HUF - San Francisco

When I’m on the road, I usually try and map out some of the locations I have to visit. This ranges from cool places to take pictures, to stores…obviously. While I was on my trip in SF celebrating my little brother’s wedding, my wife and I planned an extra day and a half to hit up a few stores and explore the city some more.

San Francisco now is very different from the San Francisco I remembered from the 90’s. The gap between the millionaires and the extreme poverty is as visible as ever. And the impact that has had on the city and surrounding cities is pretty crazy. But, that said, there’s still something about San Francisco that is mesmerising. Not only the city itself with the iconic architecture, hills and trolley’s, but also because it is a city that has been at the forefront of many movements, one of which is, of course, the fight for LGBTQ rights, holding the first -and largest- transgender Pride events in 2004, for example.

Although most of us now see this as a given and are all for equality and rights -we recognise what that meant for a city to position itself in such a manner. And now recognise it was a huge win, and step forward. But again, this is just one example of how this city is special.

It has been the birthplace for numerous brands and home to numerous creatives. SF is the original birthplace of legend Bruce Lee, Nick Tershay (aka Nicky Diamond) started his skateboard brand in his single-bedroom apartment in SF before he opened his fist physical retail location on Fairfax LA. But the main character we want to talk about today is not Nicky, it’s another household name in the streetwear game: a little brand called HUF. The brand is one of many that was also born out of SF, opened it’s first store in the iconic neighbourhood of Mission.

So when I was in SF mapping out stores, places and coffee spots that were an absolute must, HUF was at the top of the list, not because I can’t get my hands on the merch (after all, it is a global brand) but because the location is a landmark within the streetwear/sneaker world, even if it had moved a few blocks down to Valencia Street; the essence was kept.

So after a great Ramen in Marufuku in Japantown, a few purchases in the absolutely mind-boggling Kinokuniya bookstore, I set off to walk there, making a few stops, snapping pictures, and making my way to Valencia Street. Almost an hour walk, but a great one: murals and record stores, a stop by Nice Kicks, and finally the store.

Marufuku Ramen

But it wasn’t there. I triple checked the address, and nothing. There were signs of what had once been and no longer was. The windows were covered with vinyls stating “HUF will return soon”. Heartbreaking.

The store has been continuously popping up over the last few years, and I had visited it during a prior trip to SF. I even had a conversation with one of my best friends where we were talking about sneakers that had an impact on our lives, and when I asked him about the one sneaker he could never get rid of, he mentioned the HUF x Trainer. He told me about how when he started off his career in sneakers, he took his first bonus and decided to do a road trip (very similar to mine) with his then GF (now wife, and mother to his kid) and went to SF. He told me how he walked in, saw a full wall lined with the Trainer 1 and started talking to one of the employees, got the full backstory of the sneakers and ended up purchasing them. 19 years have passed, and this friend’s collection (which will remain unnamed for now) spans thousands of pairs, yet his favourite is tied to a physical location with a great story behind it.

The power of sneakers and physical retail.

So I walked passed the store a second time after having a coffee, and low and behold, the door was cracked open. I peeked in, and three people were hard at work, I could see that they were setting up racks, merch, and what was a bit confusing: the store was exactly the same. It still had many of the pictures up of Keith smiling, HUF editorials on skateboards, and the iconic tag on the back wall. I introduced myself, told them I was just visiting and had to peek in.

We started talking, and the head guy, who introduced himself as “Bonger” told me that they were taking over the space. He went on to tell me that they had reached an agreement (per his request) to leave the original artwork up. The reason being: he was one of the original HUF employees, and worked at the store for 8 years with Keith.

After talking for a few more minutes, I called my friend, and in fact, it was Bonger who sold him the trainers. He remembered.

Although it was a bummer to not see the store again, I left there with a sense of relief: the legacy will remain beyond just our memories, Bonger has no intention of ridding the space of any of the incredibly rich history. On the contrary, his intent is to continue to tell the stories even through his new venture.

What is it? Vintage streetwear and apparel curation. And the project is great, not only for hopeless romantics like myself, but also for the younger generations who are thirsty for this look.

Once HUF reopens (if it hasn’t already since I left) I will make sure to put it at the top of the list…again.

As always, thanks for reading.