SPEAKER_01 0:15

Okay, well, it's my great pleasure to introduce Guy Blaskey to the podcast, the founder of D trash. How are we doing today, Guy? Very good, thank you. How are you? Yeah, yeah, great. Thanks. Well, we had a wonderful off-mic 10-minute chat about James Bond, which I don't know, might even fare better than this podcast. Well, I hope not, but good to meet you, Guy. You too. Yeah, all right, good to have you on. Listen, Guy, for the benefit of the listeners, please give us a thumbnail sketch of you.

SPEAKER_00 0:47

So I launched just under two years ago. What happened? I used to, I set up um a long time ago in 2008, I set up a dog food company, um, which was very successful, and I sold the company. And when I sold the company, I um I wanted to mark buy a watch to mark the occasion, which is quite normal. Um, which kind of and I like watches, but I was not like massively like into what was going on in the industry or anything like that. I just kind of like watches and I like design. Um but being kind of in with my dog food company and I was doing some advising of other companies that kind of sell to supermarkets, and I was looking at watches and kind of a bit perplexed. Um and the reason I was perplexed is if you look at every other industry, there is a like there's an ethical brand and an ethical alternative, and that actually tends to be the faster growing brand that's out selling the incumbents. So if you look at like kitchen cleaners, you used to have Flash, now you have Method Chocolate, now you've got Tony's Chocolone instead of dairy milk, and you've got Patagonia in clothing. Uh I was like, that's a bit weird that this doesn't exist in watches. And I do some I do some pro bono mentoring with Imperial College, the kind of companies that are formed in Imperial in Imperial College. Uh and I was mentoring a kind of ethical materials company. And what I found out is there's quite a lot of amazing cool ethical materials out there. Um it tends to be they're developed by incredible kind of material scientists um who are great at making new materials, but not actually that good at commercializing them. Right. Um so kind of putting two and two together, I was like, watches are way easier to sell than dog food in the terms of um there's no shelf life, they're really small in a pack, um, easier on the eye. You don't need you know stock rotations, you're not holding a lot of you know, the storage isn't huge, etc. etc. So I kind of like that. And and I think that watches are really good way to kind of showcase your values. Um and I just felt like there should be a brand out there that kind of showcased people that wanted to be good citizens of the world and also showcase really good materials. Uh and also was a bit of fun. I think watches are really serious, and yeah, I'm not really that serious.

SPEAKER_01 3:21

No, well, I mean you you say that, but but the website is serious. I mean, the design language of the watches is beautiful. I wonder how best you can describe the watches for the people listening before they hurry over to the link in the show description and check the watches out for themselves.

SPEAKER_00 3:38

So if you had a Venn diagram with three circles, I think you know, one circle would be kind of interesting colours. Uh one circle would be vintage watches. Uh I'm gonna say four circles. One circle, a four third circle would be kind of ethical materials and a fourth circle would be kind of modern um I won't say modern technology, but not like digital watches, but kind of you know, they're good, sturdy, you know, unlike a vintage watch, where you've got to kind of worry about it, they're all 100 meters water resistant to 200 meters water resistant in the dive watches. They've got really good automatic movements, you know, they can take a bit of a bash. Um and you can wear them every day. You don't have to be kind of careful of them like you would with a vintage watch. So it's kind of all of those things coming together. Um, you know, ethics, materials, interesting styles with a kind of with a definite vintage inspiration. I would say that.

SPEAKER_01 4:44

I mean, I'm looking at the field of dreams watches, and so I feel like there's also a thread of film and cinema in the watches as well, like The Dark Knight, for example.

SPEAKER_00 4:56

There definitely is in the naming. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I think that the naming is very much kind of the film's music from my youth more than anything else.

SPEAKER_01 5:06

Uh-huh. And the Gotham's vigilante, obviously, that's a that's a nice nod. So maybe you can just talk about how you get these designs like out of your head onto paper. I mean, you don't have, I'm guessing, like a huge background in designing watches when you started the company. So where did it start?

