THE DAILY Goes One-on-One With DC Shoes Founder Ken Block

KEN BLOCK always had a visual flair and a sense of timing. He cultivated the former in junior college, where he studied graphic design. And he sold DC Shoes, the company he founded with DAMON WAY in '93, to Quicksilver for $87M in '04.  DC Shoes manufactures footwear for such extreme sports as BMX, motocross, skateboarding, snowboarding and surfing. As former president of the company, Block was responsible for shoe design and all marketing and advertising. As chief brand officer, he continues to oversee the design, development, and marketing and advertising elements. In his spare time he is a rally racer and in '05, he was Rookie of the Year in Rally America, the top U.S. series. Block recently spoke with SportsBusiness Journal N.Y. bureau chief Jerry Kavanagh.

DC Shoes Co-Founder Ken Block

Q: What’s new at DC shoes?

Block: Mainly it’s dealing with a brand that keeps expanding. We’re trying to keep everything under control as we grow and keep our premium brand positioning out there and continue to push the boundaries that we can with marketing and product development.

Q: Is DC Shoes competing with Nike, adidas, Reebok and New Balance?

Block: A lot more nowadays than we were in the past. In the ’90s, when we started DC, skateboard shoes were nowhere near as popular as they are now. But with that popularity came a lot more competition, so we’ve had to step up our game in the past couple of years because, you know, the big boys have decided that they want to attract a lot of these younger, trendier youth of today and they’ve got to come in and compete against us in some of the action-sports arenas. So, our competition has changed in the past couple of years as opposed to what it used to be.

Q: That competition could be formidable for all.
    
Block: Yeah, I think competition’s always good. We look at it as a challenge. We always come along with certain points in the brand’s life where we say, “All right, this was good in its time but now we’ve got to step up and work harder. We are down for the challenge at all times. It helps to push us.

Q: To what do you attribute the success of DC Shoes?
    
Block: That’s a tough one. I attribute it to a great staff of hard-working people, a great logo and brand with a good message. We’ve been very strong in our marketing and product development, and we were in the right place at the right time with a brand story and athletes and product.

Q: You are the man behind the marketing at DC Shoes. What’s the best new idea in marketing?

Block: I couldn’t tell you because then I’d be giving away all my secrets.

Q: Have you borrowed any secrets or tips you’ve seen either inside or outside the industry?

Block: For us, the marketing is just constantly evolving in these new media. The Internet and television and print advertising have changed a lot in the past decade. You just have to evolve with it. Either evolve or die. So we do everything we can to just stay up to par in the market with marketing and brand messages.

Q: Is there an overreliance on statistics in marketing?

Block: I’m not sure how it works in other places but we have a lot of people here who are very connected to the markets that we’re in. We get a lot of feedback from our consumers and retailers, and we try to adjust the brand and the products as we go along. So, we don’t necessarily just go by statistical data.

Q: You have been out in the field observing firsthand.

Block: Well, yes. I grew up as a skateboarder, snowboarder and motocross rider and now I’m a professional rally racer. I and my business partner, Damon Way, come from the same type of background, being so involved with the sports that we actually promote and make products for. It comes very natural for us to make these products and direct this company.

Q: I read where you said, “It’s a very finicky market. I like to use the term ‘cultish.’ There’s a lot of pride in the market for individualism and personal style.” Can you maintain an individual style in a corporate setting?

Block: I genuinely believe that you can. I’m sitting in my office right now in a pair of jeans and a T-shirt, and I believe that to really be focused on being successful and being in touch with your consumer, you have to live the lifestyle of the brand that you’re trying to produce. I try to stay as connected as I possibly can, even though it’s a little more difficult as I get older.

Q: Where do the major sports properties go wrong in marketing to a young audience?

Block: That’s not really a fair question because I wouldn’t want to tell them where they’re going wrong.

Q: What do you see in the immediate future for DC Shoes?

Block: To keep trying to make the best products that we can and to remain as connected as possible with our consumers. Typically, there’s a nine- to 12-month concept retail cycle. It’s always trying to lead and predict what those consumers are going to want nine to 12 months away. That itself is sort of an art and a science.

