Author Topic: "Last Resort AB" Pontus Alv on making skate shoes  (Read 55105 times)

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Frank

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Re: "Last Resort AB" Pontus Alv on making skate shoes
« Reply #390 on: September 18, 2020, 07:13:06 AM »
my local got em in and i will check em out tomorrow i think. but i might wait for another model to purchase tbh. would like to support, but just not too excited about the shoe. i dig the green ones a bit more, they are funky. i don't mess with yellow shoes, black ones are rather boring.

i don't know why but i have a feeling this model will look shitty and blown out in the front when worn in... it looks a bit stubby.

silhouette

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Re: "Last Resort AB" Pontus Alv on making skate shoes
« Reply #391 on: September 18, 2020, 07:20:24 AM »
@JohnOakley I appreciate you taking the time to try and break things down for me, although one wrong in your logic here is assuming that personally I'm not aware of all of the orchestration and fabrication already - I've been working in skate media for years and in skating in general for over a decade, so I'm aware of the system in place, I'm exposed to it every day and I can assure you your maybe's aren't just maybe's, a lot of professional skateboarding is a joke. That being said, I still do believe big logos are poor marketing and a short-lived business strategy (relying on mass culture trends as opposed to your specialized target demographic), so not a necessity. These days you have a clear dichotomy between what most big names in the industry are pushing vs. what the actual, daily skateboarder really wants to see, although those generally look content with just crumbs, they shouldn't and would deserve to get the real thing because why the heck not. It's pretty clear to me that Pontus is on that second boat, so it makes complete sense he wouldn't make logo shoes and repeat both the competition's designs and mistakes. Now I think why an everyday, non-sponsored skater would even care for seeing logos on shoes would be a better question to ponder and deconstruct (not a personal attack or anything, surely there has to be reasons nowadays but if you take a second look at each and every one of them you'll probably realize they're made in Vietnam too).

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Re: "Last Resort AB" Pontus Alv on making skate shoes
« Reply #392 on: September 18, 2020, 07:25:29 AM »
@JohnOakley I appreciate you taking the time to try and break things down for me, although one wrong in your logic here is assuming that personally I'm not aware of all of the orchestration and fabrication already - I've been working in skate media for years and in skating in general for over a decade, so I'm aware of the system in place, I'm exposed to it every day and I can assure you your maybe's aren't just maybe's, a lot of professional skateboarding is a joke. That being said, I still do believe big logos are poor marketing and a short-lived business strategy (relying on mass culture trends as opposed to your specialized target demographic), so not a necessity. These days you have a clear dichotomy between what most big names in the industry are pushing vs. what the actual, daily skateboarder really wants to see, although they generally look content with just crumbs, they shouldn't. It's pretty clear Pontus is on the second boat, so to me it makes complete sense he wouldn't make logo shoes and repeat both the competition's designs and mistakes. Now I think why an everyday, non-sponsored skater would even care for seeing logos on shoes would be a better question to ponder (not a personal attack or anything, surely there has to be reasons nowadays but if you take a second look at each and everyone of them you'll probably realize they're made in Vietnam too).

I'm with you here.

It's like saying that if Tony Hawk doesn't have Birdhouse tees on at all times, not everybody is going to notice his board, because it's upside down the whole time.... Hence no marketing?
The '80s were the worst period. You had these horrible pop bands growing their hair and calling themselves metal.

silhouette

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Re: "Last Resort AB" Pontus Alv on making skate shoes
« Reply #393 on: September 18, 2020, 07:27:10 AM »
It's like saying that if Tony Hawk doesn't have Birdhouse tees on at all times, not everybody is going to notice his board, because it's upside down the whole time.... Hence no marketing?

That actually might be a potential niche for a sister brand called qirdhouse.

Murge

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Re: "Last Resort AB" Pontus Alv on making skate shoes
« Reply #394 on: September 18, 2020, 07:30:21 AM »
At first glance those Larry David shoes looked like rowans.

