Metro Vancouver's Timebomb Trading certainly has a lengthy history as a standout Canadian distributor. They pay keen attention to the brands they represent, which include Emerica, éS, Etnies, RVCA, Altamont and LRG, among others. More importantly, they have a solid vision for these brands within the Canadian market.

"There's a lot of times we rub off on each other and we're not just their distributor or customer. We really try to work with the brands and become family with them," says Timebomb co-owner, Garret Louie.

Timebomb supports Canadian tours, grassroots contests, and they tailor US-based skate event concepts for Canada, like Emerica's Wild in the Streets, and the éS Game of SKATE. They also use the brands they carry to promote engaging creative events in Canada, like the Etnies collab with Color magazine's cross-country traveling photo show, A Rolling Perspective.

In this edition of "Open House" Garret Louie gives us a glimpse into the history of Timebomb, and their inspiring new environmentally and art-savvy Burnaby, BC warehouse facility. Also, Timebomb's skate team manager and photographer, Judah Oakes, provides some insight into making team selections that represent both the company and the brands they carry. Judah also mentions some of the standout team choices they've made in the past.

Garret Louie, co-owner, sales / marketing manager, and brand liason:

History
"It started out as a sales agency my father [Nick Louie] owned back in '91. I started working as a sales rep. Long story short, I went down to an ASR trade show back then and everything was very surf oriented. I saw the Freshjive line down there, which was very unique because it was one of the first street wear lines. So it started with Freshjive, and it was just myself and my father shipping boxes to about 10 retailers in Canada. In 1993, we decided this was going to grow, so we started acquiring some new lines and approached a couple other partners to start Timebomb Trading. We picked up Dragon and Etnies—a line of about 6 different shoes with multiple colour choices at the time. Luckily for us, we grew along with Etnies, which really branched out. We're one of Sole Technology's oldest distributors at this point."

Garret Louie and Judah Oakes in Timebomb's environmentally friendly low-flush lavatory. 

The Environment and Art
"We really did our homework on our new building, and had to design it from the ground-up. We wanted a warehouse we can be proud to come to, and a place that inspires. One of the things that's taking some direction from the suppliers we work with is Pierre André Senizergues' [founder / CEO of Sole Technology Inc.] environmental stance. He was involved with this great film on the environment called The 11th Hour that everyone should see. So, going down to Sole Technology [Lake Forest, CA] and being influenced by some of the stuff they've done, as well as seeing what's going on with the world today, we thought: ‘If we're building something new and we can implement as many green initiatives as possible, why not?' So we did that by using hydro friendly T5 lighting, skylights wherever possible, the whole recycled vibe, low-flush toilets, and all the right wood and materials in this building."

"We work a lot with artists, and I'm a big fan and collector of artwork. During the year-and-a-half before this new building went up, we started collecting more art. We've got work from people like Wynn Miller (who shot the original Tony Alva series), Patrick O'Dell photos, Ben Tour, Rick Klotz...there's maybe 50 pieces of art we've collected on that note. We're also working with local artists like The Dark and Danny Vermette, who put in full installations. So, the warehouse is a combo of working with Sarah Long, who designed our showrooms with really out-of-the-box architecture; the environment and our green initiatives; the whole art thing, and making sure this place works efficiently."

Judah Oakes, photographer, and team manager for Timebomb's skate brands:

From pro skater, to photographer and TM
"I was pro for a company out of Toronto called Or:g skateboards for about 3 years ['93-‘95]. Syd Clark was also pro, and Corey Sheppard was the young AM. I had 4 models with them and they were just small runs of boards. I hurt my knee and got more seriously into photography in '97. That, and becoming team manager about 10 years ago allowed me to stay involved with skateboarding and help other dudes that are trying to pursue what I was with skating."

Bradley Sheppard. Judah Oakes sequence.

Sponsorship radar
"I get anywhere between 5 to 20 videos sent to me every month; it's really sporadic and mainly in the form of YouTube links. The biggest thing you need is a good video part. That's the introduction to how someone skates: how fast they go, their skill level, and their style of skating. A kid could send in a video and claim he wants to ride for Emerica, but he's dressed like a gangster in his footage. They have to be a good fit for a brand. Personality is huge, and because I manage teams for all of Canada and I can't be everywhere to see every up-and-comer, I look a lot to our existing team in certain territories for their word-of-mouth opinions on potential new guys. It's also about coverage. You could be the best dude, but if you're not shooting with the right people to get coverage, then you're not promoting the brand and the company. I'd say it's almost mandatory to spend time in Vancouver, Montreal, or Toronto to help your chances of getting on, especially Vancouver—that's our home base. It's a skateboarding hub for Canada, and a stepping stone to get on in the US."

Classic team picks
"Paul Machnau, late ‘90s / early ‘00s: "One of the best tapes I ever got. We hooked him up on Emerica right from the beginning when he was still in Cranbrook, BC. It didn't really just come down to his video, either. What people were saying about him definitely factored in."

"Arron Johnson, early ‘00s: "He sent a tape from Campbell River, BC. He rode for Emerica first, and was actually featured in one of Timebomb's first ads on the back cover of Concrete."

"Arto Saari, late ‘90s: "When he first came to North America from Finland, he came to Vancouver before he went to the States and made a name for himself. We hooked him up with Emerica. He was up here filming for the Platinum video with Moses [Itkonen], and he ended up getting on Emerica direct down in the States. He moved on to éS, then he moved onto Etnies—he's the only dude in history that rode for all 3."

Timebomb's Direct Skate Team (current as of Nov. '08)
Danick Bastien, Etnies
Aidan Johnson, Etnies
Stacy Gabriel, Etnies / RVCA   
Stephane Picard, Etnies
Cory Wilson, Etnies   
Ryan Fyfe-Brown, Etnies
J-S Lapierre, Etnies   
Tamara Drybrough, Etnies
Steve Strang, éS   
Todd Myers, éS  
Olara Obina, éS   
Derek Swaim, éS
Kevin Wu, éS   
Kevin Lowry, éS
Ben Stewart, éS   
Arte Lew, éS
John Hanlon, éS   
Jamie Tancowny, Emerica
Jesse Booi, Emerica / RVCA   
Frank Fily-Paré, Emerica
Glenn Suggitt, Emerica   
Dave Nolan, Emerica
Brad Sheppard, Emerica   
Kevin Greenwood, Emerica
Dan "Alien" Nelson, Emerica   
Jeff Folgmann, Emerica / Altamont
Gio Namini, Emerica   
Deer Man, Emerica / RVCA
Gailea Momolu, LRG   
Chad Dickson, LRG
Ryan Bonnell, LRG   
Mike Fyfe, LRG
Keegan Sauder, RVCA   
Justin Allain, RVCA
Kevin Greenwood, RVCA   
Dustin Montie, LRG

Vancouver, BC's version of Emerica's Wild in the Streets. Summer, 2008.

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Related:
Open House: Kitsch Skateboards
Open House: Momentum Wheel Co.