SPEAKER_00 5:23

I well, so I do have a background in uh in design. Oh, so kind of. So I um when I was younger, so in my kind of early 20s, I worked in advertising. Um I then was looking for a job in advertising, like first job after kind of doing I did a what's called a stage in an ad agency in Paris. Um I went to a company called Cunning Stunts in London. Uh I think I've been in 2002. Uh, we're famous for like projecting girl porch on the House of Commons and like floating Christmas tree made out of minis down the Thames. Um I went there, I ended up working for free for a couple of weeks. Uh, and then the guy that ran it went, Look, we've got some designers. I used to have a design agency. I the designers have got some spare time. Why don't you get them some design work and turn them into a design agency? At which point I went, I have literally no idea what you're talking about. Um and it was like, well, we'll give it a go anyway and we'll see what happens. So I did that for a few years and basically ended up running a design agency and sitting with designers and kind of learning how to design. Um I then when I started Pooch and Muck, my previous company, I did the first two iterations of the brand. My like you know, wrote the theme tune, sang the theme tune, kind of thing, did absolutely everything, and then kind of worked in the agency on the kind of third and fourth iterations. Um I won a couple of awards for graphic design, packaging design. So and I really like design. Like I've got I have thousands. That's why one of the reasons why they're all kind of limited to a hundred is I want to design more.

SPEAKER_01 6:58

Yeah, I mean that makes sense, and and also it makes sense that these watches have all got kind of individual designs to them, and they all look design-led as opposed to some startup watch brands that I see that look like it's a bit you know, paint by number, as in cookie cutter designs. Perhaps they've farmed out the designs, made it for the cheapest possible way, and then you know, crowdfunded all of it.

SPEAKER_00 7:25

Yeah, so one of the things I want, I'm nothing against this, but there's a lot of watches out there that I think people get because they want a different watch. So you might want a Royal Oak, but you get a PRX because that's what you can afford. And and that's fine. And then and there's kind of so many, like you go kind of between there to an IWC engineer. There's so many of that style of watch, kind of at different price points, and kind of you want that style of watch, you end up getting the one that's at your price point. Um, there's nothing wrong with that, but I want people to want a D-Trash watch. I don't want them to go, you know, I want to get a sub, but I've only got 380 quid to spend, so I'm gonna get a D-Trash. I want them to want to get a D-Trash, right? Uh so I want them to be different as opposed to a lot a lot of the others, like you say, look like a cheaper version of a more expensive watch. And I really hope that these don't. I mean, there's definitely we do have one which is the the McQuee salmon, which is you know, I like that. I saw the I saw the Patek, I was designing it and I wanted to do a salmon face, and I put some steel hands on it, and then I saw the Pat Patek Kaltrava release uh pink dial with black hands, and I was like, I'm taking it. That looks that looks awesome. I don't think it's a cop, it's not a copy, but it you know, I wouldn't have thought pink with black hands before I saw that.

SPEAKER_01 8:58

It's a homage. So you want to start a watch brand, you admit that you don't know a whole lot about watches before you have the idea of starting one. Do you then have to delve into it like watch history, watch a lot of watch brands on YouTube? How do you go about kind of getting yourself into this market from a knowledge and research perspective?

SPEAKER_00 9:17

So interestingly, I did start a little bit. So I wanted to, I really wanted to revive the Lemania brand, uh, which is, if anyone looks, is the most incredible brand history of any watch out there. You know, you people talk about the Omega watch on the moon, it was a Lemania movement in it, and Lemania made one of the dirty dozen watches. Uh, they ended up being kind of an in-house movement maker. They're now part of the Swatch group and they're stuck in Bregay of part of the Swatch group. And I kind of went through their lawyers and tried to buy it and got nowhere. Uh okay. Um, I because I thought I mean it's just it's just a brand that is crying out to be relaunched. Interesting. So I don't think anything will happen with it. So I did look at it from that point of view, but actually I then looked at it more from the materials point of view. Um I started by contacting the people at Tide who make Tide Ocean plastic, uh, and kind of went by them to a manufacturer, looked at what uh whether materials are available, um, you know, looked at whether we should make steel or kind of plastic cases and everything like that.

