Lakai is Done

[Atiba Applebum]

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I never thought id see a Machiavellian move regarding a core brand bit here we are.

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Mike and Rick insisting they alone speak to the riders raised flags, esp following up with the irregularities getting them on the year long contracts.

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Mike’s already in the comments talking shit.

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Are they being deleted?   Don’t see them

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They have to be being deleted. I was looking for those too.

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TheSecretTape posted a screenshot of Mikes comment on his story.

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Saw that. Was hoping there was more from him and maybe some ex-team riders.

How many more times will we see someone who doesn’t skate, buy/take over a company, kick off everyone, and run it into the ground? Haha

It was already in the ground


But Carroll hitting em with a “Weird flex” in 2024 was taking it too far.  I get why he deleted it

[Ghost Face]

Would be interested to know if it was 10% each or 5% each to sit back and watch what became of their brand.

Also the "was losing $1 000 000 a year" is usually not an actual thing. It's more along the lines of "they could of done $1 000 000 more but didn't" or "projections showed a growth of $1 000 000 but that failed to be a reachable target and we only broke even".

[augustmoon]

Just another typical venture capital buy and bust out. 

[moonordie]

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[close]

I never thought id see a Machiavellian move regarding a core brand bit here we are.

[close]

Mike and Rick insisting they alone speak to the riders raised flags, esp following up with the irregularities getting them on the year long contracts.

[close]

Mike’s already in the comments talking shit.

[close]

Are they being deleted?   Don’t see them

[close]

They have to be being deleted. I was looking for those too.

[close]

TheSecretTape posted a screenshot of Mikes comment on his story.

You mean this one? I wouldn't call that talking shit.

[Cheshire Cat]

Because skate companies with no teams always do really well?
I know this is about Lakai specifically, what's their ownership status of Craig as a whole? Girl and chocolate?

[dallou]

jenkem is probably spam calling rick and mike for an interview right now

[TwisT]

Just another typical venture capital buy and bust out.

Gotta make space for young brands to come in

[Atiba Applebum]

Because skate companies with no teams always do really well?
I know this is about Lakai specifically, what's their ownership status of Craig as a whole? Girl and chocolate?

sounds like they were going to do what eS did

[Timberwolf]

I honestly will never understand why people who want to make money would buy a company in a niche industry that doesn't generate a lot of revenue to begin with.

[augustmoon]

They’re not buying it to make it successful, they’re buying it at a discount with the intention of stripping it of any capital they can, then selling it off to the next guy that will attempt to do the same.  We’ve seen this countless times in the skate and other niche industries.  Same story every time.  Expect more brands to fall victim to this. 

[Useless_wooden_lurker]

I honestly will never understand why people who want to make money would buy a company in a niche industry that doesn't generate a lot of revenue to begin with.

You're missing the point. He's just a dude trying to save Lakai with his own money!

[assvogel]

I honestly will never understand why people who want to make money would buy a company in a niche industry that doesn't generate a lot of revenue to begin with.

It's dumb af math, but basically the thought process is if the brands product does x amount of dollars per year, if you raise the price of the product and fire all current employees (and in case of skate companies, the skaters) and hire new people for cheap -> profit -> sell the company in a year or two for the highest bidder.

This never works of course, because people aren't usually loyal to the brand itself, but the people who represent it and follow them to the next thing.

Same thing has happened across many industries, like online journalism has been killed by this, where almost every single site has been bought, killed and revived as a search engine optimized bullshit generator corpse.

[RoughStylin]

Stinky stinky stuff

Griffin Gass to Nike
Riley to Hours
Vincent Alvarez to NB
Simon Bannerot to Vans
Jimmy Wilkins to random athletic brand, maybe Asics?
Cody Chapman to Cons (maybe?)
Stevie Perez to pro flow
Man Child to pro flow
James Capps pro flow
Rickk and Mike to the glue factory

Sorry if I’m forgetting anyone, don’t shit down my throat

[DISTANT RUMOURS]

Lakai was absolutely amazing when they first came out, the team, the videos ... it was absolutely insane.

But the "behind the scenes shenanigans" were becoming a big issue quite fast, and I guess the quality issues of the last few years were the last nail in the coffin. The shoes were complete garbage for a while (they got better in recent. years).

By the way:
I saw Vincent skating in New Balance, and Riley is skating in Vans in his stories.

[Mall Grab Mike]

The only thing good from this would be DC reissuing the Howard and Howard 2. A few Carrolls in the mix too.

[Idk]

 Can Rickk and Mike stop being silly and focus on Girl/Chocolate? Just because you can make a skate shoe company doesn’t mean you should.

[brucewillis]

I wanna hear some of you guys opinions about the "hometown hero program"

[Atiba Applebum]

The only thing good from this would be DC reissuing the Howard and Howard 2. A few Carrolls in the mix too.

Yeah maybe Rickk will finally be cool and give his blessing

[Tiltmode Army Reservist]

I'm curious to see where Riley goes next, and I know he'll have his pick of options beyond Hawk Skate Shoes.

He was skating a pair of Vans in the clip he posted to his IG story last night. Obviously he's in the best position of any of the former Lakai Team riders (that don't have a remaining stake in ownership), and I imagine in an era where several established pro skaters don't have a shoe sponsor, someone is gonna see Tony Hawk's Son / Kurt Cobain's Son-In-Law as marketable, put him on a team, and let him design another piece of vulcanized footwear.

[MtnDoucheBag]

Can Rickk and Mike stop being silly and focus on Girl/Chocolate? Just because you can make a skate shoe company doesn’t mean you should.

For real, what were they thinking the last 25 years…

[augustmoon]

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The only thing good from this would be DC reissuing the Howard and Howard 2. A few Carrolls in the mix too.

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Yeah maybe Rickk will finally be cool and give his blessing

Have a feeling they’re going to spend their entire marketing budget on a cariuma style social media influencer team.  Shoes for posts.  Dudes doing quadruple 720 flips in prefab parks.   

[gub]

[SatanicPanic]

Trump tariffs are going to kill off any remaining small shoe brands anyway. In a year we’re all going to be paying $150 for Nikes

[Dental Dan]

Viva Las Howard 4s

[thehogsniper]

I wouldn't trust Mike and Rick. I think they let Lakai go to shit and let their only good designers walk. Mikut and Johnson should have stayed for the long haul. However, their brand has completely been run into the ground. they've been fried for years before this sale.

[DISTANT RUMOURS]

A Rick Howard 1 and 2 DC reissue would sell really really well.

And an official Mike Carroll Vans reissue? In this day and age I would say it would fit the aesthetic perfectly. Too bad those MC 96 VCU's were so hard to get.

[urbneathme]

read this thread, read the post from marc, went back to my insta home screen, clicked stories, promptly got a lakai ad. dude's running this shit like the harris campaign, i'm sure it'll be similarly successful

[ChipSuey]

I guess that explains why my Reddit feed is filled with Lakai ads now, I'm guessing they hit the "spam everyone in the r/skateboarding sub" button.

[LemThurdy]

What’s the deal with these guys who don’t skate coming in and buying a skate brand to only run it in the ground or turn it into something else. Sad times , the core brands are all to the back of queue

[sfa]

I saw a post the other day that said don’t Elwood brands.

Thought that shit was mad funny.