-I don't think people who don't have nationality can be international.
Nakai:By way of a change of subject, Shinpei, you released "BRANDNEW CLASSIX" in 2005, "FINDERSCREEPARES" in 2006, and "DIALOGUE BETWEEN INSIDERS" in 2007, in rapid succession, didn't you? Did you have an intention for this speed?
Ueno:There was no intention. . there was nothing else to do but skateboard.
Nakai:Was it after that that you started offering apparel?
Ueno:The first one was released at the same time as "BRANDNEW CLASSIX" with a vertical stencil logo graphic with "TB" on it. I still have the catalog from that time, and the product descriptions were terrible, like the one for the L/S Tee that said, "This is a long sleeve" (laughs). You'd know it when you saw it" (laughs).
Nakai:(Laughs). Was it around this time that you decided to make a living at it?
Ueno:No, I have always had a strong desire to make a living from skateboarding, but I thought, well, it's not going to happen.
Nakai:But you've never worked for any company, have you?
Ueno:No, I don't think so. The only place I've worked properly was Supreme.
Nakai:No, I wasn't doing it right at all (laughs).
Ueno:A lot has happened.
Nakai:There was a lot going on (laughs). Going back to the subject, you then said that since the time of "LENZ" you have been saying that you wanted to be a part of the world.
Ueno:I think "JAPANESE SKATEBOARDING" that I learned from Mr. Morita (Takahiro Morita) of FESN is the most important thing. From the Japanese approach to spots and trick selection, to video expression and background music. I was just blown away by his creative spirit to challenge the world. At that time, everyone was just being swept away by the overseas trends, and no one was even thinking about skateboarding that was uniquely Japanese, so it was like an eye-opener. I was determined to make it as a skateboarder.
Nakai:At that time, Shinpei-kun wrote a blog, right? He wrote a blog about the mentality of being proud of one's own country and loving a foreign country. I believe that the image of that blog was similar to the style that Morita-san was showing.
Ueno:. yes, yes. What I was writing on my blog at that time was what is called nationalism, because back then there were no social networking sites, so I used my blog to communicate my thoughts and ideas.
Nakai:I see it as a decade in which what you wrote in that blog came true.
Ueno:I guess that's true. Looking back now, I feel young, and I was wrong at times, but the "nationalism" of those days has definitely improved me.
Nakai:I guess Shinpei's identity and nationalism have been created by the experiences he has had through skateboarding.
Ueno:Yes . And I don't think anyone who doesn't have a National can be International.
Nakai:It was like a bolt of lightning for me at the time, because my senpai would show up and talk about these things over the counter at Supreme. It took me a while to figure it out. . When I say it took me a long time, it also took me a long time to realize how great "ER MAGAZINE" was. The method of expression is similar to the idea of a zine, and the motive is to represenet ourselves and our friends. I felt the awesomeness of it. It was like, "I don't have any media that I like, so why don't I make it myself?
Ueno:People often say that about us, including the speed at which we release our videos, but in reality we were just doing what we normally do. From our point of view, it was the only thing that made life worth living. We didn't have any money at the time, and all we were interested in was skateboarding and making films.
Nakai:. from there, you became rarer and rarer in the industry. Inevitably, we stood out and naturally became unique. . I think it was due to speed. There were people who released good skate videos and people who made good clothes, but to release videos at a fast pace and make apparel at the same time, and to create "SHRED" (a skate shop directly managed by Tight Booth) while at the same time giving shape to the desire to lift up the people around you through ER, I think it is a feat. I think it's a great accomplishment to create "SHRED" (a skate store directly managed by Tight Booth) while at the same time releasing tempo videos and making apparel. At the same speed you were skating and doing other things, it must have been quite a workload for Shinpei.
Ueno:. It was tough, because I did everything. We shot, edited, planned, designed, held meetings, gave instructions, and even tagged and folded the products and sold them to stores that would buy them. We even printed our own price stickers to put on the products.
Nakai:Then it doesn't add up in terms of speed. Were you sleeping? I was sleeping.
Ueno:Back then, I used to stay up until 3:00 or 4:00 every day. I even had my buddies help me with tagging.
Nakai:. . and because of that, you were already quite well known at the time. I thought that because he had done a good job in the apparel business during the time when he was rising in the skateboarding business, he was completely out of the game in both fields. Shinpei used to say to me, "You play too much.
Ueno:I don't know if I took the time. When I was younger, I thought everyone else was super playful.
Nakai:It was around the time after "LENZ" was released that we started having parties. My first impression of "Tight Booth" was that they don't drink and don't party. I like music, so I'd be on the club floor, but I wouldn't lounge around and listen to what I wanted to listen to, then go skateboarding. . I don't drink, so I can get around in my car.
Ueno:While you guys were playing, I was loading the bullets, and I thought I was going to shoot them all eventually (laughs). I don't want to talk about hardships, but I really think that the ambition and energy I had back then is the reason I am here today.
Nakai:Then, you and Katsumi (Katsumi Minami: EVISEN SKATEBOARDS) founded KINARI INC, which further accelerated the process.
Ueno:Kacchan had the same vibes. . we needed a strong group to move up from here, just like in an RPG. Maru-kun ( Shintaro Maruyama: owner of "BRIDGE" and EVISEN rider ) joined the group and EVISEN was born.
Nakai:There's something boyish about that.
Ueno:We wanted to work on turning 0 into 1 rather than 1 into 10, and I think that's why we gathered together as a group. Sota, however, saw this in no small measure, so he started to do things on his own.
Nakai:I was watching Shinpei-kun and the others up close, so I naturally believed that I could make a living if I developed my own style and believed in it. I think this is the biggest reason. I think the reason we are now able to get up in the morning and go to work doing what we love is because we were able to see that kind of attitude at work.
Ueno:In the past, I would be stubborn, but if someone asked me, "Then how are you going to make a living? I used to be stubborn, but if someone asked me, "Then how do you make a living? But my passion won out. For example, if I made one piece of work and sold 100,000 yen, the next piece I made would sell 300,000 yen (......), and so on. I felt that we were steadily growing through these small accumulations, and I was quite satisfied with that alone.
Nakai:And you have continued to do so, and it has led you to your current form, hasn't it?
Ueno:Yes. So what I do is exactly the same now. I skateboard, make videos, and make clothes.
Nakai:I saw Shinpei's autograph in various skate stores in western Japan at that time.
Ueno:I don't remember having that many. Well, I would load up my car with samples I had made, along with my photography equipment, and go around the countryside, asking stores to look at my clothes, getting them to place orders, going to shoots with them, having parties, and that was all I did back then.
Nakai:. and you're going to be skating in a Tight Booth outfit for that shoot. That's the best exhibition ever. I go there for both sales and skate shoots, so by the time I sell apparel to the locals and store owners I visit the spots with, I'm already a fan.
Ueno:I did that kind of thing all the time. But it was super fun. I was happy every day. We couldn't stay in hotels because we didn't have money, so we stayed at comic book cafes or stayed at local people's houses. So I always had about five sleeping bags in the car.
Nakai:Shinpei-kun seems to be creating a path for his friends and the generation below him by advancing rapidly himself. In other words, he is in the position of the Red Ranger. The Red Ranger doesn't think that he is creating a path for others, does he? He just keeps going and going.
Ueno:You had more conviction than anyone else to keep skateboarding, which you really love, with your friends.
Nakai:What do you want to do now that the scale, visibility, and phase have changed?
Ueno:. I want to climb up the stairs step by step, just like I have been doing. If I can continue to climb the stairs and one day contribute to a marble skate park in my hometown, that will be the final landing point of my skating life (laughs).
