Probably one of the quieter members of the Ubiq lineup, Andy Kang has been working behind the scenes of the brand for years, one of the deciding factors of which labels are carried and which get dropped. Notoriously passive, Kang fires back at the rumors plaguing the restructured sneaker boutique while giving us a sneak peak on things to come.
Phrequency: Let's clear some things up. You're a buyer for Ubiq but who do you officially work for and how did you get started?
Andy Kang: Officially I work for Jako Enterprise. It's the parent company of the store, they also own Kicks USA, a fairly large retail chain in the Philadelphia and New Jersey area. We also acquired ATMOS in Harlem, so Ubiq is part of a larger entity. I first shopped at the Ubiq gallery when it opened back on '02, when I was a young lad, still in school. I guess I became one of those familiar faces. The owner [John Lee] always came in a lot and I don't know how it happened, but eventually I got hired at the Walnut location. I stuck around long enough, and I guess through Ron Crawford’s good graces and sheer dumb luck I began to move up. Ron was like “Hey, fuck it, lets make Andy more than just another guy who works here.” So, I got sent to the Ubiq corporate office to fulfill the duties of an assistant buyer. You know, doing spreadsheets and stuff, cause I'm Asian and we all know Asians love numbers.
P: People are mentioning some visible and not so visible changes going on at Ubiq. Do you sense these changes as being positive, and what will it do for the sneaker culture in Philadelphia?
AK: Change is always a good thing, but tends to be a hit or miss. We’ve tried several ways of getting to the level we are at now. Some positive, some negative, but the positive aspects far outshine the shadows of the negative. Probably the most significant visible change is the absence of the Stussy store. It's a shame cause I feel like if Stussy didn't work in Ubiq it won't work anywhere else in Philly. We also decided to bring our entire Vans and Converse collection to the first floor because we figured it would be more convenient for customers, and besides, that area was like a dead zone. If it took us 4 years to get people to check out the apparel section in the back of the store, it would probably take another 4 or 5 years to get them to go upstairs, so we just moved everything downstairs. As for Stussy, though the store is gone, we will be carrying their Fall 2009 apparel line.
P: Out of all the Ubiq collabos or events which one do you think was the best, and how did it help Philadelphia?
AK: Without a question, the UBIQ vs. UNDRCRWN March Madness event last year. We worked in conjunction with Set Free, and he was able to get Ubiq early copies of the game and set up a tournament section in our backroom. We had both levels open and everyone was having a great time. Mos Def even came by to chill. We had a DJ providing us with all the club music you could handle. Bodies were flying and sweat was dripping off the walls. It was filthy, and I loved it. Ubiq hasn't really seen anything like that since, we've seen decent events afterwards, but when you set the bar so high it's kinda hard to repeat that success.
P: Can you give the Phrequency readers a sneak peak into any up and coming projects?
AK: Collaborative projects? Let’s just say there’s gonna be a good tie-in with the Eagles this season. We’ll also be going forward with our own in-house brand. We’re going to do a full-fledged line towards holiday. I'm actually starting to finish the November and December drops on it and hopefully we’ll get it done on time. It's a pretty long and slow process and I'm already a little behind with everything else, but we’ll throw the Hail Mary and see what happens.
P: Who do you think is Ubiq’s biggest competitor in Philly and nationally?
AK: Locally? I don’t even know, to be honest with you. We used to have a lot more stores, there were a lot more options in Philadelphia but obviously in the last year, the number of shops has dwindled. I don’t know. It's a shame. Being the seventh largest city in America, you’d think there’d be more to it. Even in New York, you have more established stores like your Alife, your DQM's, but then you have long standing retail stores like Union, which closed this year. I don't want to say competition, because there’s a very small select amount of street wear stores so I'd rather it not be competition and more of a joint effort to get more people into this whole, as much as I hate the word, “culture.”
P: Is there anything in the street wear culture that is too hyped up, or not hyped up enough?
AK: Retro basketball sneakers aren’t nearly as hyped up as they should be. A lot of people in here don't give a shit. No one has that nostalgia factor. I can count the number of people that do on one hand. When I try to explain the importance of them to people, how Reggie Miller wore Uptempos in '96 or that Penny Hardaway wore them, a lot of people are like who the fuck is Penny Hardaway? It's kinda tragic, but at the same time you can kind of expect it just cause sneakers have grown beyond athletics and into the lifestyle aspect. I can't expect everyone to know about the classics, but I'd like to at least educate some people on it. The truth is a lot of people aren't really receptive to that type of information and fall for hype. On the other hand, I’m sure not everyone is as nostalgic as me, to each his/her own.
QUICK BITES
A/S/L: 23/m/everywhere, or anywhere you want me to be
Finish the sentence. “Don’t…” Don't ask me for a shoe that’s 2 sizes smaller/bigger than what you normally wear; you know it doesn’t fit you. Don't ask me what the price of the shoe is when there’s a price tag right there. Don't ask me for free shit. If I can’t get it for free then I’m not giving it out for free.
Biggest let down? I don't really have regrets, I take the cards that life deals me.
Worst Callabo? It’s probably more off the beaten path but because I saw it this morning, Diddy and Proactive, that is a little weird. I saw Jessica Simpson and Vanessa Williams looking gorgeous as always, and then I see Diddy. That's not why we watch these commercials, we want to see fair-, light-skinned women, looking gorgeous, with their spectacular skin. And then there’s Diddy. Epic fail.
Any last words? Play me in Madden NFL '10, X Box gamertag AK54. Oh, and go away Brett Favre. Christ, he’s like 80!
Secret Fetish: Black and Spanish women.
Beef you'd like to squash? Personally? I don't have any gripes, but just because it happened last week, people
need to lay off Michael Vick. Sure, he did awful things, but he paid the price so let’s wait and see before we judge him so harshly.
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