Breaks Magazine Interviews Scott Sasso of 10.Deep

Breaks Magazine recently sat down with Scott Sasso of 10.Deep for a personal one-on-one interview with the seasoned streetwear designer on the origins of the respected label, and his experiences during the 20 years he has headed the brand. Points of discussion include the perspective change in the streetwear landscape, 10.Deep’s longevity, and the label’s collaboration with BMX brand Animal Bikes. Excerpts from the interview can be found below. Head over to Breaks Magazine for the full sit-down with Scott.

How did 10Deep start, and what was the brand like back then?

Much like most of the earlier roots of ‘street wear’ it was honestly done without any sense of business consciousness. I woke up one morning, thinking that I wanted to start a t-shirt brand like many of the guys graduating from graffiti before me were doing, so I wrote down a bunch of names on a piece of paper, taped it onto the wall of my college dorm, and eliminated the ones that I liked least over the next few days.

10Deep was the name I liked best. I just wanted to make a couple of t-shirts really as something cool to do and as an extension of my interests in graffiti, zines, etc.

Where does the brand stand, and have you ever had to ‘reinvent’ yourself? As when you started, 20 years ago, ‘streetwear’ didn’t exist like it does today.

The brand has always been true to its core so there hasn’t been a need for reinvention. We’ve always been based not in what we think we ‘should’ do but from the collective of interests and tastes of our small and eclectic crew of friends. That said, sometimes we find it necessary to re-remind the street wear public (who often like to assign their own assumptions and values to brands) who we are.

Out of all the collaborations you’ve done, the Animal Bikes one was the one that spoke to me most – how did that come about, and why Animal?

They approached us, we were cool with Hoder who I think was riding for them, and we were able to do what we wanted. Friend’s, and shared social circles make sense for collaborations, especially on products that we don’t make.

Where does 10.Deep fit with ‘Streetwear’ today, especially the latest wave of trapped out trill shit.

Things come and go. We stick to the essence of where we come from – the 90s NY indie brand scene. Much of what is called street wear today doesn’t necessarily fall into stuff that we would call streetwear.