In November of 2008, Scion returned to Las Vegas to take part in the SEMA Show, where the company unveiled a number of project vehicles just like it has in its four past SEMA appearances.

Among them were new offerings for its Tuner Challenge – for 2008, builders were invited to trick out the tC sports coupe, and amongst the talent tapped was noted founder and creative director for Fatlace and member of the Nike Global Digital Design Group, Mark Arcenal.

For the Tuner Challenge, Arcenal created a Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) themed tC that hugs the road with a B-Magic body kit. An Origin DTM wing and louvers over the fenders make the car look ready for the European race circuit, while a TRD supercharger under hood and Fatlace custom two-piece cast aluminum four-piston brake calipers up front give the tC muscle to match its appearances.

From helping fuel a sneaker revolution to building cars, Arcenal has carved out an impressive résumé. We recently had the pleasure of picking his brain to learn how he earned his status, what informs his design sensibilities, and where he sees trends heading in the next year.

UrbanRacer: For those who don’t know Mark Arcenal yet, tell us briefly about your background – how did you end up founding Fatlace and becoming the Global Digital Design Director of Nike Sportswear?

Mark Arcenal: Fatlace.com was a URL I bought when buying URL’s were popular. I bought 25 URL’s in 1998. Sold a few, killed a few, and kept a few. I had a blog (before they were called blogs) back in 1996 called Caffemocha.com. It had a bunch of my friends from around the world blogging cool designs they’d seen on the net. Every now and then I would blog about music and footwear and called the category Fatlace.

After I bought the Fatlace domain, I went deep into the category and built it out using [Macromedia's] Flash [multimedia platform], since it was the way to go back then. It was pretty advanced for a “blog,” so the readership was great and it took off again in 2007 with hundreds of hours behind the 12-inch MacBook.

I’ve worked at advertising agencies from 1999 to 2007. I started as a Junior Designer and worked my way up to Associate Creative Director. I used a lot of my real world experience for campaigns that needed that extra something. All the agency experience and the dedication have brought me to where I am at today.
UR: Global Digital Design Director sounds like a serious title, and a dream job for sneaker heads. What does that entail on a day-to-day basis?

MA: There are five categories at Nike, sportswear being one. I manage what happens digitally on the Sportswear end globally – websites, videos, photo shoots, anything that deals with a computer usually [crosses my desk]. Being on top of all the countries around the globe means you’re getting emails at all times during the day, which in turn means being up all day. I sleep at 2:00 AM and wake daily at 6:00 AM – kinda gnarly, but if I sleep more hours, I feel unproductive. The crazy thing is there are more people like myself at work than I’ve ever met in my life.

UR: Currently how many pairs of sneakers do you own?

MA: I’ve got around 400 pairs, and about 100 are real collector-type shoes. People drop shoes off a lot on my desk, but I usually give them away unless I really want them. I got rid of 100 pairs before the end of last year from my personal closet.

UR: There must be some crazy perks associated with your position, but maybe a lot of downsides that many might not see. Can you share some of the pluses and minuses of being Mark Arcenal?

MA: Traveling is fun, but traveling can also make you crazy. I commute by plane to work weekly, and with the unusual commute, you can see how it can get crazy. Getting product before the masses is a great perk. Most of what’s in my closet won’t see the retail floor because they’re samples, but being sample size is a bad thing sometimes, so you have to learn how to say “no.”

I think the hardest part of being who I am is finding the time to do everything. I learned a lot just by trial and error, and the biggest thing I can possibly teach someone is that it’s ok to push yourself and work 18 hours days, but you have to know when to say no and you have to learn how to put the phone/computer down.

UR: Along with your overall interest in all things design (fashion, graphics, and architecture), we know you are a first-rate car enthusiast. Tell us how your car life got started.

MA: My mom decided not to drive when I said I wanted my license, so she retired driving 21 years ago and gave me the keys to her 1984 BMW 318i. I had that car for a long time, and painted it, changed bumpers, headlights, taillights, installed Intrax springs, cut those springs to go lower, watched the spring fly out mid-turn, installed headers – the works. The car went through a lot in the eight years I owned it. After that car, I went to town on buying and fixing up cars. I’ve gone from German to Japanese and now in a German state of mind again. I’m on number 31.

UR: You were handpicked to participate in the Scion tC Tuner Challenge at SEMA last year; for the many Scion owners also into the sneaker and design scene, Mark Arcenal plus Scion was a pretty sweet mating. How did you feel about it?

MA: I was very excited and thankful for the opportunity. I’ve been a huge fan of bB’s in Japan (the first-generation xB equivalent), and the whole small car. We first thought we were getting xB’s and my build was a surf-mobile with a bunch of drawers for gear and shoes in the trunk. I found out that the tC was going to be the car, so being the racing fan that I am, I thought being true to the racing theme was the only route to go.

UR: Was your thinking/approach in designing the Scion tC Tuner Challenge project different than, say, the way you would do a pair of Dunks? How and why?

MA: No, not at all. I tackle all of my design projects with a very straightforward approach – design for the environment it’s suppose to be in without forcing the issue. With the Scion, I did not want to make it just a show car because when I looked at the tC, I saw a Cup Car. It’s very easy to put bling wheels on it, dump it to the ground with a turbo and stickers to cover the slop. It does seem like there are a lot of people getting the Fatlace tC.

UR: With your experience in the sneaker and fashion world, what are opportunities in the tuning world that you think haven’t been taken advantage of?

MA: I’d say style. Motorsports style has too much formality to it. We have a group I’m a part of called The Stall where we created whatever we want with a no-holds-barred attitude. I’d like to see The Stall’s take on a project like the [tC Tuner Challenge] because in motorsports right now, it’s very much the same style workman shirts out there with sponsor patches.

UR: Does music play a role in your design life? How?

MA: Yes, I love music. I bought my first realistic mixer and turntables right after my eighth-grade graduation. The year was 1986.

UR: What’s on your iPod right now?

MA: Tons, but I’ve been listening to Public Enemy’s “Fear of a Black Planet.” Payback’s a bitch, right?

Word Association – Mark Arcenal’s Favorite…

Pair of NIKEs: Air Max 1
Smartphone: The Bold & iPhone
Two-wheeler: Ruckus
Visionary: Gandhi
Drifter: Manabu Orido, ’cause he’s got style.
Laptop: MacBook
Camera: Canon 5D
Watch: Hublot
James Bond: “Casino Royale” or “Diamonds Are Forever”
Transformer: Optimus Prime

The World According to Mark Arcenal: 9 predictions for ’09

Hot color: Calimansi Green
Hot kick: Nike Mad Jibe Mids – pure heat
Hot gadget: FlipCam HD – everyone’s going to have one
Hot video game: “Scratch,” the DJ’s answer to “Guitar Hero”
Hot tire/wheel combo: 18x10s on Nitto Invo’s
Hot DJ to watch: DJ Relm
What’s going to make a comeback in ’09? Starter-style jackets
Who’s going to be the Formula DRIFT champ in ’09? A privateer
What’s Mark Arcenal’s next big project for 09? Directing my first music video