JohnOakley

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Re: "Last Resort AB" Pontus Alv on making skate shoes
« Reply #395 on: September 18, 2020, 07:52:16 AM »
@JohnOakley I appreciate you taking the time to try and break things down for me, although one wrong in your logic here is assuming that personally I'm not aware of all of the orchestration and fabrication already - I've been working in skate media for years and in skating in general for over a decade, so I'm aware of the system in place, I'm exposed to it every day and I can assure you your maybe's aren't just maybe's, a lot of professional skateboarding is a joke. That being said, I still do believe big logos are poor marketing and a short-lived business strategy (relying on mass culture trends as opposed to your specialized target demographic), so not a necessity. These days you have a clear dichotomy between what most big names in the industry are pushing vs. what the actual, daily skateboarder really wants to see, although those generally look content with just crumbs, they shouldn't and would deserve to get the real thing because why the heck not. It's pretty clear to me that Pontus is on that second boat, so it makes complete sense he wouldn't make logo shoes and repeat both the competition's designs and mistakes. Now I think why an everyday, non-sponsored skater would even care for seeing logos on shoes would be a better question to ponder and deconstruct (not a personal attack or anything, surely there has to be reasons nowadays but if you take a second look at each and every one of them you'll probably realize they're made in Vietnam too).

OK, I get where you're coming from but it seems a like quite a little niche compared to how skateboarding has developed over the many years. Skateboarding is aspirational,  so are clothes for a lot of people. In the money orientated world we live in people aspire to owning a pair Nikes or Vans if they see their favourite pro wearing them. OR even without even seeing that - when you're a little kid who got bought cheap generic sneakers you aspire to the pair of Jordans or whatever the kids at school have got. You pay for that swoosh or stripe. I'd go as far as to suggest that the majority of skateboarders want some branding or graphics for their money.

I too have been into skateboarding and it's business for a looong time - long enough to remember sanding the graphics off my boards, peeling the stripes off my Gazelles and wearing a generic stripey tee 'cos that's what I saw in Love Child or whatever. The thing is, at that time the skateboard industry was tiny with nobody making much money out of it at all and we're well past those days. Now, in order to survive or go up against the big boys in the shoe game I honestly think that you need more than a blank shoe to stand a chance.

I'd actually love to be proved wrong of course - I have no vested interest in or real love for the shoe giants and love to see skater owned companies going for it - I'm just being realistic after having seen what's happened in skateboarding since I began, all those hundreds of years ago.

Pontus is a good guy and I hope this brand succeeds, honestly.  :)
"I'm not a gynaecologist, but I'll have a look"

jerrygurneyscream

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Re: "Last Resort AB" Pontus Alv on making skate shoes
« Reply #396 on: September 18, 2020, 08:22:20 AM »
Expand Quote
Almost pulled the trigger on the green pair until i realized its $25 shipping to the US smh
[close]

Go to the black sheep shop website, free shipping over $80 in the US. I got a black pair.
https://blacksheepskateshop.com/collections/latest
They ship super fast too.

every shop i check in the US doesnt have 9.5, its probably smart for me to wait for the highs considering i wont be able to skate the lows

silhouette

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Re: "Last Resort AB" Pontus Alv on making skate shoes
« Reply #397 on: September 18, 2020, 08:28:41 AM »
OK, I get where you're coming from but it seems a like quite a little niche compared to how skateboarding has developed over the many years. Skateboarding is aspirational,  so are clothes for a lot of people. In the money orientated world we live in people aspire to owning a pair Nikes or Vans if they see their favourite pro wearing them. OR even without even seeing that - when you're a little kid who got bought cheap generic sneakers you aspire to the pair of Jordans or whatever the kids at school have got. You pay for that swoosh or stripe. I'd go as far as to suggest that the majority of skateboarders want some branding or graphics for their money.

I too have been into skateboarding and it's business for a looong time - long enough to remember sanding the graphics off my boards, peeling the stripes off my Gazelles and wearing a generic stripey tee 'cos that's what I saw in Love Child or whatever. The thing is, at that time the skateboard industry was tiny with nobody making much money out of it at all and we're well past those days. Now, in order to survive or go up against the big boys in the shoe game I honestly think that you need more than a blank shoe to stand a chance.

