Internview #4 – Lawrence Kwong
I know you’re the owner of Minutia Skateboards, but what exactly do you do?
Way too much, but at the same time not enough! Seeing that there is only Jessie and I on a super tight budget, we pretty much have to do everything ourselves. I used to develop brands on the side, but I got sick of dealing with annoying clients and trying to collect their money. Jessie and I still work full-time jobs, so as of right now, Minutia is our hobby/creative outlet that we spend our extra cash on.. cash that should probably be going into a savings account or a 401k, but wtf… this business keeps us happy and creative. We do all of our own artwork/designs, photography, marketing, and maintenance of our website/ecommerce store. Our friend Brooksie does all of our video and editing. Together we unite to get our drink-on and create til our eyes bleed! There’s nothing better than having fun, doing what you love.
It’s pretty cool that you and your wife started this company. What is it like working with your wife, and how long did it take you two to get to where you are now in this industry?
We started Minutia in October of 2008. The name stemmed from a really bad day at work. My old bosses used to suck big-time. One day they put me in charge of something they had botched, but failed to give me the “little details” that were needed to get the job done. I went home bitching to my wife about my day, and the awesome person that she is told me, “Don’t they know that it’s the “minutia” that is important?” and that’s where it all began. Since I was little, I always wanted to design graphics for a skateboard company. Now that we had our name, I figured why not start one ourselves and see where we could take it. Even before we started Minutia we had always been a good team. From supporting me while I was in design school, to buying our first house together, to raising our team mascot the amazing Yum Yum a.k.a Yumbo Dog a.k.a Yumbolina a.k.a Yummy, i would be nothing without Jessie.
If you could describe skateboarding in one word what would it be?
“mikeflashnernatestuartbrianholbrookbrianwellsdavebelcherjoeglynnsteveclarkderekkannaly” – that was easy…
What would your last meal be?
I feel like this question was made just for me. My latest cravings have been either chicken and waffles from the Hen House in Boston, or Dim Sum at Chau Chow City in Dorchester. Then again, any type of buffet would do… all day kehd!!!
Why do you think men and women shoe sizes are different?
I guess it’s like a win win situation. This way the ladies don’t feel like they have huge tranny feet and men can feel like they have big dongs.
What’s the future looking like for Minutia?
So far so good… there’s nowhere else to go but further. We just want to stay true to what we do, keep our riders and fans happy, and hope that one day we can do this full-time.
Internviewed By: Jen Cannon
