{"id":2228886,"date":"2026-10-30T15:26:22","date_gmt":"2026-10-30T12:26:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2228886"},"modified":"2026-10-30T15:26:22","modified_gmt":"2026-10-30T12:26:22","slug":"matt-king-is-breathing-new-life-into-two-classic-skate-shoe-brands","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2228886","title":{"rendered":"MATT KING IS BREATHING NEW LIFE INTO TWO CLASSIC SKATE SHOE BRANDS"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\nOf all the bad words, nothing beats \u201cfuck.\u201d <\/strong><\/p>\n

Fucking A. What the Fuck? Fuck you, you fucking fuck. For a kid it\u2019s the ultimate curse, but as you grow up a far more powerful F word floats to the surface\u2026 Forgotten. <\/p>\n

As a skater, a brand, or just a regular person, it\u2019s the last thing you want to be. And for a while, it looked like etnies and Emerica were heading in that direction.<\/p>\n

That is, until Matt King<\/a> showed up. <\/p>\n

As both company\u2019s new Team Manager, Matt\u2019s been tasked with reimagining their visual aesthetics and teams. A daunting task that he\u2019s taken in stride. <\/p>\n

His first big move, releasing a video for both brands, the etnies Promo<\/a> video and Emerica \u201cWhy Are You Doing This?\u201d<\/a> Tour video. <\/p>\n

Matt isn\u2019t new to the skateboard industry. He\u2019s been creating experimental, maximalist edits for over 15 years, introducing many to his glitchy mind through videos like Bottom Feeder<\/a><\/em> and Don\u2019t Like<\/a><\/em>. <\/p>\n

But with little to no information available, I\u2019ve been wondering: Who the hell is this guy?\n<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Looking at your early videos, I\u2019m wondering where you were looking for inspiration outside of skateboarding, like horror movies or psychedelic music videos maybe?<\/strong>
\nI love skate videos, but I also love horror movies. I remember thinking Osiris\u2019s The Storm<\/em> had a creepy vibe to it, so did Toy Machine\u2019s Good & Evil<\/em>. Maybe it\u2019s the music, or the way they film some stuff. So I liked the idea of making videos that were weird. <\/p>\n

For a while I stopped filming and I got really depressed when I was 18, and then I took some mushrooms and I was like, \u201cWow, imagine a skate video where you see it through the eyes of someone on mushrooms.\u201d <\/p>\n

A bunch of my ideas came from that.<\/p>\n

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Who\u2019s Gene Belanger? I see he\u2019s credited alongside you in much of your early work. <\/strong>
\nGene\u2019s my best friend. I\u2019ve known him since we were in the sixth grade. We met in Boy Scouts [laughs]. We grew up making skate videos together, like Nagajoose<\/a><\/em>. With that video, we were both still living with our parents, and we would always edit at Gene\u2019s parents\u2019 house in the basement. We had this editing area with a mini fridge and speakers and a couch, and then there was this other area with a TV and video games and a mattress on the floor. <\/p>\n

For the most part, one person would be editing and working on stuff and the other would be watching movies or sleeping, and we\u2019d just go back and forth. It was a lot of feeding off each other, and I think it gave us a lot of confidence because we weren\u2019t making the whole thing alone. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe first thing I did after moving to Los Angeles was help edit the second 917 video.\u201d<\/p>\n

When did you decide to take the chance and move to LA to make it as a videographer?<\/strong>
\nThat was in 2018. I was just burnt out in Chicago, the winters obviously sucked, and it was depressing and hard out there. We [Matt and Gene] thought that we could find opportunities to work in music videos, because at the time we were doing some music video stuff. <\/p>\n

We were also talking with Logan Lara [filmer\/editor] a lot over Instagram, who lived in California, and he was like, \u201cYou guys should come out here.\u201d We had worked a bit with Logan in the past, helping him edit the first 917 video, and actually the first thing I did after moving to Los Angeles was help edit the second 917 video.<\/p>\n

Holy shit, no way. I had no idea you were involved with those videos. <\/strong>
\nYeah, I was a ghost editor. It was a lot of fun, we rented a little studio and edited the whole thing in two weeks.<\/p>\n

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Stu Kirst, Emerica tour video<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Did you ever find success with the music video stuff? What else were you doing when you first moved to LA?<\/strong>
\nWe never ended up doing much music video stuff. A lot of people liked our skate videos, but it felt like no one was going to hire us for that. [The skate videos] can be too much, and people are like, \u201cWhat the fuck is this?\u201d It felt unrealistic that someone would hire us to make their music video. So we started leaning into making clothing with the Ssquirted logo and different shit like that. And during this time we made our video Dogtooth<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was no proof I could just film and edit normally.\u201d<\/p>\n

