Augie Galan & Geoff Heath: Acapulco Gold | Hypebeast

Interview with Augie Galan and Geoff Heath

Hey what up? Hope things are well… for those unaware could you give a quick introduction about yourselves and a little background behind Acapulco Gold?
 
Augie: I was born in Camaguey Cuba, and grew up in Queens, NY.  I started going downtown when I was 13 to party and skate in the mid-late 80′s.  My father worked up in the train yards in Washington Heights, Manhattan so I would go up there and see other parts and people of the city, I’d check out the South Bronx, Fordham Road, Brooklyn whatever.  I would get open on the all the different styles going on in the city and then I’d go downtown and I’d see them all come together in one place.  I started working in retail because school wasn’t my thing anymore.  This is where I started learning all there is to about the game.  I got my design and production skills up while working at Supreme with my boy Geoff Heath who had found his way to NYC in 1998.  We worked to make that as good as we could, and in 2006,  we decided to do it for ourselves and we started Acapulco Gold.  It’s been all good ever since.

Geoff: I’ve been around for awhile. Back in the 90′s I had a street brand called “Pervert” and learned a lot of things that eventually led to a path working with Supreme and now Acapulco Gold. I was born in Worcester, Massachusetts but raised in Atlanta and Miami. Eventually I settled in New York.

Both growing up in different locales and areas, how do you think this affects your visual communication and aesthetic? Do you think that you guys work together in unison cause you guys share similar views despite different backgrounds?

Geoff: The different locales and areas has a little bit to do with my aesthetic but for the most part it is how my mind works.  I know a lot of people that grow up in wild places and have a unique upbringing and their visual communication is horrible.  When I do things I always try to make things that I like because if I do not like what I am making my heart is not in the project.  If my heart is not in the project then I could care less about what I am making.

I think Augie and I get along so well because we do have similar views on the world.  But I think the biggest reason is because we are self aware of who we are as individuals and treat each other as such.  Most people can’t get along with themselves let alone get along with someone else.

Augie: I was raised in an older household and Cuban culture in the 40′s and 50′s was all about style and fine taste, so I guess that interest was passed down to me by my parents.  The streets then formed my way of communicating both in terms of the people I chose to hang with and the things I chose to create.  I’m pretty sure Geoff was raised with similar values and even though we grew up in different places, we hung with the same types of people in general so we understand each other on that level.  Geoff also lived around a lot of my peoples when he was in Miami so he understands our craziness.  Finally we grew up liking the same movies, music, clothing etc.. so it’s easy to see where our similarities lie.

When working together we’re able to express these same ideas in separate ways since Geoff’s specialty is graphics, and my specialty is fabric and construction.  He helps me express my ideas graphically, and I help bring his designs to life.  Therefore the final product is always good in my eyes because of the care we took in developing the idea.  

From the sounds of things, you guys do a good job of complimenting each other, as I understand you both had stints with Supreme. Did your guys relationship begin prior to Supreme? What are some of your favorite moments working for one of streetwear’s most heralded and iconic brands?

GH: Our relationship began before Supreme when I moved up from Miami and Augie was working at Union. I would go hang out in Union and met Augie in there.  After a while he came to work with me and Brendon at Supreme and it was just the 3 of us for a few years.  One of my favorite memories from Supreme was the time that I had totaled the company truck in New Jersey.  This truck was a newer one than the truck Augie used to drive.  I was going to New Jersey on January 2nd, I’ll never forget it, I came out of the Holland tunnel and was making my way up the ramp to get on the turnpike.  All of a sudden I was facing sideways on the ramp and trying to correct the spin I was in.  Next thing I know I am spinning the other direction on black ice and I am out of control.  I was spun multiple times until I crashed into the side wall.  If you have ever been on that bridge you know it is about 20 stories tall so while I was spinning I thought I was going to die.  It wasn’t just me that was out of control the people behind me were all spinning and skidding out of control coming at me.  It turned into a 20 car pile-up after me.  Once the dust had settled and was ok it was all kind of fun.

AG:  Geoff and my partnership started the day he walked into Union in 1998.  However while in High School I was buying the stuff he was designing at the time with a company called Pervert in the early 90′s, so I guess you could say our relationship began before 98.  Yeah I think we compliment each other pretty well.  We also share similar driving styles.  Which brings me to one of my favorite memories.  In the early days of Supreme we were able to borrow the company car on weekends cause our boss was cool like that.  I was pickin’ up this girl that had flown out to see me from LA at JFK one night.  She landed early and had caught a cab back to my place in Astoria.  So when I get to the airport and she calls me and tells me she’s at my place, I hop in the 1989 Nissan Pathfinder that we used to call the “Death Trap” and I’m doing 120 on the Southern State Parkway going West,  and as I turn a corner I somewhat see a broken down van, with 4 people jacking the tire in the back.  There were no lights on or hazards on, so in the pitch dark when I get within 20 feet of it and I finally realized what it was, I swerved last minute to avoid killing everyone. I took my driver’s side rearview mirror off on the side of the parked van, as I narrowly escaped death, and as I struggled to get control of the wheel I crossed 3 lanes of traffic until I finally got it under control.  I collected myself, and then booked home doing a more conservative 90mph.