The New Balance Tastemakers series: Ruben Bryant

Numbers hold serious significance among creators and innovators, whose major milestones are often represented by dates, places and times. For our winter issue, we spoke to three local New Balance connoisseurs about their craft and their lifestyle, exploring the numbers that mean something to them.

For the first instalment of the series, we spoke to Ruben Bryant, founder & owner of streetwear store Good As Gold. Check it out:

WHAT HAS BEEN THE MOST SIGNIFICANT YEAR FOR YOU AND GOOD AS GOLD AND WHY?
Every year has been significant for me. The retail, fashion and streetwear industry is incredibly cutthroat, so it’s rad to still be here and growing after 11 years. Good As Gold now has 25 staff, two shops, an online store and a distribution company. It still feels pretty surreal to me what my staff and I have achieved.

HOW OLD WERE YOU WHEN YOU GOT INTO FASHION AND STREETWEAR?
I was 14 when I first started selling fashion and streetwear. My sister Kate had a cool brand and shop called RIPE, which I worked in part time.

DO YOU HAVE A FAVOURITE THING THAT GOOD AS GOLD SELLS?
I love fitting people into sneakers. We have a constant stream of new styles arriving at Good As Gold on a weekly basis, but the New Balances would be my favourites.

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR STYLE AND HOW IS IT INFLUENCED BY WHAT YOU DO?
For lack of a better word I’d describe it as ‘streetwear’ but I mix things up. Today I wore Henrik Vibskov pants from Denmark and a Palace crew from the UK with some New Balance sneakers. I’m a shop owner so I’m influenced by all the amazing brands we sell.

WHAT DRIVES YOU TO KEEP EVOLVING IN WHAT YOU DO?
Being motivated by or feeling passionate about a new brand drives me, plus creating a fun place to work and shop gets me pumped on a daily basis.

WHICH NUMBER IS SIGNIFICANT TO YOU AND WHY?
2004, because that’s the year I opened Good As Gold with a pretty loose business plan to sell some cool shit you couldn’t find in New Zealand.

Shop New Balance here and Good As Gold here.

Photography by JAMES K LOWE
Makeup by REBEKAH BANKS
Special thanks to Kingsize Studios