Pontus Alv Interview on Jenkem re: Last Resort

[KevinOHara]

http://www.jenkemmag.com/home/2020/09/18/putting-footwear-back-hands-skaters-pontus-alv/

[smellsdead]

"Also, for the SLAP forum, Polar has never been funded or injected with money by Converse and Nike. That’s some kind of fucked up rumor out there."

i aint sayin nathan

[Glurmpz]

I'm halfway through and this is already rubbing me the wrong way.

First, they talk as if the only shoe companies that matter are the big 5 sport shoe brands, and say that 'core' shoe companies are pretty much dead. Hmmmmm, I wonder why the core brands are struggling? Couldn't have anything to do with skaters abandoning them so they could all wear Nikes?

Then he completely changes his story about his original idea for the brand and says he never planned to make the shoes in Portugal.

Then they say that all shoes have loads of big branding on the side, but anyone like me who prefers the 'core' brands knows that's one of the draws - there's lots of models available with no giant logos. I hate big logos too and I never have an issue finding shoes I like by Sole Tech because lots of them just have a tiny logo on a tag or the side of the heel which isn't even noticeable.

And on top of that - this guy doesn't like cupsole shoes and wants to make more vulcs - yay! There's like, practically no vulc options out there, thank god he's saving the skate shoe industry!

Sorry, but Pontus is full of himself and this brand is not offering anything new. Hell, the first shoe is a knock off Converse. Couldn't even come up with an original design?!

[fredgallSOTY]

as much as pontus is an asshole,,,,



i am going to try these shoes.

[brucewillis]

He's a narcisist.

[shannamal]

What happened to you saying you’d never do an interview again?


I took a break from it and I decided to do it again. I feel that I have something new to say and new visions to share.

(aka, i have a new company to promote)

When I was with Converse, and they offered me to do the collabs and that stuff, the products were cool, they looked nice and so on, but I was never really completely happy with the performance of them and the fit.

Shit like this will always rub me the wrong way. So you took money to promote products you thought were sub par? That's not very hellride of you.

So I asked another friend about vulc production in the far east,

You can say Vietnam and China, it's okay.

“I spoke to a friend here in Stockholm that makes these super nice vulc shoes in Vietnam with very low minimums.

Maybe I am misremembering, but wasn't the reason they cost more because they were 'made in portugal'? Absurd that he now says they never claimed that.

What are some companies that have been successful in skating without using a ton of branding?
I can’t think of any skater based brands.

....Vans? Their most popular shoe has the exact same amount of branding as your shoes do. Tag on the heel, logo on the tongue, logo on the inner sole.


Remember when Jenkem was like, the standard of skate journalism, and putting our interesting interviews? Now it's just another mouthpiece for brands to promote new shit.

[GumOnMyGrip]

He's a narcisist.

But he gets shit done. He’s right about Converse fit- if he can make a Cons rip off that actually fit correctly I’m in...
Every shoe idea has been stolen/ done by now anyway.

[Frank]

pontus fucked up in that interview before that one. seems unlikely he just forgot to mention he would produce the shoes in vietnam.

"yeah, i live in this cool ass place in portugal where i can get every shoe produced in the best quality like my friend over here who's company i decided to take over and make mine, so i can produce logoless vulc shoes in east asia to offer an alternative to other logoless or non-logoless vulc shoes. i never said anything different lol."

[MareVitals]

Yeah that rubbed me the wrong way. I like Polar and all but there's nothing original about this company and the comment about the FA camp starting a shoe brand too was just real off-putting.

We had Vox and Dekline back in the day now we have Last Resort AB and State footwear.

[os89]

All shoes are a scam/ripoff/disposable.

That’s why I got tired of trying new shit that was just a knock-of another shoe I already wore, or fake ass new “tech”.

Shoes are the biggest clusterfuck in skateboarding.

Wear what you like. Find some that feel nice and just skate.

Who’s gives a shit really?

I do however agree with Frank above.

Dude definitely didn’t put this together the right way, or at least the way he said he was going too.

[Idk]

Dekline 2.0 or maybe even State 2.0

[Glurmpz]

Dekline 2.0 or maybe even State 2.0

State is literally Dekline 2.0.