Does your style of video make it difficult to get a normal editing job? <\/strong>
\nFor sure. There wasn\u2019t much proof that we could film or edit a skate video in a classic style, or even outside of skating, there was no proof I could just film and edit normally. <\/p>\n

We had fans, but most people weren\u2019t into it. But then I remember at one point we started seeing the shit we\u2019ve been doing forever in more established people\u2019s videos, and that was frustrating. <\/p>\n

Looking at your old videos, are there any visuals you\u2019re surprised made the cut? <\/strong>
\nI\u2019m not sure, I don\u2019t feel like any of them were that gnarly [laughs]. It\u2019s all fake, you know? <\/p>\n

Do you ever think adding too many effects starts to ruin the final product?<\/strong>
\nYeah, for sure. I\u2019ve gotten to the point where my goal is to make something simple and enjoyable to watch. But even when I try to make a basic video people will be like, \u201cThat was weird.\u201d It\u2019s still standing out, and obviously that has a lot to do with the skaters. I guess what I\u2019m trying to say is I\u2019m much more toned down now. <\/p>\n

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When you took a chance and moved to LA, what jobs did you take on to make an actual living? <\/strong>
\nI was a dishwasher for the first three years in LA, working in a bunch of different restaurants. It\u2019s the easiest job to get, and I liked it because you don\u2019t have to talk to anyone. I actually worked in restaurants up until working on [Sci-Fi\u2019s] Endless Beauty<\/em>. I got fired because I took too much time off work traveling for that video. That restaurant sucked [laughs]. <\/p>\n

After I got fired I told Jerry [Hsu], \u201cCan I just work full-time for you on the Sci-Fi video?\u201d He hooked me up, and I spent the next six months working on Endless Beauty<\/em>. <\/p>\n

\u201cJerry [Hsu] gave us the freedom to make it however we wanted.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wow, so Endless Beauty<\/em> was your first time getting paid full-time to film and edit skateboarding. <\/strong>
\nYeah. I met Jerry Hsu through Logan Lara. We didn\u2019t really talk much, but we skated the curbs and chilled. Then, when Ryan Lay got on Sci-Fi, he was like, \u201cHey, do you want to film some stuff for this Intro to Sci-Fi part I\u2019m working on.\u201d I\u2019ve known Ryan for a long time so we filmed a few things and I edited the footage.<\/p>\n

That led to me editing Arin and Akwasi\u2019s part, and it went from there. Jerry [Hsu] was like, \u201cYou made our first video, let\u2019s just keep it consistent.\u201d After that we started going on trips and that turned into the full length. Luke Murphy filmed the majority of it and we edited it together. <\/p>\n

What\u2019s the working dynamic between you and Luke? <\/strong>
\nLuke\u2019s the master filmer. I would come on trips and help, and I filmed a lot of the B-roll, but sometimes I couldn\u2019t come on trips and he\u2019d handle all the filming. Jerry gave us the freedom to make it however we wanted, he\u2019s like, \u201cYou\u2019re good at this stuff. Take my vibe and mix it with your vibe and that will be Sci-Fi.\u201d <\/p>\n

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Julian Lewis, etnies Promo<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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What opened the doors to working with etnies and Emerica? <\/strong>
\nWell, my friend Kyle Seidler had been working for those brands for ten years, and I had worked on some small Emerica things a while ago. So I was dipping my toes into those companies. Towards the end of \u201cEndless Beauty\u201d I started working for Etnies and Emerica, which turned into the etnies promo and the Emerica tour video. <\/p>\n

Now I\u2019m the filmer, editor, and team manager for all these brands along with Kyle. We cover \u00e9S, etnies, and Emerica. <\/p>\n

\u201cJust do what you do, and that will be the new Emerica.\u201d<\/p>\n

Were you intimidated to take over two brands with such a big history and legacy? <\/strong>
\nI remember being intimidated, and then I was talking to Spanky, who was a huge part of the push for me to work on Emerica stuff, and he was like, \u201cIt\u2019s new owners, they want to rebrand and start over.\u201d That took a lot of pressure off. Spanky was like, \u201cJust do what you do, and that will be the new Emerica.\u201d <\/p>\n

