started skating when i was 13-14 and im now 26 years old and for me the saddest part of all this is the legacy that is being lost. Alot of us were holding onto lakai for nostalgia even if the shoes werent at the old level they were at since pretty sweet came out. Fully flared still is and will always be my favorite skate video it changed my life sincerly for the better showed me amazing skating outside of the box(for the time) and having fun with your friends in the process. it makes me sad but it was too late to save it long live the Manchester my old favorite lakai shoe. rip lakai
@@jessiemartinez3056 hopefully I’m glad they were able to claw back their skate customers for a while they could have just faded off into obscurity cause they still have shoes in other sports but yes I’m glad dc is being true to their roots now. Wish lakai tried to do the same. Got my Kalynx in the closet untouched
No wonder if 3/4 of the products from them on the market get handed over for free to the team, sponsors, families and friends. Wrong way to go today. To hold a brand.
Man I just recently started skateboarding, and I literally had 2 pairs of Lakais in my cart before I heard the news. Now idk what to do. I was starting to fall in love with the brand, going back and watching fully flared, learning about the team, then this happens. I don’t think I want to support them if the team is gone. Any other core brands y’all suggest? Up untill now I just been buying SBs 😆 but I want to support a core skate brand.
Wait, I thought they fired the whole skate team? "if they're not coming from the right place,they aren't going to the right places" Webz 2024. Thats actually a pretty fucking profound comment, seriously good quote .
i believe limited releases needs to be adopted by more skate brands. Small teams and consistently sold out products while being creative, collaborative, desirable and manageable.
If a comlanys losing money and possibly going bankrupt it makes sense the first thing the new owner does is gets rid of people to cut cost. The old owners are most likely the highest paid memvers at the company so it makes sense to let them go especially if theres a new owner with new plans. Its always better for a company to get rid of s few people to cut cost then to keep everyones jobs and go out of buidness. I get that people srent happy but this is life.
Have you even bothered trying other brands? I fit in your same category and Etnies and eS are good choices too. Specially eS as they're doing reissues. The Muskas and Creagers are something else. And their flagship model, The Accel OG, is a great choice as well.
a sad situation - from a business perspective its obvious that you can't run a company losing $1mill a year - and if that means making some hard decisions to keep the company going then thats what has to be done - not great for the skate community obviously and I imagine the backlash will be huge, but you know, Rip n Dip is still a brand thats going right, so some are just ignorant to the background drama going on - and if they like the products then they'll still sell. Hopefully the creators of the brand get some closure at least.
I have been a supporter of Lakai for a while. They were and have been trying things and it's even wilder cause I see their shoes in skateparks every session I go out. The people in them usually are ripping too.
This is a similar situation Madness were in. Sacked Bill Weiss and the whole team left because of it. Shame because I’ve been skating the Riley Hawk 3 for a while now in I love them.
Funding basically disappeared a couple of years ago. Any startup or other company looking to raise funds has basically had the same playbook given to them by anyone giving them money. Firstly having to sell for much larger percentages of the business. Secondly and more damagingly to the business, having to massively cut costs. This started in tech but is ripping through all industries, regardless of how well a company is performing.
Lakai isn’t a brand I’ve seen skaters wearing in my country for easily a decade. They use to be relevant in the Cory Kennedy , malto, Mike mo era. Even then, Their shoes just didnt appeal to anyone I’ve ever known.
This is really sad as it is an OG skateboarding company going corporate. But imo I never liked any of the brands shoes, just the people who rode for them
And OG specifically, brands like Nike are corporate and always have been. Not an OG company for example started by skateboarders for skateboarders. I'm talking about companies like Lakai, Girl, and slappys. Not World industries, Nike, and Santa Cruz type brands
'Build A Team' sounds like they are starting from scratch. Tbh from me it sounds like the skaters overheads were a big issue and are getting cut probably for younger upcoming skaters who will do more for less... It's shit but at the same time I get it
Reducing the salary of the team and cutting out dudes who are pretty much the face of the company since day 1 is a real bad move if you expect people to stay around, whether it's customer or crew.
Lakai had been mismanaged for years and had been increasingly irrelevant. ironically as much as we've heard people complain about private equity/venture capital firms, Lakai had already been owned for a decade by two other separate firms. Mike and Rick have a lot of skeletons in their closet in regards with how they've conducted business.