[thebacker]

Can’t wait for the last resort d3 vulc model

[Brown Thunder]

I bought a pair

They look sick

[ChronicBluntSlider]

Love his attitude in general. And totally agree with his take how companies feel this weird obligation to put some ugly logo in a uniform position on the side of the shoe. Will be buying. Who has them in LA? Didn’t see them on Kingswell or Lotties Insta

[Lowcalcium]

I bought a pair

They look sick

I'm glad you bought a pair. To me they look like Keds...and maybe knock off sketchers

[Francis Xavier]

Nice Dukes. Cool,do your thing. Anyone skate in Clearweather's? Been seeing them around

[lemonchicken91]

They look like an imitation something tyler the creator would wear

[skunty]

Nice Dukes. Cool,do your thing. Anyone skate in Clearweather's? Been seeing them around

heard from a couple people elsewhere on the internet that clearweather shoes suck ass, i was slightly intrigued by the design but noped when i saw a couple bad reviews

[Francis Xavier]

Expand Quote

Nice Dukes. Cool,do your thing. Anyone skate in Clearweather's? Been seeing them around

[close]

heard from a couple people elsewhere on the internet that clearweather shoes suck ass, i was slightly intrigued by the design but noped when i saw a couple bad reviews

Kinda what I figured, but I still may try them

[Buttcheeks]

Rather have HUF back

[brucewillis]

Expand Quote

He's a narcisist.

[close]

But he gets shit done. He’s right about Converse fit- if he can make a Cons rip off that actually fit correctly I’m in...
Every shoe idea has been stolen/ done by now anyway.

I actually love Cons fitting, i like shoes with extra room since my foot is pretty wide.

[assvogel]

Tried these on today for fun... surprisingly felt pretty nice. Didn't feel too tight even though I have wide feet and especially the toe-part of the insole was really soft. There's a (fake?) leather patch on the insole heel that weirded me out a bit.

Can't really say anything about the build quality, vulc's finish looked a bit rought, at least compared to Vans, but I guess the skate Cons' has a similar design?

Didn't buy em, but was cool to see a new skater owned brand on the wall for once. And the price was alright too. Polar is huge here, so I'd think these will be flying of the shelves.

[Fly_Hoenn]

I am excited to go to my local and try them. Prolly not gonna buy them right away, maybe in the future.
Also, pretty interesting move from Pontus to start a shoe company at this point. We seen Huf and Supra go out of the shoe game recently and everyone knows that core brands struggle more and more every year.

Also, I may be wrong as I don't remember correctly what Pontus said back then but wasn't the made in Portugal shoe the luxurious one? I always had the idea that the skate shoe would be produced elsewhere.

[Style Police]

I bought a pair

They look sick

[sus]

Nice Dukes. Cool,do your thing. Anyone skate in Clearweather's? Been seeing them around

there was a solid year or two where a lot of skaters in my area were rocking them. I've heard good things about them from friends. i'll also mention that many of the people i saw skating them typically skated vans or converse prior to the clearweathers

[Bitter]

We seen Huf and Supra go out of the shoe game recently and everyone knows that core brands struggle more and more every year.

Apples and oranges by the way he spoke of minimums.

I agree about Nike never feeling like a real team. I'm excited to see who his team of weirdos consists of. Could make for a fun video.

[Francis Xavier]

Expand Quote

Nice Dukes. Cool,do your thing. Anyone skate in Clearweather's? Been seeing them around

[close]

there was a solid year or two where a lot of skaters in my area were rocking them. I've heard good things about them from friends. i'll also mention that many of the people i saw skating them typically skated vans or converse prior to the clearweathers

You're in the OC area right? I am too, think they're local cuz they're all over Santa Ana,Costa Mesa and Anaheim.

[Deekay]

Would be cool to at least see something different, these look like every other vulc shoe ever made and now they're not even made in Europe. I never say never but I don't see myself in a pair of these any time soon.

[stoneyhawk]

Tried em on today and the sizing was all over the place. Normally a 10.5 but had to size up to 11.5. Not sure if anyone else experienced that but my weak knees can't handle a vulc shoe doesn't have a good insole anyways so i will stick to my corporate overlords.