Bit of your sentence I put in bold I think could generate a lot of discussion, but for now I'll just say I'm not totally convinced by the validity of that statement of yours there. Are you certain?

For the rest, yeah I more or less figured that was your stance. But why would circular economy within skateboarding and skateboarders be impossible nowadays, just because now there also happens to exist what's essentially a parallel market for it that's being exploited by corporations targeting non-skateboarders? The classic model is still viable, as still proven on the daily by every skater-owned operation that remains afloat - except most people overlook their existence due to being distracted by mainstream facades. The tiny skateboarding industry you speak of still exists to this day with plenty of individuals doing cool stuff everywhere; granted not so much in the shoe market as it's less accessible but even there you have brands like State and Proper, and now this one, out of other examples. And those don't have to go up against anyone in terms of marketing either, because most often they will care about the needs of their core niche over capturing the attention of always more and more randoms. For those I'm not so sure that just making shoes really suffices to put them in the same arena as big sporting goods companies; similarly to how one can't say Sheep or even I-Path ever actively tried to go against Nike for instance. The target demographic is just too specialized.

Skateboarding being mainstream means a shit ton of money for those enjoying the wild fire right now, but also more people getting exposed to it that occasionally won't succumb to its merciless marketing and superficial presentation, and eventually fall into it long term, then in turn contributing to the culture with their own thing too, just far out of sight for those staring at the gigantic Nike and Vans shop windows; so, there always will be authentic lifers feeding that comparatively small niche and keeping it alive, as now that's an organic phenomenon and nothing fabricated around fashion. There's just no doing away with the circular model regardless of how established names would love to, because it's the same basic human logic of self-sustenance that leads the average customer to go wherever their specialized needs can best be actually addressed that was already there before we apparently got distracted.

tl;dr it's all still the same shit, don't let the clutter fool you. The power of marketing is so strong it can lead one to forget there even are alternatives.

Also just an extra observation - I never ever looked up to other kids wearing Nikes at school. I was actually stoked when I started skating to find out about brands like éS and be able to 'represent' something different (on a very naive scale).
« Last Edit: September 18, 2020, 08:49:20 AM by silhouette »

Sila

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Re: "Last Resort AB" Pontus Alv on making skate shoes
« Reply #398 on: September 18, 2020, 05:29:22 PM »
Expand Quote
@JohnOakley I appreciate you taking the time to try and break things down for me, although one wrong in your logic here is assuming that personally I'm not aware of all of the orchestration and fabrication already - I've been working in skate media for years and in skating in general for over a decade, so I'm aware of the system in place, I'm exposed to it every day and I can assure you your maybe's aren't just maybe's, a lot of professional skateboarding is a joke. That being said, I still do believe big logos are poor marketing and a short-lived business strategy (relying on mass culture trends as opposed to your specialized target demographic), so not a necessity. These days you have a clear dichotomy between what most big names in the industry are pushing vs. what the actual, daily skateboarder really wants to see, although those generally look content with just crumbs, they shouldn't and would deserve to get the real thing because why the heck not. It's pretty clear to me that Pontus is on that second boat, so it makes complete sense he wouldn't make logo shoes and repeat both the competition's designs and mistakes. Now I think why an everyday, non-sponsored skater would even care for seeing logos on shoes would be a better question to ponder and deconstruct (not a personal attack or anything, surely there has to be reasons nowadays but if you take a second look at each and every one of them you'll probably realize they're made in Vietnam too).
[close]


 I'd go as far as to suggest that the majority of skateboarders want some branding or graphics for their money.



Nope. I just want something that is functional and that lasts/looks good etc.

I'm not paying for logos.

macario87

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Re: "Last Resort AB" Pontus Alv on making skate shoes
« Reply #399 on: September 22, 2020, 08:37:03 AM »
Anyone else noticed the Vans Salman Agah vibes here? Good to see euro riders building their thing.

