[ JAPANESE / ENGLISH ]

Photos_Kohei Hayashi
Special thanks_NORM SKATE DISTRIBUTION

VHSMAG (V)：　You were here in Tokyo in May for the Hardies and Victor Victor Worldwide collab. What brought you back this time?

Tyshawn Jones (T)：　Japan has really been on our hit list for a place to come and skate. You know, really come out here and try to make something happen. Every time I've been out here, it's been mainly for business in and out. So this is my first time really being here to skate. So that was fun.

V：　How was filming street skating in Tokyo? Are you guys going to have a tour video or something?

T：　Yeah. Obviously Tokyo's really hard to skate, but we got a couple of things we're excited about, so we're gonna put something together for sure.

V：　I heard you kickflipped the gap in Shinagawa. You had the Kingdom Come video a couple years ago and treflipped a similar gap. How was the gap this time?

T：　It was pretty cool. It's definitely a little bit different, but that spot was interesting. I got it done pretty quickly obviously with the time restraints here. It was a really good spot. I was shocked that only an ollie was done. I wish I could have done more, but it wasn't enough time. But yeah, I'm hyped that I got the kickflip.

V：　I heard that you got kicked out while you were trying an ollie.

T：　Yeah. We got kicked out while trying to ollie, but you know, I'm very passionate when I'm in the middle of trying tricks. So I kind of refused to leave and luckily got the trick after like two tries.

V：　You started King in December of 2022. What inspired you to leave FA and start your own thing?

T：　Well, for some, 10 years or whatever doesn't feel that long. But for me, I felt like I got to a point in my career where I accomplished a lot early and sometimes that could be a gift and a curse because you lose the motivation. So I just wanted to work towards something new again. A lot of my fellow teammates at FA, their interests were elsewhere. They weren't really skating. They might have been making music, doing other things. I felt it was really important to stay focused on skateboarding, and I wanted something new to strive for—something that would motivate me to put my energy into it and push myself to go hard again.

V：　What's the story behind the name King?

T：　I just wanted something uplifting. I don't look at King as a word like, "I'm the king" or anything. People say that to me, but it goes in one ear and out the other. King to me is like, a woman could be a king. Anybody could be a king, you know what I'm saying? It's a word of endearment. I thought that would be a cool way to bring something positive to the industry that has some significant meaning.

V：　And who did you bring to the team?

T：　Me and Nakel started it together. So it's me, Nak, Zach, Caleb. We got Junior who's coming up, a couple of flow dudes. So the team is really shaping, growing slowly and organically. That's what I'm most hyped about. It's not like we rushed to do something. It's slowly building and becoming a strong team.

V：　What about Daisuke Ikeda?

T：　We're working with him and really excited about him. He's super cool. He's gnarly. He's a funny, interesting guy. He just goes for it. He doesn't care. I like that.

V：　It's been two years since King started. What are some of the most memorable projects you've worked on with King?

T：　I feel like we've been working in the background doing a lot of things and making it strong. What I've been excited about that we've accomplished so far is maybe Zach's part. I think it was received well and I just wanna keep doing things like that. I think skateboarding is in a tight spot with making longer videos, so I think us having that sense of quick and nice solo parts would be big for us.

V：　How did Zach come to the team? Does it have to do with all the IC things that happened?

T：　I knew Zach being around him and seeing him in LA. He was friends with all my friends. We didn't really talk too much, but one day I saw him at P-Rod's park and we were skating. He was telling me how IC wasn't really gonna make boards anymore. And I was telling him that eventually I was planning to leave FA, which was months before I did, but I was like, "This is the idea. This is what it's gonna be based around and I wanna put you on." He was like, "I'm down." And that's how it started.

V：　Does your skating influence the direction or the style of King?

T：　I wouldn't say my direction specifically. As a collective, I want everybody to be excited about what we're putting out. If everyone's excited then they'll get behind the product. You know, I can't just make it for me. I try to incorporate my style amongst everyone's style and do things everybody would like.

V：　What would you say is the vision for King in the next few years?

T：　I wanna make a good video with everybody on the team. It doesn't have to be full parts of everybody, but a collective of everybody skating together. It's really hard to get everybody on the same page these days 'cause everyone's so busy with their own projects and other sponsors. But that's a goal of mine. I want to grow the brand organically, as big as I can and grow it to a point where it's a world renowned brand. It's still young and people are getting familiar with it. I think in the skateboard industry, people don't like new things but when they see you're here to stay, they come around to it. So I just wanna show people that we're gonna be here for a long time and we're gonna work.

V：　How do you balance the creative side and the actual skating? I know that you don't drink or do anything but it must be a lot of work.

T：　Yeah, it's difficult but I feel like when you sign up for something, you just gotta go head on about it, you know what I'm saying? If you ask for a lot to eat, you can't complain when the plate comes. So everything that I got going on, I put myself in that position and I knew it came with it. I just try to tackle it as it comes along. But obviously we're all human. Some days get stressful.

V：　What does success look like for King beyond board sales?

T：　I think internally, if everyone's happy about where they are, it'll translate to the brand. If everyone involved is hype on what's going on, then it only makes the brand stronger. So success for me, we can make all the money in the world, but as with other brands who've made money and they kind of lost their way, it changes. Just staying true to what we are, the money and all of that other stuff and success will come. If we stay true to our mission, which is skateboarding and making cool products, then the brand is unstoppable. I really just want to focus on that.

Tyshawn Jones
@tyshawn

Born in 1998, Tyshawn Jones hails from the Bronx, New York. A two-time SOTY winner and the face of adidas Skateboarding, he's also an entrepreneur behind brands like Hardies and King.