@@jonathanborthwick400 Chico mentioned that a lot of the team was receiving checks that were late or light. the exit of Guy/Koston from Crail has to do with them getting screwed out of equity in Fourstar Clothing. Carroll put out a very strongly worded article when MJ left Lakai for Adidas. Lots of other financial fuckery and people being screwed all along the way.
Let's not fool ourselves here. This day would eventually come. Even if Lakai was doing good, going corpo was inevitable. But, who knows. If eS was able to reincarnate, maybe Lakai can as well.
Not that they were given any reason to. Everyone and their grandma were putting out good stuff the past decade, but Lakai. Lakai just started building up steam with the reissue of The Telford. But it was too little too late.
Lakai shoes are great but I feel like they could definitely do more in terms of innovation and design in general, not just with the shoes. I hope they can bounce back
Dropping the skate team is a bad idea. Theyr your on the ground reps. Going to shops and hitting comps under your label getting your name out there. You do need to take care of your employees but the team is your brand.
I know I may sound like asshole but, there is this one rule that you don't talk shit about your employer or give info that can hurt company you worked on, even if they wronged you or changed their ways. If any of your sponsors would see this video they would start rethinking if its worth to still work with you, and any future company you could work for would instantly blacklist you, because why would they risk that they employ someone who will start talking shit or leaking info that can hurt their reputation after leaving or when considering leaving.
I don’t see a problem here. Their financial situation was obviously disastrous. The company wouldn’t be here anymore if not for decisions made. And also the fact that the company might be bought *back*. Seems like big changes may be coming
I Spoke to the skaters working for Lakai and made a follow up video - th-cam.com/video/z12bYrACw10/w-d-xo.html
started skating when i was 13-14 and im now 26 years old and for me the saddest part of all this is the legacy that is being lost. Alot of us were holding onto lakai for nostalgia even if the shoes werent at the old level they were at since pretty sweet came out. Fully flared still is and will always be my favorite skate video it changed my life sincerly for the better showed me amazing skating outside of the box(for the time) and having fun with your friends in the process. it makes me sad but it was too late to save it long live the Manchester my old favorite lakai shoe. rip lakai
yes but DC will always be the best skate shoe brand ever and will never die
@@jessiemartinez3056 hopefully I’m glad they were able to claw back their skate customers for a while they could have just faded off into obscurity cause they still have shoes in other sports but yes I’m glad dc is being true to their roots now. Wish lakai tried to do the same. Got my Kalynx in the closet untouched
for those wondering, his 4 other sponsors are: Braille, Force Wheels, Revive griptape and Zumiez
Close!
It’s Slappy trucks, liquid death, thesixtylondon and Escapism skateboards
🤣this comment got me
LMFAO ! the 4 garbage ass sponsors ever ! haha! you forgot tillys !
they were losing a $1,000,000 per year?? A MILLION!!! That's not something a company can lose!!
No wonder if 3/4 of the products from them on the market get handed over for free to the team, sponsors, families and friends.
Wrong way to go today. To hold a brand.
The only thing that can save Lakai, bring back puffy shoes from the 2000’s ✊🏽.
Wow another skater owned core brand taken out by the big dogs in the industry. Sucks.
Worst part is it’s not even a big dog. It’s just some dorky finance bro who’s irrelevant even in his field
@@Deserthound to be fair, they were bleeding money and didnt fix it, they having "gone down with the ship" they took cash and bailed
Are we just gonna ignore the fact that Rick and Mike let it happen?
OK.
well they started to get crappy riders and the shoes were all sketchy vans rip offs !
Man I just recently started skateboarding, and I literally had 2 pairs of Lakais in my cart before I heard the news. Now idk what to do. I was starting to fall in love with the brand, going back and watching fully flared, learning about the team, then this happens. I don’t think I want to support them if the team is gone. Any other core brands y’all suggest? Up untill now I just been buying SBs 😆 but I want to support a core skate brand.
Emerica. Converse. Globe. DC. Es. Vans. Nike. I started skating in 1999 & those were the core brands. I'm sure I forgot a few though.
Vans is the best for me because pop cush
Fallen is making better shit too the bomber is great!
Straye are nice butt they aren't in the retailers all the time so online is the way.
