But what keeps you doing it, if not cocaine? Is it fun? Do you ever think about doing something else?
When I was, like, 13 I was living in a small town with no skate shops, ordering things through catalogs and just thinking “This is what I want to do some day,” so it’s really been a dream of mine for a long time to have something like this.  I really could not imagine ever doing anything else now. I want to feed my babies off this some day.

What do you look for when you pick up new lines?
The personality of the people working there makes a big difference. I hate the hard sell and I hate when obviously out of touch people try to hip it up. I look for a really well put together line, garment quality and if they're already available everywhere else, that's generally a no-no. A lot of the stuff I end up picking up are things I read about or a friend will mention it to me and I go after them.

On average, how much do you make off of one t shirt?
Hah! You son of a bitch. Keystone man. Keystone.

Just thought I’d try... how much has krudmart grown since you started it?
It went from two shelves with some Stussy t-shirts to you know... Stussy dropped me because they don't do online stores; I was so bummed and then I got lucky a couple times just finding things. I just hired my first employee... full time dude, and it's at the point now where it's a real business. I don't think we're going anywhere for a while.

How much do you pay the new guy?
He makes good money. I’m not going to mention figures, but I didn’t just get some random dude to pack boxes. I was lucky enough to have a friend who had years of experience in online sales. Basically, this guy knows more than I do about selling shit through the internet. It’s a bit of a gamble, but I’m confident that it’ll be worth it. You better not fuck up, Don!

Do you drink on the job?
Yeah, occasionally. Sometimes it happens on accident; like I go to the fridge for a Diet Coke and accidentally pull out a Coors Light. Next thing you know it’s 3pm and I'm pissing every 20 minutes. That ever happen to you?

Yeah, totally.  I can't really drink effectively if the sun is out, I'm like a beer vampire, but instead of turning to dust, I fall asleep.
Same here man. Don’t know what it is but drinks before sundown put me right out.

So did it take a substantial investment to get Krudmart started? Bank loans? Rich uncle?
It was less than you'd probably think. Getting a bank loan is really hard when you're twenty two and just starting out a business. I went to these advisor people and they said "Hit up your dad. He can't take it with him when he dies." They really said that. I basically used up the rest of my college money. Judging from the experiences of my friends who've recently got out of school, I made the right move.

Great, thanks. I just got finished school last month, and I'm basically freaking out.  What do your friends do; work at Auntie Anne's Pretzels?
Hah! Not so much. You know, just taking jobs outside of the field they went for. A degree is a great thing on a resume but you know it doesn’t mean you’re going to get the job that you wanted.

Whee. You guys should sell bongs.
I'm trying to find a good supplier man. And it's "water pipes". You trying to get me knocked like Chong?

My fault. Smoke that tobacco, son. Yo, why do you guys not carry Fubu anymore?
I really feel like they abandoned the "For Us By Us" vision that made them such a strong brand in the first place. It's a shame really, but I wish them all the best.

And how is selling womens clothes going?
It's tough. Apparently I'm not so great at picking out what girl's like. I gotta get some feisty scenester bitch from NYC with a coke habit and some serious slut tendencies to come in and school me. They seem to be really influential right now.

Obviously there is a larger women's clothing market than mens; wouldn’t it seem like a more profitable direction? In that vein, Do you think less women shop online than men?
No, you’re totally right and I think that’s saying something right there. As much as I like to think of myself as a ladies’ man, it’s hard to harness their chi when thinking about retail. That’s definitely a market I’d like to take on in the future, but right now I’m best at selling what I know, and that is t-shirts for dudes who listen to rap music and used to skateboard.

I notice you have a women’s "Bottoms" section... was that on purpose, do you listen to a lot of Juelz Santana?
Honestly, I don't even get that. It's funny, there's rap I really get into and then there's stuff I know nothing about and people make me feel like I'm from... Buffalo when they ask me questions like that. "Bottoms” is just convenient because it covers jeans, pants, shorts, skirts... all that. Some things are set up strictly for organizational purposes.

Yeah, there was this mixtape track by Juelz Santana where they sampled "Fat Botom Girls" by Queen.  
Yeah, dude needs to get out of Buffalo more often.

It's cool when online retailers sell womens wear because then you get to check out the models, usually fucking hot. Any plans for hot bitches in the future?
Oh yeah definitely. That's on the list, but I have to work out the logistics. I have to set up a little studio spot and maybe buy some strobes. I got a seriously hot girlfriend so she'll definitely be put to work, but I'll have to get others too, you know? So I'm going to have all these random girls running around in their underwear bumping into each other and trading clothes, and there'll definitely be alcohol involved, and I'm probably going to get a boner. You know, I just have to really have the whole thing planned out so I don't get myself into trouble.

Do you have any current favorite incidental porn sources? I like Yoox and Karmaloop for that type of stuff, but I never really shop there too often, just check out the bottoms, you know...
Tell me you haven’t stroked to an American Apparel catalog and I’ll tell you you’re a ‘mo.




What up, What up

Are hip hop graphics played?
In a word; yes. I think too many people got lazy with it. Every time I see someone use “Brooklyn Kid” on a flyer, or whatever, my stomach turns. Like when you see white people rap on reality TV shows and you get that embarrassed feeling, you know what I mean?

