Shinsuke Takizawa + Paul Mittleman + Fraser Cooke Background Fraser: I would say I'm incredibly fortunate to be in the position that I am and be able to work within an area of culture that I have enjoyed for so long within a really dynamic company. To be honest I have always been pretty selfish and narrow in some ways and stuck with what pleases me personally. That happened to be underground cultures around me as I was growing up, be it skating, music (and the subcultures that it spawns), fashion and travel (in order to better get close to those things). Nike was definitely a big part of, firstly the sports that I was pretty active in at school and then early skating, Hip Hop culture of course as a Londoner observing this new movement and it's style eminating from the US. To me I think it's kind of logical that if you love something and have a passion and stick with it for any length of time, you will become knowledgeable and learn to read the way things are going, you feel, from a gut level, what your area of interest is going to do or where it's headed. If you can turn that into a job then it's the best it can be. I certainly had no idea that I would be doing what I am doing now. No plan at all. I just kept consistent and I guess through timing and luck with a degree of insight, I ended up here at Nike. I started to introduce and eventually distribute some early US street wear brands, did the PR and wrote for some magazines such as i-D and The Face helping build the roots of this culture (along with many others) in the UK. It's also important to nurture and maintain relationships. I generally like people and am interested in what is going on around me and the people who are making things happen, within my scope of focus. It's an ever-evolving process. You know, relating to like-minded individuals learning from them and having them as a solid bunch of friends. I think you need to get out there and connect. Not just virtually but through real human connection. The web is a great tool and it helps start and maintain to some degree. But the depth and quality is quite different when conducted in person and for my generation (pre internet in our formative years), we made friendships face to face that have endured for close to 20 years in some cases. There's just no substitute for getting out there. I had no money to begin with and many of us didn't. In fact it took many years to be stable financially and many tough times and ups and downs. We hooked up crashed on each others floors, somehow flew around the world a bit, shared ideas, opened shops, started labels or distribution, wrote about things for magazines, threw events and parties, DJ'd, made music, etc. and it all worked out pretty well for some of us I guess. We were having fun most of the time even though it has its definite tough times but you go with the flow. I think I some ways timing as all of this was new and we as a generation, created and contributed to establishing this "street-culture" lifestyle. We just have to continue to try to add something, support new ideas and keep it alive along with the new kids. Jörg: As a kid, do you remember what you thought you'd be when you'd be a grown-up? Takizawa: This is little bit embarrassing but, as a kid, I always wanted to be a movie actor, then a fashion designer. Paul: Nope. I am sure as a kid I had some dreams, but not that I can remember.