For two decades Volcom has been leading the charge in the youth oriented board-sports culture. Living their motto, Youth Against the Establishment, Volcom continues to blend their passion for art, music, surfing, skating and snowboarding into distinctly unique clothing and gear. This energetic approach to life is visible in everything Volcom creates and continues to keep them at the front of the pack in youth apparel season after season.

AC:  How long have you been with Volcom and what do you like best about it?

DG:  I’ve been with Volcom for 12 years and can honestly say I’ve enjoyed all 12 years.  Volcom promotes an environment for passionate people that live the active sports lifestyle.  If there are waves, we surf.  If it snows, we go ride.  For our skaters, we have an indoor skatepark that was built for our team riders specifically, but any employee can go skate there anytime.  We spend a lot of lunches surfing or skating.  It’s just a part of who we are.

AC:  How long has Volcom made youth clothing?

DG:  We started our youth program over 10 years ago and we started our little youth within the last 6 years.

AC:  What makes Volcom different?

DG: There are certainly a lot of aspects that make Volcom different from a lot of other brands, but I think in the end, it is up the kids out there to decide what makes Volcom different.  I’m sure if you asked anyone, they’d likely each have a different answer.

AC:  Where does the design inspiration come from?

DG:  Depends on the product.  Sometimes the cool lines or color of a car will inspire us, or the technology on a plane will get our attention, or it could be an idea one of the athletes gives us.  We use our neighborhoods as our canvas.

AC:  What’s your favorite thing about selling kids clothing?

DG:  Kids are awesome.   They show the most stoke of anyone.   I think all of us at Volcom are just the biggest kids out there.  So, we understand how a kid feels when he gets a new little something from Volcom.  We are just as stoked.

AC:  Is there a Volcom girls youth line in the future?

DG:  You never know, but not at this point.  We did introduce youth girls into our snow outerwear division.

AC:  What are the three pieces in this seasons (spring /summer 12) collection that represent the line the best?

DG:  As always, some of our most exciting kids pieces are the Full Zip Hoodies.  We have a couple new ones coming out now!  Our boardshorts just continue to get better and better as well.  I think most kids are going to be really amped on the new boardshorts.

AC:  You guys have a stacked team roster, how involved are athletes in the design process?

DG:  It really just depends on the product and the athlete.  Some riders have a real concept in mind of exactly how they want their product to be.  Some riders are open to our suggestions of what might make a great product.  There are also plenty of team riders that are just into whatever we make.  We have quite a diverse team of riders from different sports.  In one way or another, they are all contributors to the way we design Volcom products.

AC:  What would an Volcom kid eat for lunch?

DG:  A classic PB&J.  Well, if they go to our PBRJ (Peanut Butter and Rail Jam) snowboard contests and enter, they eat ‘em for free.

AC:  What cartoon character should be on the Volcom team?

DG:  I would say the Tasmanian Devil from Looney Toons, or Animal from the Muppets (even though he is not a cartoon character).  Again, coming from some classics.  Those two were way ahead of their time.