hosted the programme for the evening.
I really love and appreciate the amount of hard work and effort put in by the guys who took part in the skateboard art competition. The amount of detail on some of the decks are mind-blowing. But of course, I had to pick the winner. The lucky guy, Gary Grouch, walked away that night a thousand bucks richer, along with a DC prize pack, and a pair of handpainted one-offs from me.
Thanks to everyone, our friends, fans and supporters, who took time off to come to the party. And of course, I’d like to thank the guys at DC and Loaded for making this trip happen, and for throwing such an awesome launch party. Big up goes to Jeremy and his team, for taking care of every detail and nitty gritty stuff leading up to the day of the launch, and of course the team from Loaded for arranging the meet-and-greet. Hopefully I’ll get to see you guys sometime soon, hit me up if you’re going to come to Singapore.
For now it’s back to work for me, more shoes and exciting new projects coming up. Don’t forget to get first-hand updates and stuff from our Royalefam Facebook page, and also you can get connected with the Royalefam crew via Twitter! If you have any cool ideas to share, or something you’d like to see us create, do let us know!