@@southhour5241 they ship fast though I get mine in 4 days usually!
Wait, I thought they fired the whole skate team?
"if they're not coming from the right place,they aren't going to the right places" Webz 2024.
Thats actually a pretty fucking profound comment, seriously good quote .
i believe limited releases needs to be adopted by more skate brands. Small teams and consistently sold out products while being creative, collaborative, desirable and manageable.
@@offtheline-x8wI bought three pairs of the everyday shoe I'm wearing now for exactly that reason 😂
If they would make shoes with tongues the size of king pillows again it would instantly save the company
If a comlanys losing money and possibly going bankrupt it makes sense the first thing the new owner does is gets rid of people to cut cost. The old owners are most likely the highest paid memvers at the company so it makes sense to let them go especially if theres a new owner with new plans. Its always better for a company to get rid of s few people to cut cost then to keep everyones jobs and go out of buidness. I get that people srent happy but this is life.
love lakai, although i prefer straye simply because there shoes fit my weird feet better
Have you even bothered trying other brands?
I fit in your same category and Etnies and eS are good choices too.
Specially eS as they're doing reissues. The Muskas and Creagers are something else.
And their flagship model, The Accel OG, is a great choice as well.
I've heard of this today, but thanks for getting it done right.
And I love your gratitude for them ❤️
a sad situation - from a business perspective its obvious that you can't run a company losing $1mill a year - and if that means making some hard decisions to keep the company going then thats what has to be done - not great for the skate community obviously and I imagine the backlash will be huge, but you know, Rip n Dip is still a brand thats going right, so some are just ignorant to the background drama going on - and if they like the products then they'll still sell.
Hopefully the creators of the brand get some closure at least.
I have been a supporter of Lakai for a while. They were and have been trying things and it's even wilder cause I see their shoes in skateparks every session I go out. The people in them usually are ripping too.
Isn't Last Resort from the UK anyway? Try them
This is a similar situation Madness were in. Sacked Bill Weiss and the whole team left because of it. Shame because I’ve been skating the Riley Hawk 3 for a while now in I love them.
New business model seems to be that sale shoes are not happening for now, not even direct to consumer.
Funding basically disappeared a couple of years ago.
Any startup or other company looking to raise funds has basically had the same playbook given to them by anyone giving them money. Firstly having to sell for much larger percentages of the business. Secondly and more damagingly to the business, having to massively cut costs.
This started in tech but is ripping through all industries, regardless of how well a company is performing.
Rip lakai 😢
Is this why there was that lame monthly Colab with Pacifico
but they just released the public enemy collab bro so you should stay on the team ?
Damn man this is sad. A skate world without lakai isn't a good one
Rick and Mike want to stay with the whole team, but dont forget the MJ drama, they was paying less and less each month for him.
damn they did marc like dat?
skateboard marketing is so expensive, skateboarding industry is hard
Looking at what crailtap posted on youtube yesterday I'd say they won't be buying it back from him lol.
Lakais 2025 business plan should be-Make ONLY 2 SKUs/Models and start Lakai as a multi sport brand… SCOOTER, SKATE, MOTOCROSS, ETC
The original owners would rather sell than become a scoot shoe brand. Lol respect.
@ hey I’m just saying what their only option is… go to ANY skatepark all you see if skaters in NB, adidas & NIKE… lakai has no shot
@@PeepGamePopoff not true new balance and vans are hyphy right now
Growing up I always thought lakai were the coolest shoes sad to see this happen
I'll still rock with Lakai.
Bro U should reach out to Braille for sponsorship. I think they’re hiring
lmfao braille is a joke !
Man... what the hell is going on in the skate community lately. First the fall of Braille, now Lakai
Different cases and reasons.
@@search895you don't say? *Nicholas Cage face
Neither of these corporations have anything to do with each other
Braille wasn’t part of core skate to begin with lol
@@The-skate-collectoryeah I forgot they aren't both skate companies/brands
Lakai isn’t a brand I’ve seen skaters wearing in my country for easily a decade. They use to be relevant in the Cory Kennedy , malto, Mike mo era. Even then, Their shoes just didnt appeal to anyone I’ve ever known.
This is really sad as it is an OG skateboarding company going corporate. But imo I never liked any of the brands shoes, just the people who rode for them
Have you been living under a rock for the past decades?
