Here, we ask designers to take a selfie and give us an inside look at their life.
Occupation: Co-Founders and Co-CEOs.
Instagram: @apl
Home Town: Los Angeles, California.
Studio Location: Los Angeles, CA
Describe what you make: We make the world’s finest luxury performance products designed through the lens of simple, yet severe.
The most important thing you’ve designed to date: Our first shoe was the APL Concept 1 and it is the only shoe ever banned by the NBA for performance enhancement reasons. The averaged wearer got between a 1-3.5 inch increase instantly in their vertical leap and it was banned because it “provided the wearer with an undue competitive advantage over their opponents.” That shoe and moment changed the trajectory of our lives and we’re forever grateful for that.
Describe the problem your work solves: People have historically had to choose between aesthetics or function when it came to footwear, but with APL you don’t have to sacrifice either and get the pinnacle of both in a singular shoe.
Share the project you are working on now:
Adam: We are always working on future silhouettes that allow us to push the boundaries of what’s possible from a design and engineering perspective, so that’s essentially a constant project and what we wake up excited for each day. The Olympics are coming to our hometown in 2028, so we are currently working on special projects that revolve around LA being the center of sports culture. Additionally, we are building our training facility on our campus right now which we’re very excited about.
Ryan: There’s never a time when our focus is on a singular project, right now we’re finishing up designing Pre-Fall and Fall 2027 very soon and it’s exciting to explore new material fabrications, silhouettes, and colors that we’ll be bringing to market during those seasons next year. There are a lot of exciting projects we get to work on and when you see something come to life and into the real world, that’s one of the most rewarding aspects of what we do.
What you absolutely have to have in your studio: For us it’s vertical height. Space allows you to dream and vertical height lets you think big. We started APL in our dorm room and then had a 60 sqft office for 4 years, but our last 2 headquarters, including our brand-new campus all feature expansive ceilings that let us think big. Your surroundings are very important and while we don’t need lots of things, high ceilings is something that is very important to us.
What you do when you’re not working: Workout, learn about compounds and materials, study watches, drive cars, and spend time with people that we care about, but we are never “not working” since every second we’re awake we’re thinking about APL because it’s what we care about most.
Sources of creative envy (dead or alive): We aren’t envious of anyone or anything, but we’re always open to large platforms and/or collaborators to give us an opportunity to express our creativity and unique point of view.
The distraction you want to eliminate:
Adam: E-mail is probably the thing I’m the worst at, even though we’ve had incredible opportunities come through via email, many of the messages are my greatest distraction.
Ryan: E-mail is the biggest distraction for me, due to the sheer quantity with which I receive. There are amazing benefits to it, but I much prefer in person communication.
Concrete or marble?
Adam: Both + glass, and I probably wouldn’t need any more materials to build a perfect place.
Ryan: Marble with a honed finish.
High-Rise Or Townhouse? Definitely High-Rise.
Remember Or Forget? Remember.
Aliens Or Ghosts? Aliens.
Dark Or Light?
Adam: Dark.
Ryan: Depending on the context, my answer can go either way.
