Krudmart has always packed some pretty ill gear, and the new site makes it way easier to find stuff you want within their catalogue. Simply select any category, price, size, color, or brand and you get a list of results narrowed down to your specifications. No more finding what you want and then realizing they don’t have it in your size. They just got a bunch of new arrivals from 10 Deep that look pretty sick. Check it out at krudmart.com.

Yesterday evening, in the middle of too much green tea at a local sushi spot, a friend asked me what today’s interview was going to be about. I kind of mumbled the answer; “Krudmart, with this guy Steve,” expecting the response of a few politely interested, half-garbled-sushi grunts. However, I was met with the opposite reaction, as several of the table’s occupants mentioned they’d been to Krudmart, or emailed with Steve, or had “…really wanted this one v-neck t-shirt there, even though, ugh; hate v-necks.” I was kind of shocked, because Krudmart is a young streetwear shop located in Buffalo, NY — making it about 3,000 miles away from the location of our little dinner party — and a strange-ish subject on which to find common ground.

That conversation solidified what I was already thinking about Krudmart: Aside from being a ground-up operation that has made a huge name for itself (with a very un-huge amount of people power), the small store has one very big thing going for it. This is sort of a risk, but I’m going to say it anyway; that “thing” could very possibly be a man who calls himself Steve Kay. Krudmart’s founder, visionary, and voice (though in all fairness, I have to point out that the entire team over there kills it), Steve has taken a place to buy jeans and turned it into something worth knowing about… even on the opposite coast.

This interview is probably going to make you laugh. That’s an awesome thing, because it’s Friday, and we all need to shake off the shoulder tension that’s been building over the work week. If you quit laughing long enough to experience befuddlement over the question regarding a brick, it will help to note that that is in reference to a little act of vandalism that recently befell the shop. If you want the juicy details of that story, crawl over this way; if you’re ready for another tasty SpearTalks, scroll on down…

Joshspear.com: Walk us through Krudmart; its roots, its progress, its future…

Steve: I started out in 2002. I’d just come off a year and a half stint of moving around (Australia, LA) and learning a bunch of random life lessons but had no real direction, money or college education. I went back to the skate shop I worked at right out of high school and talked the owner into letting me sell some of his inventory online and taking a percentage of the sales. Shit blew up pretty quickly and even though we were friends, he and I weren’t seeing eye to eye on where to take the project so I went off on my own.

From there I started working out of my dad’s apartment. Growth was slow but steady for a year or so then it just kind of went nuts again. READ MORE…

Earlier this week Krudmart officially relaunched with a new and improved store and in my opinion a much needed facelift. The new site is packed full of many new brands, tons of t-shirts and gear and plenty of toilet-joke humor from the Krudmart CEO Stevie K. They’re all stocked up with inventory for the spring and summer time, so check them out. I’ve got a call in to Steve for an exclusive interview next week where we’ll cover topics like running a site like that out of his dads house, his new personal assistant Don, what happened with his last girlfriend and what’s in his closet– that is, other than skeletons. Stay tuned for that– And congrats on the relaunch guys.

This post probably won’t make any sense if you’re not a fan of the HBO hit series Entourage. I too thought that Viking Quest was a real television show until UARM came out with this hoax shirt, pleasing Entourage fans around the world. If you haven’t seen the show before, please, please, go and grab the first season DVD– it’s good stuff. If you’re already familiar and down to represent your Viking roots not to mention love and infatuation with Entourage, Krudmarthas got you covered.

Something about the summer time always makes me think of new t-shirts, and fresh gear– and nothing feels better than supporting independent shops. For a long time I thought Krudmart was run by some mega-corporation–but I got a chance to catch up with Steven, the real guy behind Krudmart, the founder, president, vice president, mail boy, manager and janator–he does a great job. So, if you are looking for the perfect T-shirt, or anything else of the sort head over to Krudmart. They’ve got more than 100 hand picked shirts to choose from, and there’s nothing better than supporting the underdog.