SPEAKER_01 10:25

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 10:25

Um so went through it from that point of view. But it it's not from, you know, we move we use kind of my own movements and NH35 like Seiko movements, you know, I'm not it's about the the look of the watchers and the message of the watchers and the message that they carry and the good that we're trying to do rather than you know trying to impress people by um power reserves or you know, absolute accuracy or anything kind of engineering like that. Like there's a million and one people out there who do do that, and quite frankly, no one beats a Cassio G shock that costs 60 quid.

SPEAKER_01 11:10

Yeah, yeah, definitely. Good enough for Arnold Schwarzenegger.

SPEAKER_00 11:13

Exactly. So uh it's just kind of it's more, you know, it's not looking at kind of the real geeky side of horology, and I appreciate that. You know, I met the guys from uh from Roger Smith, and they were kind of like, oh, we're both in the watch game. It's like nah, we're not in the same game at all.

SPEAKER_01 11:34

Yeah, um maybe maybe sport adjacent, but uh yeah, it's it's interesting. So I I mean just on that, I I say to the missus all the time that if I really did have money, I I would be dangerous around watches. Not because I look at a watch and go, and I need to have a Rolex or a Petite Philip. It's I would just think because I come from construction, yeah, I know that spending that amount of money on a watch is it's just not my game. I'd either lose it or you know, I'd leave it somewhere and someone would die. Yeah, or I just wouldn't really appreciate the value of a watch that could be over 50 grand. I would be dangerous around watches like yours where I could get a watch that I think would be a conversation stimulator that would be someone would see it at a party and I'll go, oh yeah, yeah, no, you've not heard of these guys, or maybe they have, and then I'd just have a nice story to say about the watch.

SPEAKER_00 12:24

If you know And that's what we want, and you know, that's why you know we make we've got watch traps made out of Budweiser's waste beer, because that is a great conversation. Yeah, you know, I used to I do talks on marketing and stuff. People talk about storytelling and marketing. Um, and one of the things they used to talk about is uh it's not about the stories that you tell your customers, it's about the stories that customers tell each other. And you know, giving somebody a watch with a strap made out of waste beer is that you're giving them ammunition for a conversation. Right, right.

SPEAKER_01 12:59

I mean, so talking about another watch company that does that with straps, I think I want to say would something does it with fire engine hoses. You probably know a little more.

SPEAKER_00 13:09

Well, they yeah, I mean, yes and no. They've got William Wood. Thank you. Uh and it's a great, it's a really great story, but it's not great environmentally because what they actually do is they take a silicon watch strap and stitch some fire hose onto it in a kind of unnecessary way. So it is made out of a fire hose, right? Right. And it is a and you know, they do stuff with uh fireman's helmets and stuff like that. So they do kind of upcycle them. So it's an interesting story, but it's not an environmentally interesting story, right? Okay, yeah, there's someone else that does it with wetsuits as well.

SPEAKER_01 13:47

I mean, so yeah, but it's but the idea of what you're saying about what someone else can tell somebody else at a party, that's I think the real the real gem. And I remember being at a party, my good friend had a watch that the the dial actually just kind of came out. I think it's I want to say again. I'm sorry to talk about other watch brands and not D-Track, but I think it was called I think it was called like tickers or tockers, maybe I forget, sorry. And then that the act he took the dial off the watch and just kind of handed it to me, and then just kind of put it back on the strap. But I've I've not seen anything like that before, and so I was like, well, and then he sent it.

SPEAKER_00 14:22

Yeah, Bamford did release one where you can change the kind of the case and the strap and everything quite easily, a bit like that.

SPEAKER_01 14:29

So I mean it's important to you, I think, uh, just speaking to you, the story of the watch and the and the ethical nature of the watches as well. And I think on your website you said you're the first company to sign up to the 1% club or the first European watch brand to sign up.

