{"id":312948,"date":"2013-07-12T13:39:57","date_gmt":"2013-07-12T18:39:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/?p=312948"},"modified":"2022-09-16T16:57:11","modified_gmt":"2022-09-16T21:57:11","slug":"footwear-designer-hayden-biener-discusses-the-huf-ramondetta-pro","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/footwear-designer-hayden-biener-discusses-the-huf-ramondetta-pro\/","title":{"rendered":"Footwear Designer Hayden Biener Discusses the HUF Ramondetta Pro"},"content":{"rendered":"

HUF<\/strong> released the HUF Ramondetta Pro<\/strong> on Wednesday, July 10. The shoe is the first under the HUF label for Pro rider Peter Ramondetta<\/strong>. We know of the specifics Peter wanted into the shoe, but Snkrs Day spoke with Footwear Designer Hayden Biener<\/strong> about how the Ramodetta Pro transitioned from an idea to reality, and his role in the creation of the skate shoe.<\/p>\n

That reality was put into motion as Snkrs Day called on the talents of local skate enthusiast Ian Cochran to take the Ramondetta Pro for a test ride right out of the box. Check out the video of him in action and his thoughts on the all new HUF option at the end fo the interview, and pick up your pair today from HUF<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Snkrs Day: How did the HUF Ramondetta Pro come about?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hayden Biener: Peter Ramondetta’s first pro shoe with HUF came about as soon as he joined our skate team. It was a no brainer to have him be the next pro to follow up Joey Pepper (and the HUF Pepper Pro) in getting a pro model shoe over here. He is such an amazing and gnarly skateboarder he deserves it for sure.<\/p>\n Huf Ramondetta Pro Construction Callout Sketch\n

Snkrs Day: What was the creative process behind it?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hayden Biener: For Peter, the shoe obviously had to be something that was functional for skating. On top of that it had to look good, as well. It had to be something that people would be stoked to wear. It is a nice, clean skate shoe, but with enough detailing and features to help give it a modern feel. The asymmetrical toecap was something I had wanted to do for some time. It gives the shoe an interesting and appealing toe to look down on, and helps take away unnecessary material that would inhibit flexibility in a key area when skating. I also wanted to incorporate this geometric story into the design, which can be seen embroidered on the eye stay, heel window, heel pull, and the shape of the tongue label, providing a nice added consistent feel to the shoe.<\/p>\n

Snkrs Day: So you aimed for crossover appeal as opposed to sticking to a more technical skate shoe?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hayden Biener: Of course we would like to have this shoe be able to exist in both worlds, with as much importance in the lifestyle market as it will have in skateboarding. There are technical skate aspects to the shoe that I think serve to enhance its visual appeal as well. For example, the triple wrapped toe serves multiple functions in that it creates a nice color pop and branding point on the shoe yet is also a very important asset in terms of being a skate feature. That extra wrap will make the shoe feel more solid, give it more grip for skating, and will essentially extend the life of the shoe overall. We already have some really nice material and pattern stories for the shoe in upcoming seasons, which will definitely demonstrate the appeal this shoe will have in both the skate and lifestyle market.<\/p>\n


\nSnkrs Day: How hands-on was Peter in that process?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hayden Biener: Peter was pretty open to whatever ideas I threw at him. We worked really close together as a team. I would show him different drawings, and then he’d let me know what he was and wasn’t feeling. The process really helped to narrow everything down, and helped in making me more confident that we were heading in the right direction. I feel like it turned out awesome because of this mutual input and effort on both ends. It is my favorite shoe to be skating in right now. I’m super psyched on how it feels, skates, and looks, and it has been getting a great response.<\/p>\n

Snkrs Day: Is there a HUF standard in terms of skate shoes that you looked to stick to (for example cupsole cushioning, superior lockdown, enhanced board feel, etc)? Or did you go into it with a blank slate?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hayden Biener: The HUF standard is to make the best product possible. We basically just start with an overall concept, then incorporate the necessary adjustments from there in order to evolve that specific piece into a more superior state than its original form. This applies to everything here, both apparel and footwear. The Ramondetta Pro is a good example of that process. It is a vulcanized shoe which is obviously amazing to skate in to begin with, but in order to take that a step further we’ve developed our HUF green insole technology. These special HUF insoles don’t inhibit board feel at all, but will definitely do a lot of work to absorb any impact you may come across when skating. As I mentioned earlier, there are some unique design stories incorporated throughout the shoe, such as custom Ramondetta labeling, geometric detailing, and the asymmetrical toe cap; so basically you’re getting all of the core features you need in a classic skate shoe, while also drawing on the visual appeal that will make people stoked to wear the shoe skating or not.<\/p>\n

Snkrs Day: What is the overall goal for the Ramondetta Pro?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hayden Biener: We wanted to give Peter a shoe that would perform as well as it looked. I wanted to create a shoe that would have a long life ahead of itself, and never feel dated in any way. You obviously never want to create anything that one day you will look back on and wish you could have done better, so that’s why we really took our time here and paid attention to every detail possible. It’s nice to make something that people will be so happy with that they will want to go out and grab pair for both skating and just day to day wear.
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