And the same goes for etnies. I\u2019m working hard to make each company\u2019s videos look different, and people have still been like, \u201cThis just looks like Sci-Fi,\u201d but I think it\u2019s just because people know I made the videos. In my opinion, they don\u2019t look alike at all. <\/p>\n

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Have you ever been this in demand before? <\/strong>
\nNo, it\u2019s kind of crazy [laughs]. This is my first full-time job where I\u2019m filming and editing skateboarding, and then I\u2019m also being a team manager, and I\u2019m doing social media, and I\u2019m in sales meetings. I\u2019m also picking flow riders who could potentially be on the team next year, and it\u2019s cool to see people who are hyped since the video came out. They want to be involved and are excited about the brand. People are reaching out like, \u201cHey, I want to be on etnies.\u201d And some of these people I\u2019m surprised by. I\u2019m hyped that people have gravitated towards it and want to be involved. <\/p>\n

These opportunities have come a bit later for you. Do you ever worry about becoming the out of touch old guy? <\/strong>
\n[laughs] No, I don\u2019t worry about that. I\u2019m trusting my taste, and I\u2019m sticking to what I like and what I would like to see. Also, my taste is always changing, and there\u2019s a million things that people haven\u2019t done yet. There\u2019s plenty of ideas left to do. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think my videos have been successful for a long time, it\u2019s just the opportunities that are coming now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Why do you think people are coming around to you now? <\/strong>
\nI\u2019ve made videos and tried to show people stuff forever. I think it\u2019s just a timing thing. This is just the time that it works. I\u2019ve known Spanky and Kyle forever, and I\u2019ve always shown them my videos. They\u2019ve always been hyped on them, but it\u2019s not like they could just say, \u201cAll right, let\u2019s have him do it right now.\u201d It takes a long time for businesses to hire people and trust you, I guess. And there\u2019s also a lot of luck involved. I think my videos have been successful for a long time. It\u2019s just the opportunities that are coming now.<\/p>\n

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Do you see skate videos as art?<\/strong>
\nIf I see a skate video and it makes me feel something, then yes. <\/p>\n

Has there ever been a point, other than when you were 18, when you gave up on pursuing skate filming? <\/strong>
\nThere were moments working in kitchens where I thought maybe I could be a chef or something. I liked cooking, but I kept thinking about how I\u2019ve been focusing on skateboarding my whole life. I felt like I needed to do this.<\/p>\n

I remember talking to my older sister and her saying, \u201cIt\u2019s cool you\u2019re still doing that [filming skateboarding] because most people would have given up.\u201d And when she said that, I was like, \u201cOh, fuck, I can\u2019t give up.\u201d She said it so casually to me, and I really look up to my older sister. She\u2019s helped me so much and influenced me with music and everything that made me never want to give up. So I\u2019m like, \u201cI have to try and do this as hard as I can,\u201d and that\u2019s what I\u2019ve been doing forever.<\/p>\n

Is it harder to pull off more creative ideas these days? <\/strong>
\nYeah, and it\u2019s harder to get people to agree to do things. Skaters just want to chill, and they\u2019re like, \u201cWhy are we doing this?\u201d I just have to be like, \u201cTrust me\u201d [laughs]. It was a lot easier when we were younger, and everyone was partying and being goofy. Back then you didn\u2019t care. You weren\u2019t thinking about being presented a certain way. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s been a month since the Emerica and etnies video dropped. Do you feel like that buzz has sustained? <\/strong>
\nDefinitely. I get a lot of people telling me that they are still watching it and they like it a lot. We\u2019re moving on to this etnies full length, Subwoofer<\/em> and everyone is really excited to film for that. I think this is the beginning of a big change, and so far so good.<\/p>\n

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<\/p>\n


\nInterview and intro by: Ben Komins<\/a>
\nPhotos courtesy of: Kyle Seidler<\/a> and Matt King<\/a>
\nDM us a meme on Instagram<\/a> and Twitter<\/a>
\nAh geez, follow us on TikTok<\/a> too<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Of all the bad words, nothing beats \u201cfuck.\u201d Fucking A. What the Fuck? Fuck you, you fucking fuck. For a kid it\u2019s the ultimate curse, but as you grow up a far more powerful F word floats to the surface\u2026 Forgotten. As a skater, a brand, or just a regular person, it\u2019s the last thing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,282],"class_list":["post-2228886","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-jenkemmag-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2228886","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2228886"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2228886\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2228886"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2228886"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2228886"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}