SPEAKER_00 14:45

First European watch brand, yeah, which is uh insane because if you walk around a supermarket, I can you can't walk down an aisle in a supermarket without finding somebody who is a member of 1% for the planet. Right. Um and actually they they've and it's a for those who don't know, it's an amazing organization. It's founded by the uh founder of Patagonia, Yves Schuinard, Yvonne Schoenard. Um, and people say, well, what's 1%? But actually it's 1% of turnover because a lot of people, a lot of companies out there will say we give 10% of profits, and 10% sounds better than 1%, but actually you can get to the end of your financial year and have quite a lot of profit and you know decide to buy a load of new computers, new desks, whatever, to pay yourself a bit more. Suddenly you've got less profit, suddenly give less to charity. Whereas 1% of turnover is 1% of turnover, and you can't kind of fudge it at the end of the year. Interesting. Um, so it's a great organization, and actually they've been in touch with me and they've said, Oh, since I've been talking about it in the watch world, you know, they've had like four or four or five other companies have joined, um, having seen what we're doing. Right. And that for me is as much a measure of success as selling watches.

SPEAKER_01 15:59

Yeah, and a great fervor in your cap and also great that they've reached out to you as well, because they've recognized you. You put your head above the parapet in that way. Um, any chance that you can collaborate with Patagonia on the back end of that, maybe do something with them in the world. I'd love to.

SPEAKER_00 16:16

I really want I'd like to collaborate with them. I've talked to the I would I think collaborations are a big thing for our future, but it's one of the things that it just takes time to organise, and I don't have that much time. Uh uh yeah, I'd love to see. I really want to do a collaboration with Garmin. Um I think there's a big opportunity there, um which I really I'd love to get on top of. Uh, and with kind of different clothing brands and stuff like that.

SPEAKER_01 16:42

Well, we were talking off Mike about our mutual love affair for James Bond. Perhaps there's something in that genre, like a spy.

SPEAKER_00 16:50

Oh watch, I'll tell you what I want to do with them, and I'll put this out there as someone's gonna nick it. But um if you look at a hat company that I love called uh Lucky Seven, yeah, yeah. So Lucky Seven do uh Bond stuff, but they kind of use like the Spectre logo. Um so they like make the bad guys brand and stuff. Uh or they and you know, they take like they've got caps from um from Star Wars, but instead of being a Star Wars cap, it's like a Moss Isley spaceport Docker cap. Um and I and no one's done that in watches, and I really I think there's I quite like to do that, you know, make a you know, make the bad guys watch from um you know, make the bad guys watch from James Bond, not the good guys watch. Yeah, and put it up there. I think there's there's some fun to be had there. Yeah, something a little bit Please don't nick that anyone because I just don't have time to get to it, and I really want to.

SPEAKER_01 17:49

Something a little bit more niche. Well, we'll know where it came from if anyone does it in a couple of years. And well, I I had this idea, something similar to do I guess it can't be really done in a watch, but doing an egg timer with sand but with seven minutes. So you have the 007, and you have the sand from any of the James Bond beaches in the films, so be it the man with the girls. You got the golden eye. I I don't think it's technically legal, but I've been to Goldeneye and I've got like a a flask of sand from when I was there, and I've just got a guy sitting in my shed. I sometimes have ideas but never the application or the skills to kind of flesh things out to it. Yeah, or maybe a movement where you know you have the sight and you have the dial that can kind of go in a figure of eight. Yeah. Underneath. Yeah, I mean that's why we don't get into the technical side of making movements. That that really is a phone call to the guys upstairs and go, right, how do we do this?

SPEAKER_00 18:43

How do we do that? Like just buy them off the shelf, please.

SPEAKER_01 18:46

Yeah, yeah, I think I think that's the way it goes. Well, I mean, also just going back, what I really like about your watches as well, guys, the price point. I mean, I think it's a great entrance, it's an accessible price point for people that do want to start a watch collection, they want to have something different in their watch collection to go to, and you know, just something fun as well that they can put on, and like we say, we can just get conversations started.

