DAVE ORTIZ — Beyond The Box

Dave Ortiz is a New York-based artist that has been a fixture in the city’s skate scene for decades. He was the first employee of Zoo York, and went on to found DQM with Chris Keeffe in 2003. Sneaker News recently interviewed Ortiz about how DQM got its start, and the Bacon Nike Air Max that he designed in 2005. 

At the 3:08 mark, Ortiz reveals that a joke and dollar bet with Eli Gesner are what led to the formation of the shop—which has become one of New York’s most beloved brands over the past 15 years.

*One day, me and Eli [Gesner] were going to get lunch. And I bet Eli. I said, “Hey man, what if I took the wackest name and made that shit dope?” He was like, “Well, what is that name?” I said, “What if I opened a store and called it Dave’s Quality Meat? What if I opened a store and designed it to look like a butcher shop? But it wasn’t a butcher shop. And I packaged all of the stuff in there to look like meat. And I created the first concept store.” He was like, “I’ll take that bet.” And we bet a dollar. It was literally the wackest name.  *

Watch the entire interview above.