Gio Estevez - The OG Supreme Staff

Gio Estevez was the first-ever employee at Supreme's inaugural store. He, along with founder James Jebbia, helped build the original staff and skate team, with many skaters and media crediting him for playing a crucial role in establishing Supreme's identity and image in its early days.

This year marks Supreme's 30th anniversary since its opening, and we caught up with this legendary yet incredibly low-key figure to chat about a plethora of new and old stories surrounding Supreme.

Gio Estevez 是 Supreme 第一个店铺的首位店员,至今依旧在那里工作。他和创始人 James Jebbia 共同组建了最初的店员和滑板队伍,很多滑手和媒体都认为他在早期,帮助 Supreme 确立身份和形象上起到的重要作用。

今年是 Supreme 开店 30 周年,我们也联系到这位具有传奇色彩,但极其低调的人物,聊了聊很多关于 Supreme 的新老故事。



(影师:Ari Marcopoulos)

🎙️  Is it true that you are Supreme’s first employee? How did James contact you about that?
Yeah I guess so. My friends mom, a mutual friend of James and I, told me that her friend (James) was going to open a skate shop in SoHo.. she helped me get the interview with James..

🎙️  How was your job different then than it is now?
Well, then the store wasn’t half as busy as it is now so you can imagine it was a very different thing to walk into the store then. Also the location was on a very quiet block that was only surrounded by antique stores.


(First Supreme Store,摄影师:Sue Kwon,1995)

🎙️  We understand you helped put together Supreme’s first skate team. Did you or James have any specific selection criteria?
I think it was a combination of the both of us.


(from left:Quim Cardona, Chappy, Keenan Milton, Gino Iannucci, Harold Hunter, Keith Hufnagel, Jon Buscemi,摄影师:Sue Kwon,1996)

🎙️ How did the original signed tee shirt that was used for the 30th anniversary tee develop? Do you remember who was first to sign it?
It was a t shirt that we had hanging in the back of the store and whenever a pro skater from out of town visited the shop we’d ask him to sign it.. I don’t remember who was the first to sign it.


(*In 1994, Supreme released this 'Taxi Driver Tee,' and many of the OG staff from the first store, as well as numerous Supreme team riders and visiting pro skaters, have signed it. Signed skaters include but are not limited to: Lance Mountain,Keith Hufnagel,Kareem Campbell,Greg Hunt,Jason Lee,Joey Suriel,Peter Bici,Chris Keefe... ...)

🎙️  Thomas Campbell’s A Love Supreme was the first Supreme video. What’s the story behind it?
I don’t really know what the story was behind it, we went out filming with Thomas Campbell for the project and he had this old black and white film camera which was pretty cool. It was just a bunch of the guys that were skating around downtown at that time.

🎙️  When did you start skateboarding? How do you think skating in NY differs from then to now?
I started skating during my first year of high school. Skating in general is very different and difficult now.. the things people are doing on skateboards today is pretty amazing.


(摄影师:Sue Kwon)

🎙️  Finally, is there anything you’d like to say to the skaters or Supreme staff in Shanghai?
Don’t forget to have fun and do the best you can at whatever it may be.


(摄影师:Alex Corporan)

The First Tee commemorates Supreme’s 30th Anniversary. It features a printed graphic of the first-ever Supreme tee, the Taxi Driver Tee, signed by some of the original shop’s staff, crew, and visiting pro skaters in 1994. Since its inception, Supreme’s original Lafayette Street store was the epicenter and impromptu clubhouse of skateboarding in New York City. The First Tee is a testament to that.

Available on April 27 in Shanghai, WeChat Mini Program, Japan and Korea.

🎙️ 你是 Supreme 的第一位员工,James Jebbia 是怎么跟你联系的?
是的,我想是的。我朋友的妈妈——也是 James 和我共同的朋友,告诉我 James 要在苏荷区开一家滑板店。她帮我得到了 James 的面试机会。

🎙️ 你当时的工作和现在有什么不同?
嗯,那时候店铺还没有现在的一半繁忙,所以你可以想象。那时候走进店里是一件非常不同的事情。而且我们的地址是在一个非常安静的街区,周围只有古董店。

🎙️ 我们知道你帮助组建了 Supreme 第一支滑板队。你和 James 有什么具体的选择标准吗?
我想这是我们两个人的共同努力。

🎙️ 用于 30 周年纪念 t恤的原始签名 t恤是如何发展起来的?你记得是谁先签的字吗?
那只是一件我们挂在商店的 t恤,每当有外地的职业滑手来店里时,我们都会让他在上面签名。我已经不记得是谁第一个签名的了。

🎙️ Thomas Campbell 拍的《A Love Supreme》是 Supreme 的第一个视频。这背后有什么故事?
我真的不知道它背后的故事是什么,我们和 Thomas Campbell 一起出去拍摄这个项目,他有一台老式的黑白胶片相机,非常酷。当时只是一群人在市中心滑板。

🎙️ 你什么时候开始玩滑板的?你认为那时的纽约滑板和现在有什么不同?
我是在高一时开始滑板的。那时的滑板和现在非常不同,现在滑板厉害很多,人们在滑板上做的动作总是相当惊人。

🎙️ 最后,你有什么想对上海的滑手和 Supreme 的工作人员说的吗?
无论做什么,都不要忘记享受乐趣,尽你所能做到最好。

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