Every skate shoe company is corporate to some degree. At least the good ones are.
@dylives7667 lmao I'm not talking shoe brands in specific. I said skateboarding company
And OG specifically, brands like Nike are corporate and always have been. Not an OG company for example started by skateboarders for skateboarders. I'm talking about companies like Lakai, Girl, and slappys. Not World industries, Nike, and Santa Cruz type brands
'Build A Team' sounds like they are starting from scratch. Tbh from me it sounds like the skaters overheads were a big issue and are getting cut probably for younger upcoming skaters who will do more for less... It's shit but at the same time I get it
Admirable. Nobody should skate those shoes anymore
Dang, I just found a shoe I like
Reducing the salary of the team and cutting out dudes who are pretty much the face of the company since day 1 is a real bad move if you expect people to stay around, whether it's customer or crew.
Webz about to get that Cariuma money!!!🤑
I will fuckin unsub if i see him in cariumas😂
Love lakai and they've been dropping sickkk collabs lately now this smh
Lakai had been mismanaged for years and had been increasingly irrelevant. ironically as much as we've heard people complain about private equity/venture capital firms, Lakai had already been owned for a decade by two other separate firms. Mike and Rick have a lot of skeletons in their closet in regards with how they've conducted business.
Ok…
Now is the time to elaborate.
@@jonathanborthwick400 Chico mentioned that a lot of the team was receiving checks that were late or light. the exit of Guy/Koston from Crail has to do with them getting screwed out of equity in Fourstar Clothing. Carroll put out a very strongly worded article when MJ left Lakai for Adidas. Lots of other financial fuckery and people being screwed all along the way.
@@Taser66 Chico was never on Lakai.
@@jonathanborthwick400 I never said he was. He was on chocolate and was getting stiffed by crailtap.
yup thats why danny and company kicked them off DC long tine ago,,
It was losing a million a year, if that's the case you can't sell and expect to be kept on.
hello!
Would it be that hard to support lakai if you’re not sponsored just keep buying them…??? What
Lakai was og skate shoe, sad to see this
Let's not fool ourselves here. This day would eventually come.
Even if Lakai was doing good, going corpo was inevitable.
But, who knows. If eS was able to reincarnate, maybe Lakai can as well.
All those people talking shit about Lakai are probably wearing SB dunks and haven't bought Lakais for yeaaars. No shit they are struggling
Exactly smh.
Not that they were given any reason to.
Everyone and their grandma were putting out good stuff the past decade, but Lakai.
Lakai just started building up steam with the reissue of The Telford. But it was too little too late.
well cuz the shoes are crap now just like globe and adio and circa,,
When's the last time you did, bud. Stop projecting
They need to switch back to tha mo knows styles they just lasted longer imo 😢
😢
Lakai shoes are great but I feel like they could definitely do more in terms of innovation and design in general, not just with the shoes. I hope they can bounce back
* were
Dropping the skate team is a bad idea. Theyr your on the ground reps. Going to shops and hitting comps under your label getting your name out there. You do need to take care of your employees but the team is your brand.
Sup 🐱's
Props to Marc for saving a legendary company
Lakai has been whack
Why so
facts
They've been killing it with collabs all summer n fall whats wack about em
@@dylanp9211 nah
@@jasonb993 can't say what's wack about em just that they are huh
I know I may sound like asshole but, there is this one rule that you don't talk shit about your employer or give info that can hurt company you worked on, even if they wronged you or changed their ways. If any of your sponsors would see this video they would start rethinking if its worth to still work with you, and any future company you could work for would instantly blacklist you, because why would they risk that they employ someone who will start talking shit or leaking info that can hurt their reputation after leaving or when considering leaving.
lol you a push over for the corporations 😂 learn to have a backbone & stand up for what you believe in or fall for nothing.
I don’t see a problem here. Their financial situation was obviously disastrous. The company wouldn’t be here anymore if not for decisions made.
And also the fact that the company might be bought *back*. Seems like big changes may be coming
Hopefully the last part happens…
Socks to bed = way better sleep deepness🟥😂😂🎉🎉😢🎉❤❤your life will change more than any other thing you can try differently😮😮😢😂
Lakai will be like Bling without Gong, pure liquid shit.