As the summer winds down, sports and lifestyle apparel and equipment company Oakley is also wrapping up a two-city pop-up tour known as Oakley in Residence. The creative hangout space and interactive sports hub was free and open to the public, and invited guests to participate in experiences patterned around Oakley fans’ shared love of skate and cycling culture.
The two events across the pond from one another were meant to showcase sports-related passions as part of the company’s global One Obsession campaign that invited people around the world to join the #LiveYours movement, share their passions, and inspire others.
“A sport is only as strong as the community that supports it, and that community is built on a shared obsession of the sport,” said Oakley global director of brand communications Tom Cartmale. "The Oakley in Residence spaces were places for like-minded people to gather and celebrate their shared passion in skateboarding or cycling, bringing the essence of One Obsession to life.”
Skateboarder Eric Koston, featured in the campaign, inspired the concept and programming of the L.A. event, which took place on Melrose from April 24 through May 10, and offered a weekly schedule of workshops, exhibitions, athlete meetups, skate sessions, and film screenings.
As part of the programming, skate artist collective the Art Dump highlighted eight well-known local skate spots, from the Pink Motel to Santa Monica, in an art exhibition at the space. Artists were paired with each location to design a flag representing their skate spot, and a dedicated fanzine helped map each location.
Also, Los Angeles skate photographer Atiba Jefferson curated a weeklong exhibition and series of activities in homage to the heritage of photography and places of obsession within skate culture. Oakley partnered with local nonprofit Bridge to Skate to offer a skate clinic with professional athletes, and an art workshop utilizing recycled skate decks as the canvas at the studio.
And then kicking off on May 14 and running through late August, a version of the Oakley in Residence program popped up in London, with a similar format but a shifted focus from skate to cycling. The concept and programming for the London event located on Exmouth Market was inspired by cyclists Mark Cavendish and Chas Christiansen, both featured in Oakley’s One Obsession campaign.
Experiences included rotating art exhibitions beginning with cycling illustration collective Spoke LDN, weekly city rides for all skill levels with urban cycling crew East London Fixed, bike maintenance workshops ranging from basic tire changes to full refits with nonprofit organization the London Bike Kitchen, and film screenings in partnership with the Bicycle Film Festival.
