Kikuo Ibe's Advice to Young People

Drop it at extreme heights. Crush it with a cement roller. Zap it with electricity. Hit it with a hammer – all part and parcel of Kikuo Ibe’s personal style of experimenting and inventing.

His “never give up” motto stands as a true testament of his mindset when creating G-Shock. In an interview with highsnobiety he revealed his challenges and the advice he wants to pass on to future creators.

His driving force was that the G-Shock was a product that was “against the times”. In the early 1980s, slim, compact watches were preferred, and the G-Shock defied the trend with its bulky size. Not envisioning the massive success that G-Shock would have, Ibe’s initial intention was to create a niche product that would be useful to a small number of people. Today, it has traversed the globe, as a stylish accessory finding itself on the wrists of streetwear icons, musicians, actors, and even politicians.

“The message that I want to tell through G-Shock is that I want people to cherish their beliefs, even if they go against the times.” Ibe cautions about overthinking and says, “I feel that if you move fast and do your best, there’ll be something good that will open up as your new path.”

Check out the video below;