Nick Tershay started Diamond Supply Co. in 1998 out of his apartment on Divisadero street in San Francisco. What started as hardware, griptape, and bearings slowly morphed into apparel. Being an alumnus of SF’s EMB Crew, and having influential friends like Mike Carroll and Stevie Williams rocking the gear, helped Tershay launch the brand into the spotlight in the pre-social media era. Then, in 2005, the Nike SB Diamond Dunk happened. The rest is history.

Today, Tershay is sitting on a small empire. Diamond just launched a European distribution, and is looking to open more retail stores in key cities. Unlike its contemporaries including Supreme and HUF, it’s still completely self-funded with no outside investors. Diamond’s success has inspired countless brands that have come after it. And it still sits as the archetype example of what is possible.

Tershay recently sat down with Women’s Wear Daily for an in-depth interview in which he answers the burning questions: “Where do you go from here?” For Tershay, the answer is not to worry about the future. Focus on the present instead.

For the future of Diamond, I’m just excited about creating stuff. It’s evolved over the years. I can’t wait to see what happens. I don’t really think that far ahead. I used to. I always used to be thinking future, future, future, future and just within the last couple years I started thinking right now, which is different for me because I’ve always been on this future thing my whole life. Now I’m finally living in the present.

For more on Tershay and Diamond, head over to WWD to read the entire piece.

Image Via Ronski