Now, Lou and I are all about live and let live, and we considered letting DC Shoes slide. But there’s a problem with that: if we didn’t stop DC Shoes from using the name again, riders and skaters, along with everyone else, would begin to confuse the two events. Which event was which? Who was sponsoring what? Which event is that great event that Lou Perez started way back when? When this happens, everyone loses, most importantly all the people who have put their blood and sweat into supporting the King of New York event since 1995. So baby bean asked DC Shoes to recognize our rights to the “King of New York” event name and not to use the name “King of New York” for events in the future. DC Shoes refused. So we now find ourselves in the middle of an expensive and stressful law suit against DC Shoes. baby bean didn’t want this fight, we would rather spend our time and resources creating great events. But DC Shoes – now part of Quicksilver, Inc., a company with over two billion dollars in annual sales – decided that it would rather hide behind an expensive team of lawyers than do the right thing.
It’s sad that a company like DC Shoes, started by snowboarder Ken Block and skateboarder Damon Way as footwear industry outsiders, is really no different than any other big business. Apparently, DC Shoes thinks deep corporate pockets give it the right to roll right over the little guy.
baby bean is going to do its best to make sure the King of New York event stays where it’s supposed to, but it’s not going to be easy. If you’d like to help, or if you just want to express what you think, let us know at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Spread the truth. If you want to call DC Shoes or Quiksilver yourself, go right ahead. Phone numbers are 760-599-2999 for DC and 714-889-2200 for Quiksilver.
Thanks for listening.
Danny Parks
baby bean productions
After doing a BMX 'zine for ten years (1987 - 1996) FATBMX made it on the internet. The year was 1998. Here to stay.