Q: How is business?

Block: Business is excellent. It surprises us still to this day how popular the brand is and how much it grows every year.

Q: Is there a brand, other than your own, that you particularly admire?

Block: Yeah, I pay attention to a lot of brands around the world. Probably the one that I admire the most is Apple. Their innovative products and their innovative thinking, their attention to details and their brand messaging, to me, is one of the best in the world.

Q: Business management author PETER DRUCKER wrote, “There is only one valid definition of business purpose: to create a customer.” How does DC Shoes create a customer?

Block: Part of our goal as a company is to involve all of our consumers in a lifestyle and/or an athletic endeavor. So we create a brand and an image and a message that hopefully draw people in. The more that we can bring those people in to hear our message and hear the message of these activities and/or lifestyles, the more that we create a consumer demand.

Block Finding Both Corporate And Personal Success In Rally America

Q: From DC Shoes to Rally Racing: How did that transpire?

Block: At DC we genuinely like sports and marketing and products that are a little different from what everybody else does. We love skateboarding and we like that in the past it was not really a mainstream team sport. We like the individual style of it and the fact that it was a very rebellious sport, especially back in the day. As far as Rally is concerned in the world of motorsports, it’s one of the most unique and respected ways of car driving in the entire world. It’s the second-biggest motorsport in the world and it’s huge everywhere but in the United States. One of our athletes, TRAVIS PASTRANA, got involved because he had such a big love for the sport. And as one of his biggest sponsors, we saw an opportunity there because he needed footwear that he could go driving in. We saw a cool opportunity to make a unique, different product for an amazing athlete and an amazing sport. We got into it knowing that, hey, this isn’t a giant market, but it’s very unique and it’s different and we’re supporting one of our biggest athletes.

Q: You had success in that yourself right away: 2005 Rookie of the Year in Rally America, the top U.S. series.

Block: Yes. Well, I’ve been a fan and wanted to rally race since I was a little kid. Out of all the motorsports, that was the most intriguing. When I got the chance to do some training and actually learn how to race, I jumped at the opportunity. And then I ended up being pretty good at it, so I decided to go out and try to race with Travis. That was 2005. Subaru picked me up as one of their factory drivers and I’ve been racing all this year with Travis. It’s been a great time.

Q: Can action sports go mainstream and still maintain an image of nonconformity?

Block: I think they keep their nonconformity only at a certain part. Part of the reason why the sports are going mainstream is that parents are accepting that their children can go do this, and they are willing to buy skateboards, surfboards, motocross bikes ... whatever. And those things aren’t possible ... the parents aren’t going to commit to these sports without there being a certain level of acceptability. A lot of the people in our sports have just accepted that to grow the sports and go beyond the very niche thing, that there is a level of conformity that comes along with that. I think that it’s fine, and I think that the sports have handled it very well, especially skateboarding, where there is still a very small, tight, core set of retailers across the country that do very well. But also there’s a set of ball-based retailers who have been very successful with skateboarding, snowboarding and all that. There’s been a very fine balance of how companies like us work with the two different sides of those retailers, and work with them really well. Both flourish in their respective markets.

Q: What impact will this generation of extreme sports athletes and fans have on the future of sports business?

Block: The sports business is changing. There are new sports and these kids have new things that they watch and want to participate in. Instead of having only team sports, kids now have the option. They can play baseball one hour and a couple of hours later go skateboarding down the street. There’s just more variety for them. We’re seeing that a lot. There are kids nowadays who are basketball players in team sport. And they go snowboarding in the winter and in the summer they’re are out wakeboarding and skateboarding. Nowadays that’s just so much more accepted and understood than it was 20 years ago when I was growing up.

Q: What’s the next challenge?

Block: To raise my brand-new baby daughter. Along with everything else that’s going, my wife gave birth to our first child [in October]. My life is already very busy enough and I still have a lot of goals and expectations of what I’m doing with my existing company and projects and all that, and now I have a new one there at home to experience and have a lot of fun with.