DQM isn't just a brand that piggybacks off the success of skateboarding and street culture, its founder Chris Keefe is as authentic to New York City skateboarding as 5-panel caps and bringing your boombox to the Brooklyn Banks. In fact, he was and still is one of those dudes. Its been 10 years since DQM opened shop in the Bowery, merely as extension of Keefe's passion and to fill a void in NYC's retail scene, and the brand has since blossomed into one of the most respected names in streetwear and the sneaker community.
But Keefe's idea didn't come without influence from other great folks in streetwear and skateboarding. "I guess the heavy influences at the time were friends of mine who had opened sneaker shops like a year before, Kicks Hawaii and Huf," Keefe told Transworld Skateboarding, "Those guys gave us the wherewithal that if "they can do it, we can do it" kind of thing, we just felt we had a different point of view being in New York."
Remarkably, its Keefe's experience with skateboarding that helped him build a business. How many parents thought their kids being chased by the cops and fracturing wrists would make them successful businessmen? "Skateboarding gave me a lot of contacts as far as people we still dealt with in the industry," Keefe said, "I'm still working with people who I've known through skateboarding 15, 18, 20 years ago,"
From then on, DQM has turned into not just a sneaker shop, but a partner with Vans and a full clothing brand. To find out the brand's latest moves, and what's in store for the future, watch the rest of the video above.
[via Transworld Skateboarding]
