Meeting... Reda Taoussi!
Reda Taoussi, frontside noseslide. Photo: Johan Verstappen
as its name just wouldn't give away, LOSTBOYS88 is a local entreprise ran by two toulouse, france-based twin brothers, REDA and amine taoussi, who happen to be just as passionate about skateboarding as they are about the intricacies of filmmaking... and now, running their own clothing brand. live skateboard media briefly caught up with the creative mind behind its main imagery - reda - hereby sharing his drive with us and demonstrating he really isn't as "lost" as he likes to proclaim himself...
LIVE Skateboard Media: So Reda, where are you from? When did you first start skating? What is your company about - what is the story behind it, and what prompted you to start it to begin with?
Reda Taoussi: I'm originally from Marrocco, but I was born in France - in Toulouse, the "pink city" as they say. I first took up skating when I was about 14, 15 years old maybe, with my "other one" as I like to call my twin brother, Amine.
I'm way into cinematography and filmmaking, and wanted to bring that over into this other passion I have: skateboarding. An imagery, an atmosphere which would reflect my personality - which is why Lostboys88 comes tinted by a deep oriental touch. The name in itself, "lost boys" has to do with our dual nationality, in a way - my brother and I often feel like we're lost in between two different worlds (laughs). It's nothing dramatic, though - to the contrary, it makes for more of a positive opportunity to blend two cultures together, in order to come up with an original product.
I'm way into cinematography and filmmaking, and wanted to bring that over into this other passion I have: skateboarding. An imagery, an atmosphere which would reflect my personality - which is why Lostboys88 comes tinted by a deep oriental touch. The name in itself, "lost boys" has to do with our dual nationality, in a way - my brother and I often feel like we're lost in between two different worlds (laughs). It's nothing dramatic, though - to the contrary, it makes for more of a positive opportunity to blend two cultures together, in order to come up with an original product.
Amine Taoussi, switch crooked. Photo: Johan Verstappen
Anyway, I personally handle the design of the garment as well as the video making aspect of the brand, whereas Amine handles everything distribution. We also have two friends involved: Mario Sardo and Quentin Serda, who also work with us on developing Lostboys88.
Our logo is the peacock which, by any means, isn't random: our last name, Taoussi, means "peacock" in Arabic.
LSM: So, Lostboys88 is mostly Toulouse-based? How long have you guys been active for, and besides the clothing you guys make, what does your activity consist in exactly? You seem to try and communicate with an emphasis on audiovisual means, in particular - can you explain the "dynamic electronic sounds" aspect you guys reference on your website, for instance? Also, your YouTube channel is pretty stacked - do you feel it's important as a clothing company to show skate content aplenty?
Reda: Lostboys88 has been Toulouse-based since 2016. We've been actively on it for less than a year, however I started working on it as far back as in 2015, when I was still living in Paris. Our activity mainly consists in communicating on the imagery and intent of the Lostboys brand, for which we notably employ electro-arabic sonorities such as the works of "ACID ARAB" - which, while we're at it, I would like to thank for allowing us to use their music in our videos.
The YouTube channel has been around for a while already! It features skate videos indeed, but some personal works too. As I was saying, I'm into cinematography and filmmaking, so I always have - and always have had - cameras near me, to use to film skating yes, but not solely that. I also shoot short films, make video clips... Well, all I'm saying is the YouTube channel is spiritually faithful to the Lostboys spirit - in that we tend to naturally showcase skating in our videos seeing as it's a deep part of our identity to begin with, anyway - two skating peacocks (laughs)!
