Working with VANS on a global level started in 2005 right after their SYNDICATE line launched.
SYNDICATE had an even more core concept within VANS that already had a tight relationship with skateboard culture, and it was a line with products featuring new and old legend skateboarders and various subcultures.

In such a core culture line, the reason WTAPS was able to join them as the only apparel brand was a friend called BERTO who was one of the founding members of SYNDICATE back then.
Introduced by a mutual friend in LA, Berto (Liechty) himself was a skateboarder and grew up in a similar generation; there were many common things between us like the backbone we had for our foundations and cultures we were influenced by, so we were able to hit it off right away.
Berto became involved in the foundation of SYNDICATE, and I still remember to this day how I was so happy that I almost fell over when he asked me if WTAPS wanted to be a part of it.

Since it would be the first time with VANS global, I had a bunch of ideas I wanted to incorporate and details that I wanted to actualize.
When I started skateboarding, VANS were a really rare item.
You did not see them around like now; no one knew about them, and no one was really wearing them.
If you happened to find some, they were expensive and were something that a kid could not easily get.
That is why my first pair of VANS were hand-me-down high tops from a senpai that were all shoe goo'ed up.
Regardless of them being all thrashed, I remember how I was super stoked.
For someone like me with such a history regarding VANS, the first deal in 2005 was nothing but an expression of love I had towards VANS.
It was also a great honor for me to be able to start working with VANS, a brand I loved so much back then, through my background of having an identity as a skateboarder while being the director of a fashion brand called WTAPS.

After a few seasons of going at it with nonstop enthusiasm, I was offered to design completely new models that never existed.
Those would be the 3 models released in 2008.
The RUDEEZ were inspired by rude boys, the GREASERZ came from Kustom
Kulture, and the BASH were inspired by 80s basketball shoes.
They intensely showed influences from subcultures, inspired by the era theme for each one, and actualized through my interpretation of it; I think this was a new challenge not only for us, but also for VANS.
I was able to reconfirm the fact how VANS has continued to support various youth cultures since the 1970s, by creating something new from memories of the past, and challenging new things by tracing the roots.

If we were to give a name to us regarding VANS, what would it be?
That would be the WAFFLE LOVERS CLUB.
WAFFLE comes from that baked food similar in shape to the unique sole that VANS has, and this high grip waffle sole is also something synonymous with VANS.
With the meaning of being a member of a group that loves waffle soles/VANS fan club, WTAPS named ourselves this, and Tom (Cooke), Jay (Potocar), Jon (Warren), and Rian (Pozzebon) that founded SYNDICATE and worked together with us liked this name too, so since then it has become an iconic name used for products and events.

In 2013, WTAPS moved to the VAULT line.
VAULT is a limited line sold only at select global places that started in 2003, catering more towards the fashion scene compared to the regular line, characterized by collaborations with various fashion brands, remixes of standard models, and a repro OG series that faithfully replicated Made in USA era styling.
With SYNDICATE, we followed the line's concept and global view by focusing on packing in details, ideas, and knowledge gained from skateboarding, but for the VAULT line that specialized in fashion, I can say we make things with the same backbone, paying respect to the influences of various cultures
and their roots we cultivated up until now, expressing the characteristics of WTAPS.

WTAPS has continued its endeavors with VANS one by one, but in huge steps, starting in 2001 with a local collaboration with VANS, then full-scale creations with global through an encounter at SYNDICATE, on to the expansion of expression under VAULT.
Fusing elements from the cultures that raised me, into a product.
I feel collaborations with VANS have such joys and meaningfulness in them.