Introduction and Interview by Kelsea Kosko

SNKRHEAD NYC was launched in 2014 by New York native Peter Santopietro. We sat down with this innately hardworking and humble creative at the Gridlyne headquarters for a casual convo about Santopietro’s beginnings in the fashion industry and his goals for the future.

Peter and Method Man in SNKRHEAD No Gucci Hoodie

Kelsea: Can you elaborate a little about your upbringing and where you’re from? Which borough did you grow up in, and what are some of the best and worst things about living in New York City?

Peter: I’m Italian from Gravesend, Brooklyn. I grew up doing graffiti, listening to hip hop. There’s nothing better than the food in New York. The only bad things are the cost of living and traffic.

Kelsea: Before you launched SNKRHEAD, what were you doing professionally?

Peter: I was always selling sneakers, for a very long time. But for my 9-5 I was a stock boy in a liquor store for 14 years.

Kelsea: At what point did you decide to launch your own brand? What were some “defining moments” or experiences that helped lead you to this decision?

Peter: I was tired of wearing brands and seeing brands and saying you know, I could do it way better than they did, and I was always into sneakers and fashion my whole life, and graffiti. Designing and everything else came into one and I made the choice where I said, you know what, I'm starting my own brand, and I don't care who's coming with me.

“I was always selling sneakers, for a very long time. But for my 9-5 I was a stock boy in a liquor store for 14 years.”

Kelsea: Who or what majorly influences your creative process and aesthetic?

Peter: Eminem, Biggie, Michael Jordan. Method Man is up there, for creativeness. A lot of graffiti writers. I have had so many creative points in my life, and those are the people I look up to most.

Kelsea: What makes SNKRHEAD unique from other streetwear brands?

Peter: I sorta don't like the term “streetwear” and how people are going into it nowadays. My brand is unique because of the quality. There's a lot of people trying to do what I'm doing, but they're not putting out the quality.

“I made the choice where I said, you know what, I’m starting my own brand, and I don’t care who’s coming with me.”

Kelsea: Your top 5 favorite hip hop albums?

Peter: Ready to Die, Life After Death, The Eminem Show, Marshall Mathers LP, 36 chambers. But yo, I like Capital Punishment though. What other one do I like…Big L: Lifestyles of the Poor and Dangerous. That's one of my favorite albums.

Kelsea: What do you do for fun?

Peter: I go to the gym, printing a lot right now, basketball, handball, typical Brooklyn street guy stuff.

Kelsea: List one goal or dream you hope to achieve by the end of 2019. It can be personal or professional, or both.

Peter: I would like to be in a lot of big box stores, doing a lot of wholesale. I sell globally right now, but I want have everything in stores globally.