Yeah totally, I struggle with my white shame when it comes to hip hop; like I'll say that a black rapper is too white, really nonsensical shit like that.
Totally. I feel the irony, but I got into that shit for what it was back when it was whatever it was and regardless of how marketable things become... It’s like a first love. You just know when things aren’t right. "Hip hop graphics" are kind of an imaginary thing anyway. What Madison Ave sees that as are things that came out of the mid-80's. As long as hip hop keeps evolving there'll always be a fresh way to do it.

Personally I would like to see more caveman graphics; what motifs or styles would you like to see more of in 2006?
I've always loved classic, timeless shit... and T&A. I think the Turntable lab guys are doing great things with that right now. The 12" covers... did you see that Spankrock one? It made my nut hurt.

Word, talk about a bottom. T&A has always been one of my favorite t shirt styles, but not many people do it. I remember vividly being in 4th grade and seeing this contractor type dude at Home Depot wearing a custom air brushed shirt of a woman reclining by a bee hive, with bees swarming around here and honey dripping off her titties. It was amazing. Since then the only titty shirts I've found that I liked were the Bode shirts for Bape a couple years back. Seen any good ones? and are you going to sell them?
You just gave me an idea.

Favorite skate video, old?
Plan B - Questionable. I've probably seen that 400+ times no exaggeration. It's still great.

Favorite skate video, current?
I love the Girl/Chocolate stuff, always have. They make the most entertaining videos of anyone out there. I can put those on in front of people who don't give a shit about skating and they'll be glued to it the whole time. Yeah Right edges out Hot Chocolate by a little.

Have you ever blacked out?
Yeah man. Last summer there were a few occasions where I would get really drunk and pass out at friends' houses and sleepwalk and piss random places. For real. That was definitely a "get ahold of yourself" situation.

Got any bad habits, besides blacking out?
Cigs. I'm really trying to quit that before I turn 25 next week. I swear a lot. I procrastinate like a motherfucker and I check my email every 15 minutes, no matter what. I also can't get up before noon because I DJ three nights a week which completely fucks any normal sleep schedule I try to get on.

Are you more of a rock dude or a jazz dude?
Definitely jazz. I've never been a big fan of guitars. A lot of people get mad when I say that, but I just can't get into it. I'm definitely more partial to the jazz stuff that all the 90's hip hop sampled like Ramsey Lewis, Roy Ayers- that's great Summer music right there. Late 60's-early 70's era.

Do you dig in the crates then?
I was way into it from about 98-2002. The business really took my attention away from all that plus the fact that I got hustled by people for anything good I'd find. I once traded Diplo a Can record w/ the shrinkwrap on it and this Egg record on London for like an Aceyalone 12" and a Blackbyrds album with a break on it. I know, it's awful.  

Ouch. Ok, name a few albums or artists that you really enjoy, but when you mention them to people they go "huh?"
A lot of the stuff I get into I hear about from my boy Scott in Toronto . He sends me mp3's of all this old Brazilian shit and he got me into Sa-Ra. People get in my car and there's some song on going "Girl I'm gonna fuck you in your butt" and they get a little bugged out.

Best album cover, ever?
My friend Dan got this one from his dad that was a pie with a slice cut out of it and there was a vagina there. That was pretty dope. Maybe De La Soul Is Dead.

Are you more of a club dude or a bar dude?
I'm getting a little old for the club scene. With all the DJing I don't even really go out to bars that much. That's another thing where it's so much like work now that I'd just rather watch movies on my Powerbook in my backyard with a few friends, 17 citronella candles blazing and a cooler full of beer. Plus you have to understand that I live in Buffalo and it's not really the best place in the world for night life, aside from when I'm playing out.

Ever traveled to exotic Baltimore ?
Yeah, when I was in middle school I went with my family... the city that reads, man. The Orioles are my favorite baseball team and that aquarium is incredible. Did anyone ever catch legionnaire's disease there? That happened at the one in Melbourne .

I don’t think so. They are adding in a sasquatch exhibit or something currently. You like the O's though? What do you think about this season?
They’ll blow it in the playoffs... No, I don’t really know. I hope they do well. They basically ran the All Star Game the other night with Tejada getting the MVP... I was happy to see that but they’re pretty good at having strong starts and weak finishes. I’ve learned, since 1988, to not really get my hopes up when it comes to my team.

Yeah, we’ll see, I know the feeling. I hear you are working on a mix for Lemon-Red? What's the mix going to be like?
It's actually something I did back in 2000 when I was unemployed and really having girl problems and stuff. I'm more proud of that than anything I ever did, and I'm really anxious to see what the reaction is. It's kind of autobiographical. I did it all off the turntables with a multi-track recorder so there's no looping in Pro Tools or anything. It's a bit more organic and pretty schizophrenic.  

Besides Lemon-Red, any other blog homies that you read regularly?
I check out Catchdubs all the time. That guy's cool. Cool Hunting put me on a while back and the response was tremendous. I always check that for new stuff to carry on the site Joshspear.com... Josh is my AIM buddy now. Yours of course... I got into the blog game kind of late. It's cool now though to see that it's not just a bunch of narcissistic dickheads with no friends and more like community of like-minded dudes in different locations telling each other stories while the trend sweaters eat it up... you, So Many Shrimp... We just started up a KrudBlog actually, and I'm waiting to see if that doesn't turn out to be a complete piece of shit.

I will look for that, thanks for taking the time to do this.
No, thank you, for real. The publicity is great and all, but it’s really the best when I know I’ve got at least a couple people feeling what I’m doing.