MIMIK Clothing
Dave Z. of MIMIK was nice enough to take the time out to speak to us about his clothing and his love of skateboarding.
Does Mimik Apparel mimick life?
Haha. Yeah I guess in some ways it does, but mostly my life, since I’m the creator. As for the graphics, I make simple graphics that [get] the point across, and that I think are chill to wear.
How does Huntington Beach, California come through in your clothing?
[It doesn’t!] I’m joking. Living in Huntington Beach helps out a lot. This town has so many skaters and surfers, [making it] the prefect place to have a clothing line. Also, last month Sharkeez Bar n Grill on Main Street helped me out by letting me throw a promotional party there. There were mad giveaways and by the end of the night, practically everyone in the bar either had a MIMIK sticker on them or a shirt. It was sick.
What about skateboarding inspires you?
Pretty much the whole lifestyle. I got into skateboarding when I was 11. [I grew up] skating with all [my] friends and homies. We always lived it up, skateboarding all day long [going] from spot to spot, trying to get some footy. Then we ended up chilling at one of the homies’ houses, watching [that day’s] footy, and recovering so we could have girls come over. Skateboarding has just always been fun. Now that I’m older I wanted to give all the up-and-comers in skateboarding something they would like to wear, that could also represent what they’re about and their lifestyle.
Which came first your clothing or the skate team associated with it?
Clothing line for sure. I always wanted to do a clothing line, or at least something with skateboarding. In High School I started a board company called “Who Skateboards”. I would get blanks from a friend and then I would hand paint the boards with designs that I came up with and I would sell them to kids around school for like $40. It was pretty sweet. Anyways, yeah the clothing came first and then once I had some product I asked some friends if they wanted to ride for me and that’s how the team came about.
How did you get various skaters from different parts of the US on your team?
Dude the skating community is crazy because you can go to any part of the world and having a skateboard on you is like having a special “members only” membership within the skating community. But I was filming for ATM Skateboards and we would travel and meet new kids from different towns. I was also flying back and forth to Milwaukee a lot for a while so just meeting up with new peeps from the Midwest, and then they would come out to California and visit and then they had friends from other parts of the US that would hit me up and be like, “So and so said you could film us while we’re in California.” So, that’s pretty much how it happened.
Define what makes a “Skateboard-Inspired Clothing Company.”
The skateboarding lifestyle is what makes MIMIK a skateboarding inspired clothing line. And since I’m a skater, I guess it only makes sense.
What does the future hold for Mimik Apparel?
So many plans. First and foremost we have new designs coming out. Secondly the website should be getting done by this Summer. Around that time we will be dropping a promotional full length MIMIK video with lots of amazing footage. All I have to say is “Switch ollie, El Toro!” Originally I was going to sell the video, but I think it’s better to hand it out and have someone watch it and be stoked on the skating and clothes. There’s other plans in the works which I can’t really talk about but be on the lookout for MIMIK gear all over the place. Also coming very soon is London Seven clothing. London Seven is more of a high fashion urban wear brand. And that’s all I have to say about that.