Interview with Legendary Yeezy Shoe Designer and Disruptor Steven Smith

Last Sunday, Green Girl was invited to Laguna Hills to conduct an impromptu interview with legendary shoe designer, Steven Smith, also known as the “Godfather of Dad Shoes” (although you’ll learn he’s not that crazy about that title). Steven was in the area picking up a new car body and swung by The Hills Hotel to discuss all things YEEZY and design.

While Ye has been seen running around Europe barefoot, Green Girl and Steven both showed up to the hotel wearing Wave Runners, one of Steven's popular YEEZY designs. They sat down together in an empty boardroom, which likely gave Steven flashbacks to his bleak corporate days at Nike, having to appease several bosses before any sketch was approved. Steven described Ye’s leadership style as “exhilarating,” and explained why he prefers the collaborative, free-flowing creation process at YEEZY to the formulaic systems he was forced to follow while working in corporate America.

Since joining the YEEZY team in 2016, Steven has worked closely with Ye on some of YEEZY's most iconic designs and credits Ye for pushing him beyond his own artistic limitations. A dangerous freethinker himself, Steven has ridden every wave with Ye the last couple years, no matter how rocky the waters have gotten. Together, they have disrupted modern sneaker culture by redefining the way shoes are engineered and delivered to the public.

Two of Steven’s friends, Will Holmes, “The Mayor of OC” and Jen Lebrity of the clothing brand “Boho Rocker Collection,” join them on the podcast to talk about Ye, fashion and their new reality show currently in production, “The New OC.” Green Girl's brother also makes an appearance, donning an ironic Punisher T-shirt, and asks Steven advice on how to crawl out of a dark hole after hitting rock bottom.

During the interview, Steven points out an awkward chandelier propelled from the ceiling. In that moment, it becomes clear he can draw inspiration from just about anything in the modern world, finding joy in even a sparkly mismatched hotel decoration.

This interview is hilarious, thought-provoking and insightful and gave Green Girl hope for the future of YEEZY.

Follow our guests:
Steven Smith: @stevensmith
Will: @mayorofoc
Jen: @bohorockercollection
Andy: @andyhagen_

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