Mark Ong aka SBTG is one the most famous sneaker customizers in the world, and Owner and Chief Designer of the Royalefam clothing line. Although based in Singapore, his name is known the world over in the underground fashion, and sneaker enthusiast world.

FH: In your own words, briefly tell the readers who you are and what you do.

SBTG: I am Mark Ong aka SBTG. I run a brand called Royalefam and i am a punk rocker , freedom fighter , a husband, a leader, a voice for Asia and a contributor to the world’s fashion / street subculture.

FH: I know you got your start in the fashion game customizing sneakers; tell us a little about that.

SBTG: I started out patching up my ollie holes throughout the late 80s throughout the 90s. The SBTG name gained worldwide recognition in 2003 when I killed it in a custom sneaker competition. Since the popularity was growing and all the branding elements were ready, Royalefam apparel was born.

FH: Tell me a little bit more about your start as a sneaker customizer, since that is probably what you are most well known for.

SBTG: Its been a crazy ride and a great life experience to be able to have this as a career. I have gone from being on the top, with all the opportunities in front of me to being down and just cashing in. There has been a lot of self realizations and shifts in way of being throughout the past 2 years and now I am back with a strong team and I am recommitting to my craft to contribute to peoples lifestyle. It ain’t just about me anymore u know?

FH: Tell me how you got in to customizing sneakers, and did you have a long term plan to have your own apparel brand, or did you start out just wanting to be a sneaker customizer?

SBTG: Well back in the 80’s when i started skateboarding at about age 8 or 9, i didn’t have a big rotation of sneakers. as a matter of fact i only had one pair. Being heavily influenced by my dads artistic talents, most things around me were aesthetically driven. Patching the holes up wasn’t enough, I cherished what i had so i made sure they were patched up in a way that looked like it was designed that way. It had to look dope! I always wanted to be known for something, and I was very into sneakers all my life. I wanted so much to have my own sneaker / colorway so nothing could stop me. I actually wanted to have a clothing brand but it worked the other way. But the whole point is I basically threw away the key the minute i walked in that door. I told myself that this is gonna be it, I’m gonna be here for a while now.

FH: So your customizing basically started out as a basic desire to design your own sneakers?

SBTG: Yup, very accurate.

FH: Do you have a background in art and design besides having it run in your family?

SBTG: Besides getting all A’s in art classes throughout high school, I graduated with a diploma in electronic media design. The greatest lesson in the world of 72dpi was to push the envelope within a lot of restrictions. I kinda liked the challenge and got comfortable creating under such circumstances and eventually I dedicated my craft under the philosophy, evolve beyond your surroundings.

Nike Dunk Low Pro SB ‘SBTG’

FH: You got an opportunity to design a sneaker for Nike Skateboarding, and ended up designing one of the most popular and sought after pairs of Dunks Nike SB ever released…can you tell me a little about how that project came to be?

SBTG: I got a call from Ann (founder of Front Row Singapore) who was from Nike Singapore saying that she liked what I did and asked for me to come by their office for a chat. When I went there, I was presented the possibility of an opportunity of designing a Nike SB or a Nike considered shoe. [Editors Note: Nike Considered is Nike's 'Eco Friendly' or "Green" line of sneakers] Being a skateboarder all my life it was a natural for me to lean towards SB. The whole project was basically Ann taking a stand for me and I believe she went out of her way to make this happen. The project was then managed by my good friend Dennis Tan who did an amazing job making sure the shoes turned out the way I wanted them to. Whats ironic was that I already knew what the shoe would look like and I only spent 2 hours designing it.

FH: Did Nike allow you pretty much 100% creative control over the design?

SBTG: Yes, they did.

FH: Would you be open to working with Nike again?

SBTG: Always, i grew up with it.

FH: Do you feel like the SB helped draw attention to Royalefam the brand?

SBTG: Most definitely, the Nike SB has been my biggest milestone.

FH: You have something on your site called ‘Create your own’ but when you click on it, it says ‘coming soon’ – can you give us a hint about what that’s going to be about?

SBTG: Ever since we reinvented ourselves for the SBTG brand to be for everyone instead of just for “Mark Ong” We’ve begun to build a “design it yourself” program for everyone to create their very own pair of SBTG’s which they can purchase or simply download to show and discuss amongst friends. But to be honest, we discovered that we had started on the wrong foot and are stuck right now in terms of writing the program. So anyone out there who wants to contribute to this please email us!

FH: So are you envisioning something like Nike ID?

SBTG: Exactly, but with an extensive selection of camouflages and fabrics with as much freedom to play around with as possible. The whole idea is for the user to have free reign on designing their own shoe from the patterns and graphics that i have perfected over the past 5 years.

