story

We left Mexico for this better life, but we were living this crappy trailer park on a dirt road. I just didn't get it back then.

And then randomly, my neighbors were skateboarders. My dad came first. He would send us money back in Mexico and then eventually...

...he saved up enough money where he could move all of us to America. Those years fast forwarded so quick because all I did was skate.

So from 11 to 18, it was every day just skating.

When I first met Irving, he was super outgoing, very personable. You could just kind of tell he was a thoughtful person kind of immediately. When you meet people and you know they just feel genuine.

We were all just so blown away with trick selection by this kid and we're like, wow, man, he's got a heart of gold and immediately fit in. It's almost like he was raised by Bluetile and it's really cool to see him run the shop.

I think Irving is really the mascot of the shop. A lot of people come to see Irving. As far as the shop, I mean, this place would probably crumble without him. Blue Tile is a skate shop that sells skateboards and sells shoes, but it's also a community.

In South Carolina, you're able to meet everybody that skates and get to know everybody on a personal level. Big community aspect about it is what South Carolina skating is. When he first brought the shoe to the table, his design...

...he's a very skater skater. So he's like black suede, contrast stitching and this. Something as fragile as a butterfly makes its way from Mexico all the way to the US. We wanted to really hit home with the symbolism.

That resonates with Mexican American immigrants because their journeys and their stories are also difficult. You can tell it's got these fuzzy laces for their fuzzy bodies and the rolly antennas. We also feature these sort of reflective leathers...

...for more of that sheen that you see on a butterfly's wing. And then lastly, we have this hexagonal mesh on the Swoosh because it was supposed to represent the monarch's hexagonal eye pattern as well.

If we're embracing this sort of monarch design in the shoe, why doesn't it have wings? And has it ever been done? And the answer was no.

Bluetile holds this weight to skateboarders and the skate community for some reason. And it's just core, real, honest people. Eventually through skating, I made all my best friends, all my lifelong friends.

The wings for him represented parts of himself that he was hiding. But then when you are around people you know and love, you can kind of open up and show your true colors.

Reflecting on what skateboarding does for a kid who's this outsider, it's really acts as the breaking the ice of like you belong.

Talking Shop

Bluetile Skateboards