SneakerBlogger Interview: PLSTK

Usually, working at a faced-paced technology startup leaves little time for anything else. But when you have a desire to build a better sneaker, you find time. And that is exactly what Neil Cueto [above, in the foreground] and Mark Gamab [above, sitting] did. Working for Danger [the company that created the Sidekick for T-Mobile and was recently snapped up by Microsoft] by day, they spent their freee time on their other passion : designing innovative kicks under their brand PLSTK.

The duo has caused a stir among sneakerheads with their fresh designs and a diverse lineup of kicks, so we were excited when Neil took some time out of his crazy schedule to chat with us about working two jobs, going head to head with the majors and why he jumped head-first into the wild world of sneakers.

How did you get started--and how have things been so far?

Personally, I got started as a kid not being able to afford Jordans. I always bought the jordans the season after. I remember laceing up my Jordan 3's ready to go to school and when I got to school the kids asked "why I got the old ones?"  They were all wearing 4's. Ever since then, I've been hooked.

As for PLSTK, we were looking through fashion blogs and magazines at work and we would send each other links on different types of shoes etc. Then one day we realized that "thats what we'd like to be doing. Just designing shoes".

Granted both Mark and I have pretty good paying jobs. But as far as satisfaction goes, theres nothing better than seeing a product become physical from start to finish. An even better reward is seeing someone you don't know wearing your shoes.

Its sort of the same feeling we get when we see a kid using a Sidekick. I want to tell them that I did this or that on it.

With so much competition in the sneaker market, how do you differentiate yourselves from other brands?

Well to be honest, a shoe is a shoe is a shoe. No matter how you slice it, consumers will always find a way to relate your brand with something that they've experienced in the past. Thanks to brands like Cre8 and Clae, they've managed to crack the door a little wider where indie brands can be excepted.

For me, I think our shoes differ with their branding. This is something that both Mark and I believe in strongly. Its easy to go street, punk or skate. The problem however, is that the market is already so saturated. From the get go, Mark and I spent more time on making sure the branding experience was cohesive versus spending time drawing (which also play into the brand).

Another differentiator is that Mark and I did NOT want to use an AF1 or Dunk cast. Instead, we wanted a particular long sleek look to our shoes. So we traveled to China and asked our manufacturers to create a unique last. This was the only way that we can ensure that we can get OUR own look.

Now like I said earlier, most people will try and find experiences from the past and try to apply it to our shoes. So they can't help but feel that they are seeing a Nike shoe just because it has a toe box or a heel counter. Go figure.

What have been some of the biggest challenges or surprises since launching PLSTK?

It seems like every leg of this business has been a challenge. From construction to shipping to actual sales. Our first year was tough. We had a business partner who was supposed to take care of the business side of PLSTK, but things didn't work out. As a result, we're doing everything opposite from what we did last year.

I'd say the biggest surprise was how different market segments react to our different types of designs. For example, when we first debuted at Pool/Magic last August, we got quite a few US accounts and no Japan accounts. Mark and I switched our approach this year and for some reason, we only got a few US accounts but tons of Japan accounts. Economy maybe? Not sure, but it was a welcomed surprise.

What sneakers/shoes do you buy?

Lets see. I buy Timberlands, Nike, Cole Haan's and most recently some Alexander Mcqueen Pumas. By far my fav.

Mark is an Alife, Feit, New Balance, Nike and Converse wearing kind of dude.

While you are getting PLSTK off the ground, how do you pay the bills?

I am a staff UI designer and visual design lead at Danger. Pretty much everything that you see on the device has either been drawn or art directed by me. As for apps go, I worked on the MySpace app for the SideKick as well as the camera, media player app. Yes... I met Tom...

Mark is a resident designer on the marketing team at Danger. He works on the packaging, website, tradeshow graphics etc.. thats all him.

When will the new line be available?

Our Spring/Summer will be available soon. Like I said earlier, my nights are consumed with stuffing shoes boxes into bigger boxes, then filing them with peanuts. So I would expect to physically see them on shelves in a few weeks.

Where can people buy PLSTK shoes?

Right now people can expect to buy our shoes in a few boutiques around the Bay area, LA, New York, Japan and Kuwait. As for online orders, we are not currently on any site at the moment. All I can say is that we're working on getting direct sales out to people through our website. I'd encourage people to check our website [here] for stockists.