If you were skating in the early 2010s, then you probably remember Ripped Laces. Focused fully on delivering the most in-depth skate shoe news and reviews, Ripped was an independent website that became a home for skate product nerds.
Jeremy Lugo, the site’s founder, is not only a good friend of ours but also a trusted backboard to bounce our silly ideas off of. He’s helped out on a number of special projects, most notably our collaboration shoe with Converse released in 2019.
Every now and then, we pop across a tweet, or an Instagram comment that laments the end of Rippedlaces.com, always holding on to some hope that the site will one day return. Every time we pass one of these comments, we try to forward it to Jeremy to let him know what the people want.
After some poking and prodding, we were able to convince Jeremy to get back on the horse and start pumping out some content again. Take this as the first entry in a trial run of Ripped content on Jenkem, hopefully coming to you on a ~semi-regular basis from here on out.
For his first project, Jeremy and filmer Bobby Spero were able to get together early-pandemic with designer Benny Gold to talk with him about his lengthy track record and past designs. We’ll let him tell you the rest.

A Message from Jeremy Lugo:
Known throughout streetwear for his namesake brand, Benny Gold is an accomplished designer, art director, and entrepreneur.
Perhaps overshadowed by his broad array of talents, Benny Gold is also a skateboarder who’s had his hands in helping legacy brands like Ipath, Gravis, HUF, and more.
We met up with Benny on the cusp of his raffle where he intended to part with his life’s work. Before passing his work onto a number of lucky winners, we wanted to pick his brain about the state of footwear, some of his favorite projects he’s worked on, and more.
Note: This was filmed before the unfortunate passing of Keith Hufnagel. RIP Keith.



The Shop
Related Posts
Comments
Popular
-
KEITH HUFNAGEL ON THE FUTURE OF HUF
We heard a rumor that HUF was going out of business, so we talked with boss man himself to find out.
-
HOW ONE SKATER TURNED A FROZEN RIVER INTO A SKATEPARK
Ilya Batrakov skates remote spots made of ice on the breathtaking frozen Iskona River in Russia.
-
HANGING OUT WITH ANDREW HUBERMAN, SKATEBOARDER TURNED NEUROSCIENTIST
Curious what it would be like to hang with this guy outside of a stuffy podcast studio? Us too.
-
BREAKING THE MOLD OF TRADITIONAL OIL PAINTING WITH SKATEBOARDER ANDREW BARNES
A skateboarder and graffiti artist, Andrew’s art accentuates urban dystopia through the quiet capture of the mundane.
-
SKATERS RECOMMEND THEIR FAVORITE SKATE PANTS
We hit up some pro skaters and Jenkem contributors known for their 'fits to offer recommendations.

























November 12, 2020 3:15 pm
RL back on the scene! Fuck yeah, Jeremy.
November 12, 2020 10:24 pm
Please, more. Please!!!!!!