Volcom: Sao Paulo

Imagine my surprise when I was getting recently reacquainted with my stomping grounds in Jardins in Sao Paulo and came across the new Volcom store "” the brand’s first Latin American flagship "” sitting a little awkwardly among its Rodeo Drive-chic neighbors, like the pierced-lipped and mohawked son standing next to his straighter, square siblings in a family portrait. Rebel-skate image intact though, it’s still a different version of Volcom than the one I know from growing up living on the border of Los Angeles and Orange counties; you can tell right away from the heavy black design on the outside it’s Volcom, and inside, the music still blares and some art decorates the walls, but I’ll admit it’s not as entirely the same as shopping at Volcom in L.A., where visually there’s a lot of attitude. But I’m thinking it has to do with my pairing of Volcom with a land where skate and surf spots are within spitting distance, as opposed to at least an hour and a half or more away by car depending on the traffic (read: usually bad) when you finally get out of Sao Paulo’s concrete jungle. I love the back area, a mini-gallery with work by graffiti artists, with an outdoor (read: party) open-air space that will be a delicious chill area come high summer. Check out the photos; the store’s located at Alameda Lorena, 1835.