FH: Ok so programmers and people with that sort of knowledge should take note! Help SBTG get his SBTGID program up and running!

SBTG: Hahaha yeah!

FH: Tell us a little about the evolution of your design in terms of custom kicks, because the obvious thing anyone would notice looking at older customs and the newer ones, is that your customs have gotten much more detailed and intricate both in terms of designs, materials, and detailing.

SBTG: I have started to expand the vision and I’ve had the help of many talented individuals who are here to support the cause. It’s all about accepting help and sharing a common goal; and by bouncing ideas off each other, we’ve discovered new techniques of expression. the possibilities are really endless.

SBTG ‘Prison Blues’ Dunk Low

FH: Would you say you go through phases where you’re just in love with certain materials? I’ve noticed that you’ve used selvege denim on every custom since the Paramounts, save for the Thrillers

SBTG: Yes, I tend to go through phases, but there is something really amazing about using selvage denim on a customized shoe. The part where the selvage meets the midsole is simply perfect, it fulfills form and function perfectly.

FH: Are all of your customs deconstructed? And for the benefit of our readers who may not know what that means, do you want to briefly break down the difference between a non deconstructed custom and a deconstructed/reconstructed custom?

SBTG: A deconstructed/reconstructed sneaker is when u dismantle certain parts of the shoe and reassemble it together with a replacement /additional component, and All SBTG custom sneakers are non deconstructed works. There is a certain line we do not cross in this craft; this is our way of expression and we think that if you are gonna cross that line, it might as well be a new manufactured model altogether.

FH: Tell me about the origins of the Royalefam clothing line…did you start out with a full collection, or was it more gradual, with you just making tees and then moving on to a full collection?

SBTG: The Royalefam clothing line is an expanded form of expression that originates from the custom sneaker designs. It started with a few tee shirt designs that were pretty well received and evolved to a line with a bigger range. We have not done a full head to toe collection just yet.

FH: How did you sell your tee shirts in the beginning? Did you sell them to stores worldwide or just in Singapore? And what is the story behind the Acquired collab tee that Q-Tip from A Tribe Called Quest has been spotted wearing?

Q-Tip rocking Royalefam x Acquired tee

SBTG: Back then in 2004, I was working closely with a store called Ambush in Singapore. They offered to fund the manufacturing and stock it [Royalefame tee shirts] in their shop. So it was a natural step to take. As for the Acquired tee, I have always been good friends with Yu Ming from Freshnessmag, who was running Acquired clothing. We made a tee together, and he gave it to Q-tip. We became friends. A-trak was also rocking it in an issue of URB mag.

FH: When it comes to designing apparel do you have a general aesthetic? Clearly you use a lot of Military inspired designs. Tell me a little about your general aesthetic philosophy.

SBTG: I was recently told that my designs are very eccentric; you either love it or hate it. I love camouflage, regal militarism, punk / metal attitude. I am not subtle. I love to stand out. I am what you see in my designs; honest and true.

FH: Would it be safe to say that your designs are something of a marriage between classic military styles and symbols, and punk rock/metal style?

SBTG: Yes, you could interpret it that way.

FH: The Dead Generals collection saw your first Jacket; can we look forward to more Jackets from Royalefam?

Royalefam Triumph Jacket from Dead Generals Collection

SBTG: To be honest, even though Dead Generals was a great season and i enjoyed so much of it, we don’t have the capacity to run 2 mediums (sneakers and clothes.) We will be giving full out clothing seasons a break.

FH: Can you elaborate on that a little? Does this mean you’ll be sticking with tee’s and hoodies for a while? Or not even those?

SBTG: We will be sticking to more basic stuff like hoodies and tees for the moment. We have some basic denim and an MA-1 type jacket coming up as well.

FH: Do you have a vision for where you want the RF brand to go? Or are you kind of winging it and just going with the flow? In other words, would you eventually like to expand into full lines with pants, jackets, maybe even backpacks, hats, and other accessories, or does that not really interest you?

SBTG: RF will be a whole lifestyle brand designed by an army of talented designers; with everything from sneakers to furniture to bedsheets but the core will still be sneakers which we are building the base right now. Before we expand to that, I would really like to have a chance to build bigger lines from all my past seasons like Black Saigon, Dead Generals and Varsity Bones. There is so much more to explore from these lines.

FH: What do you mean? You would revisit the themes of past lines and reinterpret them for future lines? So it would be something like a Black Saigon 2 or Dead Generals 2?

SBTG: What i mean is that i have not fully expressed the potential of these past lines. I can see these lines to simply be manufactured Sabotage Sneakers.

FH: Cutting Nike out, just making your own sneakers from scratch?

SBTG: Build from scratch; not custom.

FH: That seems to be the next logical step for your brand…

SBTG: Yes, definitely.