Gumption

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Re: "Last Resort AB" Pontus Alv on making skate shoes
« Reply #400 on: September 22, 2020, 12:52:10 PM »
I ordered a pair in my size (11.5) because I was told they run true to size. They arrived today and are too big. Now I cant find a pair of 11's in any color  :-[

Anyone need a pair of the mustard yellows that fit like a 12?

brucewillis

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Re: "Last Resort AB" Pontus Alv on making skate shoes
« Reply #401 on: September 22, 2020, 01:14:16 PM »
If pontus manage to get a good team the brand would be a stand out. I really like the minimalistic design and would buy one if it wasn't 500 bucks here in Brazil (1 dollar=5R$). It appeals to my taste and i would like to support skater owned brands. We don't have emericas here in Brazil and the local brands have shitty design and no quality.

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Re: "Last Resort AB" Pontus Alv on making skate shoes
« Reply #402 on: September 22, 2020, 02:58:42 PM »
Someone bring back Dukes and make the first Jeremy Wray shoe stat.
That shoe was fucking magical

Impish sausage is definitely gonna blow up as a euphemism this year

Atiba Applebum

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Re: "Last Resort AB" Pontus Alv on making skate shoes
« Reply #403 on: September 22, 2020, 03:14:06 PM »
Expand Quote
Someone bring back Dukes and make the first Jeremy Wray shoe stat.
[close]
That shoe was fucking magical

Was Dukes a side company out of Duffs?  That was just before I started skating

silhouette

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Re: "Last Resort AB" Pontus Alv on making skate shoes
« Reply #404 on: September 22, 2020, 03:16:42 PM »
Fuck me but I actually liked Duffs back in the day because Matt Hensley was on, so to naive teenage me it was the best. I had a few pairs of the shoes back in the mid naughts and a college-style hoodie the label with the washing instructions of which just said 'when it stinks, wash it'.

Roger Mexico

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Re: "Last Resort AB" Pontus Alv on making skate shoes
« Reply #405 on: September 22, 2020, 05:54:08 PM »
Anyone else noticed the Vans Salman Agah vibes here? Good to see euro riders building their thing.


AB-solutely. It's way more that first Agah shoe minus the toecap than it is a cons one-star.

Edit: I'm with Silhouette on the clean shoe argument. Also, while I can understand how someone might think of skating as aspirational--I'd say Stevie Williams could be a good example of that--it's definitely not that for many of us.

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Re: "Last Resort AB" Pontus Alv on making skate shoes
« Reply #406 on: September 22, 2020, 06:31:10 PM »
For someone w.no signature ur awfully hostile, & that is why I do this

HORSES

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Re: "Last Resort AB" Pontus Alv on making skate shoes
« Reply #407 on: September 22, 2020, 07:21:50 PM »
I ordered a pair in my size (11.5) because I was told they run true to size. They arrived today and are too big. Now I cant find a pair of 11's in any color  :-[

Anyone need a pair of the mustard yellows that fit like a 12?


I've been very confused with the sizing. It appears a lot of shops had a 10.5 and a 11.5, but no 11.

Gumption

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Re: "Last Resort AB" Pontus Alv on making skate shoes
« Reply #408 on: September 23, 2020, 05:46:32 PM »
Expand Quote
I ordered a pair in my size (11.5) because I was told they run true to size. They arrived today and are too big. Now I cant find a pair of 11's in any color  :-[

Anyone need a pair of the mustard yellows that fit like a 12?
[close]


I've been very confused with the sizing. It appears a lot of shops had a 10.5 and a 11.5, but no 11.

I noticed that too. A pair of the yellow ones popped up on the brand website today in 44.5 EU (US 11),
 so hopefully those exist, and Ill report back on the fit when I get them.

smellsdead

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Re: "Last Resort AB" Pontus Alv on making skate shoes
« Reply #409 on: September 24, 2020, 08:07:06 AM »
i never saw those sizes in the first run
lucky my 10.5 fits

toebox is snug, not uncomfortable, heel locks. looks dope.
the laces seem to sit off to the side, they remind me of soccer cleats in that respect. or, maybe im trippin

dont knock it til you try it i guess

cant wait to skate em

jay_nev

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Re: "Last Resort AB" Pontus Alv on making skate shoes
« Reply #410 on: September 24, 2020, 07:31:04 PM »
Cleannnn and materials/QC look great. thicker laces are a nice touch

Thomas

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Re: "Last Resort AB" Pontus Alv on making skate shoes
« Reply #411 on: September 25, 2020, 12:23:15 AM »
They look way better on those pictures than some I saw online.
I also saw a few pictures of the mid top on Instagram and they look very nice.

