By Kristen Philipkoski / Source: Eat, Sleep, Denim

As you know, I am obsessed with denim—women’s denim! I confess I know next to nothing about men’s jeans. I am intrigued, though, by the often-male fascination with raw and otherwise dark and stiff denim, and the obsession with finding the best way to care for and wear it in perfectly.

So when I heard about Ulrich Conrad Simpson (AKA Ubi, pictured above), I wanted to know more. He is a designer of the aforementioned style of men’s denim, but for an even more niche clientele. With his San Francisco-based label UBI-IND, he specializes in designing jeans that fit the likes of Magic Johnson, Klay Thompson and Carlos Boozer. Rapper Waka Flocka, who is 6’4″, is also a fan, along with pro surfers, race-car drivers, and street artists. Ubi makes jeans for big dudes.

All UBI-IND jeans are made in the United States of Cone denim. And even though we only emailed, Ubi is one of the most candid and entertaining interviews I’ve ever experienced. Read on for his thoughts on keeping manufacturing in the U.S., his disdain for B.S., and who he’s voting for for president.

What is most important about the fit of men’s jeans?

“Well that’s hard to say because we try not to take a general approach to fitting you in our jeans. Similar to the women’s business, there isn’t one jean that fits all body types. At UBi-IND we have created five fits that, based on your body type, will fit you like a glove. I.e., if you’re a guy who has a small waist but large quads we have a jean for you, or if you’re the for-the-nose tackle for the Oakland Raiders, we have a jean for you. We actually sell at the Bay Club gyms in [San Francisco] which is an unlikely place to sell jeans, but I felt like, hey, you gotta go to the source. I mean what better place to sell jeans to a guy who spends his time working out? I could definitely use a little more time at the gym lately. The other important thing is how we scale in size. I not only fit on a size 32 model, I also fit on a 42 waist size, which has different needs. This is one of the things that make us very different from the competition. It’s more of a custom grade depending on your body type.”

Read more @ Eat, Sleep, Denim