In the land of turn ups and low tops, the skate sock man is king.
Since I got my feet on my first pair of Carnage Socks I’ve been checking back again and again to see if they’ve released another pair of gnarly ankle-huggers. In the last year Carnage Socks have gone from a couple pairs of hand dyed socks made by Minas Patoulas and Giorgios Tsiknas, to a legit, if petite, DIY company supplying rad designs to shops and skaters in Greece. But while we wait for the next step in their journey, here’s a little interview with c0-founder Minas about what Carnage is all about.
When did you first start skateboarding, Minas?
I started around 12 years ago.
And what was the Athenian skate scene like back then?
You know, I think it was actually much better than it is now. There were better contests, we had magazines, skate videos, teams. The entire Greek scene, whether good or bad, when it existed it would hype you up subconsciously because you would want to include your face in it. There was more money obviously, so until 2012-13 I think that it was the golden age, then things started to change.
The crisis hit. How did that affect small skate companies like yours? And how did you have to adapt to create Carnage Socks?
Well we started the brand during crisis so we tried to stand on our own two feet, and that is very hard to do in Greece with the tax system the way it is. We’ve found our way though, somehow.
Do you think it was the fact you were making socks?
In the beginning we didn’t exactly have socks in mind. We only said socks because in the Greek skate scene there are many new brands for decks and clothing, and we wanted to do something different.
Well, it seems to be working. Where do you want to take this?
Our plan is to go outside of Greece and talk to more European stores, because I don’t know how much more we can handle working only in the Greek market. Then we want to create some other products, not just socks, and to make a bigger collection with more designs, and maybe a promo video in 2018.
So what does the scene look like now in Athens?
I think that skaters now are more true to skating…
Because of the lack of money maybe?
Well, when I first started most of them just rolled around or carried boards with them. In general, the level of skating is so so much higher now. I don’t where this could lead, but I know that I’d rather see skaters leaving their bloody skin on the ground than a load of posers trying to get in on a rich scene.
Would you say there was something missing from your life right now?
Haha, that’s a weird question, but I think not: I have all the basics.
So if you had a button that could fix any problem in your life, you wouldn’t push it?
No, there is a problem actually, but I don’t want to talk about it. It would be rad if that button were real though.
Cheers, Minas. Keep Pushing…
