Suzy M: What is your direction in returning the brand to the level it once stood?
Eric D: Airwalk has been growing the entire time that it has been a part of Collective Licensing which is over five years now. And if you look at market data we are currently one of the top two or three footwear brands in skateboarding - boardsports and bigger than the brand ever was in its heyday of the late 80's or early 90's.

What we are planning on doing looking forward is the same thing that we have concentrated on for the last five years which is to design great product and to market it in creative ways. If the opportunity ever came about to work with Tony Hawk or Jason Lee again, we would definitely be interested, but for the time being we are excited about our current pro team which includes Andy MacDonald who, by the way, just won bronze in vert and silver in park at X Games 15 making him the skateboarder who has won the most medals ever at X Games.

Suzy M: We all know Airwalk can be found at Payless. Don't you think these kind of retail outlets paint the brand with a commercialized image that skaters, who view themselves as non-conformists, would eventually repel?

Eric D: There is no question that there are some skateboarders who are not going to understand or agree with our relationship with Payless. We knew that going into it. However, we tend to focus more on what we have been able to accomplish with Payless, which is to make an authentic brand and great product available to more consumers.

It is a fact that there are a lot of kids out there who simply do not have $50, $60 or $70 to spend on shoes. Obviously, this is true now more than ever. We have found that more people are grateful and thank us for what we are doing at Payless than criticize it.