I'm on this vegan shoes boat though, so I'm gonna need to wait until 3rd drop...
Possibilities are everywhere, search and enjoy.

Brown Thunder

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Re: "Last Resort AB" Pontus Alv on making skate shoes
« Reply #412 on: September 25, 2020, 02:25:20 AM »
I bought em and can confirm they look great and feel great.

But get why people wouldn’t like them.

I don’t think I’ll skate in them Tbh

Lenny the Fatface

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Re: "Last Resort AB" Pontus Alv on making skate shoes
« Reply #413 on: September 26, 2020, 08:10:34 AM »
Pics are looking clean. Would love to see how they look after a few sessions.

Escape Hell

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Re: "Last Resort AB" Pontus Alv on making skate shoes
« Reply #414 on: September 26, 2020, 08:52:57 AM »
Just bought the yellow colorway from Cowtown. If these skate and last anywhere near blazers I will fully back these. Would gladly pay 10 more bucks just to know who I’m supporting. Hopefully they skate well. Those pics look good I’m hyped.

Atiba Applebum

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Re: "Last Resort AB" Pontus Alv on making skate shoes
« Reply #415 on: September 26, 2020, 09:26:27 AM »
Just bought the yellow colorway from Cowtown. If these skate and last anywhere near blazers I will fully back these. Would gladly pay 10 more bucks just to know who I’m supporting. Hopefully they skate well. Those pics look good I’m hyped.

Doesn’t Pontus have a sketchy rep?   People have been alluding to it for years on here

Escape Hell

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Re: "Last Resort AB" Pontus Alv on making skate shoes
« Reply #416 on: September 26, 2020, 10:02:39 AM »
Expand Quote
Just bought the yellow colorway from Cowtown. If these skate and last anywhere near blazers I will fully back these. Would gladly pay 10 more bucks just to know who I’m supporting. Hopefully they skate well. Those pics look good I’m hyped.
[close]

Doesn’t Pontus have a sketchy rep?   People have been alluding to it for years on here
Couldn’t be any more sketchy than Nike’s slave labor practices... then again I’m not filled in on the details, so I could be wrong?

fredgallSOTY

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Re: "Last Resort AB" Pontus Alv on making skate shoes
« Reply #417 on: September 26, 2020, 10:05:00 AM »
Expand Quote
Just bought the yellow colorway from Cowtown. If these skate and last anywhere near blazers I will fully back these. Would gladly pay 10 more bucks just to know who I’m supporting. Hopefully they skate well. Those pics look good I’m hyped.
[close]

Doesn’t Pontus have a sketchy rep?   People have been alluding to it for years on here
yeahhhhh....
he's produced great work and is kind of a skating auteur but...
not a great dude from what I've heard regarding riders (Cyrus, Andrew Wilson) leaving and Polar's exit from Theories.

Lenny the Fatface

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Re: "Last Resort AB" Pontus Alv on making skate shoes
« Reply #418 on: September 26, 2020, 10:11:40 AM »
I hear Pontus is all in on the idea of Polar riders having an active Instagram account and the dudes who aren’t into that bounce. Other than that I haven’t heard anything bad or shady.

Coldpizza

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Re: "Last Resort AB" Pontus Alv on making skate shoes
« Reply #419 on: September 26, 2020, 10:19:29 AM »
i never saw those sizes in the first run
lucky my 10.5 fits

toebox is snug, not uncomfortable, heel locks. looks dope.
the laces seem to sit off to the side, they remind me of soccer cleats in that respect. or, maybe im trippin

dont knock it til you try it i guess

cant wait to skate em

Do they fit like a Chuck? True to size?
If they don’t feel like a Con, is there anything you could equate them to?
I personally like how they look, but have never been able to wear Cons due to my foot shape.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