story

Hi, I'm Verbal.
I make up half of AMBUSH®, along with Yoon, our Creative Director.

I began my career as a musician,
before starting this kind of creative work with Yoon.

For me, music and fashion have always had a close relationship, and they both energise me to make things.

AMBUSH® was born from our love of jewellery.
When I received my first royalty check, the first place I went was a jewellery shop.
But there was nothing there that I wanted.

So we had friends of ours, who were craftsmen, bring our designs and ideas to life.
At first, the things we created were very personal,

but people started to ask us, "Where did you buy that?" or "How did you make that?"
and before we knew it, we were taking orders.
Back then, AMBUSH® wasn't a brand name; it was just what Yoon and I were calling ourselves.

You could say that was where the brand first got started.
For us, this was the point where it all kicked off.

It was like a door, connecting us with the rest of the world.
Connecting us to the people we meet in life.

Having a place like this was one of our dreams.

Tokyo is a place that stimulates creativity.

Japan has an image of being somewhat shut off, with people finding it hard to express themselves,
but Tokyo is a real melting pot of cultures, with all kinds of people doing their part.

It is a place where people can be free. A place where there's lots of opportunities to make it big.

There is something timeless about sneakers.
If you look at the Air Force 1 series over time, you get a sense of how times have changed.

It's just like a time capsule.
For example, just seeing sneakers from 20 years ago calls to mind all the people I met back then, and the clubs where I used to hang out.

There was always a pair of Air Force 1s or Dunks around.
I'm delighted to have been part of a Dunk collaboration with Nike.
Dunks have always been era-defining shoes.

In Japan, there are places where the sneaker scene has been instrumental in creating the surrounding culture,

and I think this is one of the things that makes Japan such a unique place.

Talking Shop

AMBUSH®