“Two guys who’ve got a weird sense of humour. One with very poor grammar skills, the other’s a published author. Your, you’re, their, there, they’re – I don’t care”
A Fucked Up Interview with Lincoln Eather, founder of EMPIRE AV . An Australian Fashion, Lifestyle and Extreme sports website , where you can almost find everyday, what will be the best tomorrow !
ITW : Pierre David
Desillusion :
hey buddy , are you there , got time for a quick interview?
Lincoln Eather :
Yeah, give me twenty minutes…I’m in the middle of a couple of important emails .
Desillusion :
Ok no worries .
Lincoln Eather :
yeah done! let’s roll
Desillusion :
yeah , I’ll give you a call ,say in 2 min , I’ll just get another coffee going .
Lincoln Eather :
Sweet mate !
Desillusion
Ringing…
Desillusion :
Storm. Fuck,the connection sucks here !
Lincoln Eather :
Damn. the storm’s killing you guys right now huh ?!
Desillusion :
Call ends
Desillusion :
Yes , dude sorry , I can’t hear you at all, the bloody storm’s fucked the lines !
Lincoln Eather :
A big storm’s always fun. Normally it’ll bring waves !
Desillusion :
Yeah let’s hope so! Ok , fuck it , let’s do it cheap ! we can’t talk so i’ll do what I can,ok? !
Lincoln Eather :
All good.
Desillusion :
What was the main idea behind Empir Av ?
Lincoln Eather :
The main goal for Empire Av when we started was to provide a platform that would give brands better visibility , more opportunities on the products and projects that really convey who they are as a brand. For a while there, large multi door retailers had driven the industry to the point of creating products that didn’t neccessarily resonate with who/what that brand stood for – the moto/mx trend here in australia is a brilliant example of that.
WAAR new Collection
Desillusion :
That type of thing seems to happen everywhere at the moment !
Lincoln Eather :
Yes for sure , and because of that, a lot of brands got pulled into creating what the retailers told them too – « give me that tee with that print, add some foil and i’ll order xx amounts » – rather then the brand showcasing a range that is true to what they are, who they are and how they want to be.
Desillusion :
I guess it’s a chance for those creative dudes ( designer, graphiste….) who’ve never see their Capsule collection show up somewhere ! and a chance for the audience too !
Lincoln Eather :
Yeah, it gave the brands a place to show their pieces or collaborations or special projects that wouldn’t have normally been able to get any exposure or marketing love. Obviously , it’s changed a fair bit nowadays with the influence of street/lifestyle and you see most brands now putting money behind select collections, co-op projects and special one-offs .
That’s the professional response – well as professional as i can get i suppose !
Desillusion :
Haha !!
Lincoln Eather :
The other side of the story is that i just wanted to see more cool shit from the brands I amped out on – rather then over green logo’d kelly tee shirts that I wouldn’t wipe your dog’s ass with !
Grand Scheme – Limited 5 pannels Collection
Desillusion :
good point !
Desillusion :
Dude, that’s insane ! some tree branches are flying behind our HQ, almost broke the windows , its crazy !
Lincoln Eather:
HAHAHA , seems that storm is causing havoc over there! stay safe !
Desillusion :
It’s a mess, anyway, back to the point, are you alone involve in the Website ?
Lincoln Eather:
Me and a mate of mine – Tim Hawken – started the site. I think it’s been running for about 4 years now.
The site has a lot of potential and can hopefully really help the industry move more products but in a more authentic way .
Desillusion :
How do you deal with all the post , you’re always searching the web to find the fresh news ?
Lincoln Eather:
Yeah, i look after all the day to day stuff and we have about four of us that help contribute to the posts each day. every day we aim to run 5 new posts which allows us to curate it to stuff/product/weird shit that we like.Sometimes shit gets posted , but fuck it, that’s part of starting something right? haha. not always gonna get it right. one step back, two steps forward as long you stay on the same path .
Lincoln Eather
Desillusion :
It’s nice to see that you guys muck around sometimes with the stuff that you print every day ! Cos otherwise,it can be pretty boring!
Lincoln Eather:
Yeah. I agree. i just post and type what ever comes into my head at the time. i should probably put more of an opinion in terms of how the product looks, etc but half the time it’s more fun just being stupid and not so serious – it’s only a product, it’s not like we’re solving world issues…or anything.
Warriors Of Radness – Summer 12
Desillusion :
haha true ! and how does it work ? Do you make enough money to live the dream through what you show on your website , or have you got some side project on the run ?
Lincoln Eather:
Side project ! don’t make nearly enough to live the lifestyle i lead with Empire haha !
Beyond Empire Ave i do a bit of freelance marketing . I’ve done bits of work for Quiksilver, Rip Curl, DC, Modom and a few different startups – one of the main
brands i work with daily is Bellroy – a real nice carry brand that specializes in creating Better Ways to Carry, right now they make some kick ass wallets.
All the money we do make goes back into pushing Empire forward – new websites, travel, searching for unicorns…
Desillusion :
Do you serioulsy live on the spot you INSTAGRAM every morning,where you make comments about the waves ? if so, fuck,you’re damn lucky !
Lincoln Eather:
Hahah, yes! The pics each day on Instagram – it’s the main beach I surf every day. In the very far distance is Winki Pop and Bells Beach. I check it every day and take a photo – it gets me out of bed. I live about 2 mins from the spot where I take the photos.
Thrills Eyewear .
Desillusion :
I just noticed that you have a French commercial on your web site ? from a brand named « La Redoute » who failed so bad a couple weeks ago ! they shot some pics of kids for a new range and they released the pics on the web with this fucked up naked dude on the photo background ! watch the pics below hahah !
www.wp-content/uploads/2012/01/la-redoute-fail.jpg
Lincoln Eather:
HAHAHAHAHAH !!!
Classic !
that’s hilarious .
Desillusion :
what does Empire Av means ?
Lincoln Eather:
There is actually a street called Empire Ave in “Jan Juc“ where we live and on that street is where Tim’s (empire ave co-founder) parents live. That’s where we came up with the name – we couldn’t think of anything else and we were going round there for something and walked past the street sign and bang! it stuck .
Penny marbles Series .
Desillusion :
Ok , last question, If you could define Empire AV in 10 words ?
Lincoln Eather:
Fuck. Who knows. Unicorns. Painkillers. Humor. Trendy Guys. Ego. Fun. Junk Food. Web Crawling. Emails. Posting.
Desillusion :
That’s 16 !
Lincoln Eather:
Haha
#sosurfithurts … !
Desillusion :
Thanks Lincoln .
