Local Locals with founder Kevin O'Neill
Welcome to a special installment of ‘Local Locals', we sat down with the Malibu Sandals.
Can you tell the fans a little about where you come from and why you love Malibu and California?
My entire family is from southern California. Mom and Dad, you know, Pasadena. I was born in Santa Paula, but raised in Washington state, K-12 but grew up really all around Los Angeles or Southern California.
I chose Malibu because there's something majestic about coastal mountains, right? Just like it is in Northern California. You've got coastal Redwoods there and this is as close as you can get and not be too far from LA. There's sort of a comfort zone about knowing that Los Angeles is, you know 30 minutes away from Malibu and you know you’re still connected.
What's is it about living on the coast that's so unique to you?
I still get excited to see and stare at the ocean. I love the feeling of being close to the water it just gives me an appreciation for natural beauty. At our home it feels like camping in the mountains, it's almost as if I was camping but I'm not. The benefit of just stepping right outside into, raw nature, the birds. The variety of creatures, except for Rattlesnakes and Cougars but you know all the wildlife I'm able to see.
Let's go back abit, could you talk about your baseball journey, did you make it to Major leagues?
I started pitching when I was 12 and that's kind of what started my kind of baseball journey. I got a scholarship to Cal Lutheran University. It was a small enough school that I was a starting freshman in the (pitching) rotation because I was able to prove myself. I was fortunate that I had success and was picked up by the Padres as a free agent in 1990. Yeah, I mean, that was a childhood dream.
You know that career didn't last as long as I had maybe imagined it would, but I got to wear two different colors of the San Diego Padre uniforms, which I think is kind of fun. The Brown and gold and then the Navy, orange and white! I was a soft-tossing left hander that was sneaky quick and hard to hit. Hah!
Would you say your experience as an athlete sparked your interest in footwear?
My interest in shoes? Well, I was definitely like every other athlete, I was impressed by and aspired to be like the guys on the baseball cards. If they wore certain brands of shoes or used a certain brand of glove so I figured, if they're using it, it must help them in some way or have some sort of advantage to have, like, the best. I was always sort of into shoes too. Just really into like what I was wearing for back to school, in middle school, what was I gonna wear or what was what. What could I afford to buy? Whether that was a superstar Adidas superstar that I bought with my strawberry picking money for $43 is a prime example!
I think the best way to look at this shoe thing for me, is it technically didn't start until I worked for Reebok as a Tech Rep. Working for a shoe brand, I went to Reebok University and Stoughton, MA, I didn't know shit from Shinola. It was Reebok where it was like, oh, this is what makes a running shoe. This is what pronation and supination means, or how the Instapump technology works to create a custom fit.
Can you talk about what inspired you to start Malibu Sandals?
I really felt there was a void in the market for a sandal, but something new while also connected to the past. Seeing Crocs and Birkenstock or Keen everywhere, wasn't for me style-wise. And having footwear be functional makes total sense, but for me the look of the style wasn't working.
And so being a serial entrepreneur, I worm holed sandals and was mesmerized by the huaraches from Mexico like the one's surfers from 60's used to wear. These were traditionally made in Mexico with hand woven uppers and I thought it just looks so balanced and harmonious. I was struck by how visually appealing they were and modeled our design DNA after it. It all really came together when the sole was crafted. It had to be all about comfort and felt a natural foot shape with a contoured footbed would allow you to wear them all day everyday.
Sounds like you found a space in the market to apply what you had learned in footwear to create and develop a sandal that remains stylish and can live up to modern standards.
Yeah, something you could live in and wear every single day with that feels already broken in step-in comfort. I like to be able to wear a sandal every day, just that casual lifestyle. That really is, you know, how I live and how I operate.
Responsible manufacturing in footwear has become pretty important, what do you think needs to happen to ensure more of that continues in the future?
What needs to happen is working on new materials and evolving with sustainable practices, from materials like rubber, non-virgin rubber, stuff like that, that's where I would like to see it go. Also knowing our team in Japan, owns the factory, are conducting responsible practices, it makes me more comfortable.
Name three essential things that get you through your day:
An Americana made with Major Dickasen’s Blend - Peet’s Brand Coffee
Seeing my family, my boys, my wife.
And great product!
Name three essential bands that inspire you and keep you going:
- The Clash
- The English Beat
- Earth Wind and Fire
Name some of your favorite places in Malibu.
- Without divulging any real secrets, I always love Little Dume, love myself a slice of Little Dume Heaven.
- Howdy’s for a bite
- Our home, it's ranch off of Latigo, it’s called Seahorse Ranch.
We've heard you are a big believer in Sasquatch?
Growing up partly in the Northwest, you know there were a lot of sightings up there. Also it was when the $6 Million Dollar Man TV show. There was several episodes dedicated to Bigfoot and versus the $6 Million Dollar Man, The video clips of shadows and sounds and stuff it's fascinating to believe it.