SPEAKER_00 19:07

So yeah, because uh there's there's not that many, you know, it's funny because I before getting into it, I would have thought, you know, what automatic watches kind of in my head were like two grand to about eight. That's was kind of my that's where a good automatic watch is. And actually, I mean, I remember I was being interviewed about some watches that came out, and I remember saying that the the freak, which I love, as a watch, as and I was like, the I was like, oh, that's not that bad value at 26 grand, and then I caught myself saying it, and I'm like, no, no, no. Like, I've I've skewed myself by looking at like 300 grand watches to thinking a 26 grand watch is now a good value when I was I used to think like a 10 grand watch was expensive, but equally you know, I wasn't aware of the the truth is, and you'll this is where you'll get hate in the comments, or whatever. But we have an automatic movement in our watch which is made by robots in Japan, and it's a very good movement. A Swiss watch maybe made by hand in Switzerland, probably is made by robots in Switzerland. The big difference, in my opinion, between a Swiss watch and an Asian or Swiss movement and an Asian movement is the cost of living in those countries. You know, it's the cost of wages, it's the cost of you know, go to a Swiss supermarket and a pack of biscuits is a fiver. That's what effectively you're paying for. There's no, yeah, I okay, you can talk about accuracy and power reserves and all that kind of stuff, but but actually, Swiss isn't better, it's just a more expensive place to employ people.

SPEAKER_01 20:52

It's also context as well. I mean, I think when people go, oh god, I'd never pay that amount for a watch. I'm like, well, it does really m depend on how much money you have in the in the bank as well at that point in time. I mean, people, you know, some for some people 350 quid is you know too much of a stretch to get one of your watches. Other people might think that's just right in the pocket for me, that's fine. So true.

SPEAKER_00 21:13

Although I'm I I like this end of the market, you know. Uh, and I actually think I think at the top end of the market, there are some like Roger Smith where you're actually paying effectively to keep an artisan alive and keep an artisan um movement working and people building things by hands. But I think when you look at like a I look at a Richard Miller, 300-400 grand, and I actually find them quite offensive. Yeah. I think it's quite offensive that people will walk around with you know the price of a small house on their wrist.

SPEAKER_01 21:49

Oh, I mean, so there's there's that, and there's like I don't know if you saw the story recently of Dominic Sabozla, the Liverpool football player, posting a picture of his petite Philip on Instagram after we had a very average result against Brighton. So, you know, the the fans are filing out the ground, they've seen a terrible game, and the the guy on the pitch who's probably getting 250 grand a week is just posting a picture of his flash watch. It's it does it's a bit of a tone-deaf thing to do to start with. It's kind of like this is this is what I'm doing, but he's also going, well, you know, I really like watches, I've just treated myself to a really nice watch. What's that? I'm like, well, mate, the half the people in that stadium, you know, will have to save to get that ticket to what you put in a performance like that, and it was dog crap, and now you're just flashing and parading a watch that it's no one is ever going to afford like one person in that stadium.

SPEAKER_00 22:37

Yeah, there's also there's a really interesting concept called uh mimetic desire, where it's about wanting things because other people want them. I think that's like the mean version of desire. And actually, a lot of you know, you get a nice Patek. Do you actually want that watch? Or do you want that watch because you think other people want that watch? So you're getting it to kind of to to meet that demand of other people wanting it. So you think it's valuable and you think it's good because other people do, which is kind of a self-fulfilling prophecy. Um and that I think when you become aware of that concept in the world, you kind of start changing what you want and you analyze like, do I actually want, do I like that? Or do I think that other people like that? So I should have it because other people like it.

SPEAKER_01 23:28

Yeah. And then it just there's no end to that as well. There's no point on the horizon you'll ever reach, I don't think, where you'll be satiated. Yeah. Listen, uh, guy, thanks for this. I've been I know the uh questions have been a little bit unhinged around the houses. Sorry, I I did have some structure to this interview, believe it or not. No, it's definitely not structure, but I didn't really think about which entirely my fault. But um, it's it's been fun talking to you and and also learning about the watches and the process. So dtrash.com will leave links in the show description. Please do check these watches out. They're a lot of fun and they're uh very accessibly priced. We'll have to uh have you back on when we release the Bond Baddy watch. Oh yeah. Yeah, definitely. I mean, you might be a video by that as well. Yeah, let's let's do it. Listen. Thanks, guy. Thanks for time, appreciate it. Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 24:16

Bye.

SPEAKER_01 24:23

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