For Sauce Pan Dan, the path into footwear and fashion wasn’t paved through the traditional routes, it was built through a form of curiosity and an early refusal to settle. It all started when a young Dan taught himself how to customise snapbacks, this turned into years of experimentation across photography, graphic design and running a clothing-project. Now Dan is part of the design team at Sneaker Politcs, where he plays a key role in shaping collaborations with global brands.
How did you start a career in design, and how did that turn into a dream job creating collaborations and designs at Sneaker Politics?
I had always been into clothes and sneakers as a little kid, but I started designing when I was 14 years old. 2011-2012ish. There was a boutique here in Dallas that was selling custom Mitchell & Ness snapbacks. Similar to Just Don, but instead of python it was different fabrics and prints. I really wanted one, but my mom was NOT about to spend $150 on a hat for me so I told myself, “I’m gonna learn how to do this myself”. I perfected the process, and made hats for money for a few years and really just fell out of love with it.
In high school I picked up photography and graphic design and started putting graphics on T shirts. I created a few failed clothing lines, but was really honing in on my skills.
Once I graduated in 2016 I went to community college for graphic design for half a semester, and I just quit going because I thought I knew everything already. At the same time I was working at my friend’s pizza restaurant as a delivery driver and dish washer. I did this for a few years and decided to get into doing freelance work and doing custom air forces and clothes with my homie, Wes around 2018. This was a good run. Met a lot of people in the city and started making a name for ourselves.
Right before covid, I wanted to get back into doing a streetwear brand. Tshirts, hoodies and what not. I called it Kid’s Table and I learned A LOT. Each drop had special packaging and a super conceptual photoshoot. I was doing everything myself from design to photos. As much money I was saving from doing all that myself, I still wasn’t selling more than 5 shirts a drop. I was dropping just for the love of the game at this point. Looking back, this was me just building my portfolio
Money was running dry and I really needed a job. I saw Politics was hiring an e-commerce photographer, and applied. I knew if they hired me I could show them all that I can do. I got the job and kept my head down. I started asking if I could do graphic flyers here and there. They really liked it, so they started letting me do t shirts here and there while I’m still taking product photos. This went on for about a year and now I’m full blown on the design team and manage our cut and sew production.
This has let me be able to work with some of the biggest brands in the world and I really think I have the coolest job you could ask for. My first shoe I got to work on was a Bapesta. Not everybody can say that. It’s still crazy to me that I get to work on shoes and clothes for a living. It’s what I’ve always wanted to do since a kid
When designing a shoe, what does the process look like from ideation to final product?
So basically brands will ask us if we want to work on a specific model. From there each person on the design team will put together different concepts. Once we land on the concept we like the most, we send off the design to get sampled. Some shoes take more sample rounds than others. Sampling in any field is nerve racking to me. Sometimes things just come back completely wrong, or the idea that was cool in your head actually sucks in person.
After we land on a final sample, we bring the collab to our media team and they absolutely crush the rollout. It’s like that picture of D wade and Lebron after that alley oop. They take our idea and really tell the story to our consumer.
When looking at the collaborations you have created for Sneaker Politics, at what point in the process do the shoes feel “real” to you?
I would say once I see the product land in our warehouse is when I can finally appreciate the work. Seeing the rollout come to life is the cherry on top.
How do you balance your creative vision with the commercial expectations of Sneaker Politics and Derek, the founder?
Learning how to separate your personal taste from what the job asks for can be a challenge at times, but it has taught me a lot. It can force your creative hand to find out ways to take the things that you like and present it in a way that makes sense to our customers. Learning to how pivot is a very important skill to have.
Does being a Southern retailer, or you being in Texas, influence you and your design style? and is this something you feel like you need to integrate in your work?
I’m a mixed bag when it comes to inspiration. I was born and raised in Texas, but all my family are Puerto Ricans from Brooklyn so I get a lot of east coast influence as well. I do lean super heavy on the southern inspo for Politics because there’s not many people putting on for us in the industry. I love being able to showcase southern stories through design.
How much freedom do you typically have when designing with brands? How much is too much when designing with brands?
It just depends on the level of project the brand wants us to work on. You have SMUs which are basically a store exclusive that we get to design. They’re usually just a color mock up with basic materials and no logos or co-branding. After that you have full blown collabs. These are fully customized to our liking (within the brands capabilities of course) we can pick crazy materials and colors, and there’s more budget for marketing.
How does the process differ when working with global brands? Are there noticeable differences between ASICS, adidas and Saucony?
Each brand has their own restrictions. The bigger the brand, the more red tape there is which can be frustrating, but I understand. These companies are where they’re at for a reason.
What’s the biggest misconception people have about sneaker collaborations and what goes into them?
I’m glad you asked this. The biggest misconception is that people think we get to pick what model we get to work on and that we can just do any crazy idea we want to the shoe. A lot of collabs exist to build excitement around the models that these brands want to push. Some projects require a quick turnaround, so there’s only time for one sample. This means you don’t have time to take a shoe, turn it inside out, and add 3 straps with an air bubble.
How do you handle creative disagreements with brand partners or internally at Sneaker Politics?
Learning compromise is important when working on a team. We have a lot of meetings where we go over stuff and talk about what’s coming out so we’re usually all on the same page and don’t run into too many disagreements. At the end of the day we all just want to put out our best stuff.
If nothing was holding you back, whether budget, brands, materials or production limitations, what would your dream collaboration look like?
I’ve thought about this question for a long time, and outside of an actual SPD collab with any brand, I would LOVE to take my stab at a Puerto Rico Air Force 1. It’s my favorite shoe of all time and would love to put on for the island in a new way.