Mark Ong

Thank you for having me. I’m an artist who is most well-known for expressing my work on sneakers. I run the company with my wife (Mrs. Sabotage) and her assistant, Corey. We mainly collaborate with brands to come up with amazing products and also own a clothing brand called SBTG Surplus. Our design aesthetic is camouflaged skater with a punk soundtrack.

I’ve always had a love for shoes. I found them sculpturally beautiful and loved how they contributed to my outfits. I got into the sneaker scene through skateboarding. My shoes would get thrashed quickly and I always wanted my shoes to look nice. It’s hard to pinpoint how I started. It’s through a series of events that contributed to me doing Sabotage. I remember doodling band logos on my shoes in primary school, slicing away the lace savers on my Airwalk tail slides, cutting my high tops to mids and using a tester marker in a stationery shop to colour in my shoes. But I guess the shoes that really made me fall in love with sneakers were the OG Air Jordan 1. 

At that point in time, I had already started a little collection and found out that it didn’t really quench what I was thirsty for. It was a time before retro shoes and I was madly into the vintage colours I saw in the Japanese magazines. I started to paint some all-white sneakers into the colourways I couldn’t afford or find. It was rad up until then, but when Supreme launched the Dunk SB shoe in 2003, something clicked in my head and it opened the door to a new world that I’ve been immersed in for the last 15 years. 

Being a skateboarder from the 80s and to be an authentic human being is deeply ingrained in my blood. Having this background, I naturally felt I needed to be just that. My childhood influences were the content that I had at hand to express myself, so I spent a lot of time training myself to visually express that in my work.

It’s gone crazy. It’s exactly what I secretly wished for. It’s now so diverse and the expression has gone to such extremes, resulting in parts that I both love and hate. But I feel that this creates balance and it’s happening whether we like it or not, which is dope. We could now do what we would never have dreamt of back then. 

Culture Cartel is Asia’s first all-encompassing street culture convention in Singapore that is happening from December 1-2 2018, gathering the best from all spectrums – from street art, tattoos, pop culture toys, to streetwear. For the first time, these different elements of street culture will be brought together at the F1 Pit Building through Culture Cartel’s various components featuring exclusive launches like that of Monsoon Patrol, brand and retail showcases, art exhibitions and installations.

I’m happy to be a part of this with many other talented local and overseas artists under the street culture umbrella, who will be voicing their thoughts and sharing their craft at Culture Cartel. This is a platform for anyone and everyone who has a passion for street culture – or if you just want to get an insider’s look into the scene. We welcome all of you to Culture Cartel!

This inaugural convention serves as an international platform for street artists, designers, tattoo artists, and urban brands across the world, to gather and put together a holistic, educational and interactive street culture showcase that has never been seen before in Asia. With the quality and variety of content that visitors can look forward to, including top-notch street culture personalities and a wide range of activities on the exhibition floor, all participants will experience the embodiment of the term ‘Street Culture’ at this massive convention. Be it the tattoo enthusiasts, toy collectors, streetwear fans or the general public across Singapore and Asia, Culture Cartel has something for everyone over one power-packed weekend!

I’ve been in this scene for the last 20-something years and have seen the originators make their mark in our history here. It was a very niche crowd then and we were such a small percentage. These days, with the help of the Internet and social media, we can clearly see and feel that percentage growing. I used to wish that everyone had access to nice sneakers and can definitely see that happening now. 

I was going to do what I’m going to do anyway, but it so happens that it’s contributing to our history here so I find that super cool. 

Mandeep and I were inspired to conceptualize this project through my travels to cities like Tokyo, London and Singapore where we experience rain quite frequently. I wanted to build a shoe that will let us walk freely in the rain with no stress of getting our toes soaked. I wanted people around the world to know more about us, which is why I used the word “Monsoon,” which is very suggestive of Southeast Asia and “Patrol” simply means "on foot."

I give collaborations a lot of thought and I feel the formula should be two entities coming together to form something greater. With that said, I wanted to not only push boundaries but also bring something more to the table. The nylon tongue cover is there for very obvious reasons but its design really stems from 80's skate shoe styles. It’s a removable piece that is functional and still contributes to the overall aesthetic of the shoes. I really hope that this add-on can spark positive conversations and memories.

Absolutely! The sneakers are part of an outfit and we wanted to tell an even more complete story about the concept. ASICSTIGER is the main manufacturer for the project, but we have added other projects to complement the sneakers, such as a New Era cap, a dry bag to store the shoes, a waterproof spray by Liquid Glass and also an umbrella.

It’s using military jargon to describe a product. LE is Limited Edt - 65 for Singapore's country code - 138 stands for freedom and SBTG for Sabotage. 

It’s all through relationships and conversations. Being in this industry for a long time, I’m blessed to cross paths and become friends with many people who share similar goals and energy to mine. In 2016, we launched a very successful project with ASICS and Kicks Lab from Tokyo. Our release was sold out everywhere instantly and I want to repeat that success but this time taking it back to my hometown.

My approach has always been ‘artist + brand product + retailer,’ so this time we naturally approached homegrown shoe retailer Limited Edt. Mandeep, its founder, and I have been friends since we started our respective brands so we were able to come together and do this collaboration with power. 

My customization process is more like a sampling phase. It’s really painting and adding to what’s already there, whereas for a production piece we get to pick and choose everything before it’s being assembled. I would usually introduce some graphics that I wouldn’t paint on to be used in my collaborative projects. Other than that, I would take the opportunity to tell a story as it has the potential to reach a wider audience. 

During my journey, we have created a certain equity to our brand and have been breaking ground in the corporate world. For example, projects like our own credit card design with DBS Bank, to being a passion ambassador with the Singapore Tourism Board.

Customized sneakers are really a calling card for us to branch out in other projects of different natures. We are still killing it with our sneakers though, as we’ve recently made a pair for Stephen Curry as a national gift to him.

Also, I foresee us inserting Vechain NFC chips which uses blockchain technology into our future creations. This would allow customers to scan their products with an mobile phone application to authenticate them.

I also see the future of brand Sabotage evolving beyond streetwear as we are in the midst of making it into a cafe concept. Let’s see!