October 15, 2024 • 69 mins
Discover the captivating journey of Hakim El Kadiri, a visionary in the watch industry who has crafted a unique path with Elka Watch. With a rich career working with brands like Swatch, Hamilton, and Rado, Hakim brings a wealth of experience and a fresh perspective to his own brand, launched in 2021. Our conversation takes you through the challenges and triumphs of creating Elka Watch, a brand that draws inspiration from American design and a commitment to timeless and sustainable aesthetics, akin to the iconic Harley Davidson.
The episode explores the launch of the Arinis model, a playful and versatile addition to Elka's collection, which pays homage to its predecessors while setting a new standard. Engaging collaborations with Dutch companies Ace Jewelers and Heroes are highlighted, showcasing special editions with unique numeral systems and no-printed dial options, blending vintage charm with contemporary design influences from Heuer and Ulysse Nardin. These partnerships not only honor Elka's roots but also demonstrate its innovative spirit in a fiercely competitive market.
As we navigate the complexities of establishing a niche brand, Hakim shares insights into using Le Joux Perret movements for their reliability and precision, transitioning from ETA movements. Hear about his adventurous foray into whiskey production, inspired by Celtic heritage, and how it intertwines with his watch designs. We wrap up with a look at the future of Elka Watch, exploring sustainable trends, the potential for expanded distribution, and the thrill of seeing Elka watches celebrated in popular culture. Join us for this enriching conversation that celebrates passion, creativity, and the timeless art of watchmaking.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Blake Rea (00:01):
Hello everybody, welcome to another episode of
Lonely Wrist Today.
Super excited and this has beena long time coming.
We have Akeem from Elka WatchWelcome.
Hakim El Kadiri (00:16):
Thank you.
Nice meeting you, Blake Again.
Yeah.
Blake Rea (00:23):
Again.
Yeah, yeah, kind of interesting.
Interesting story on how Iwouldn't say how we met, but how
I found your watch brand is Iwas looking at, like some of the
I don't know what watch show itwas.
It was in switzerland orsomething, and you know you were
showcasing there and it'salways cool to see like because
there's a lot of brands thatdon't get the credibility they
(00:44):
deserve and I I would think elkais a good example of you have
an amazing product and you'reyou're new to the market, but
you have a very, very, veryspecial product and I'm so
excited for the world to see uhand and yeah.
So I saw your products and I waslike, holy crap, like I have to
at some point in my life, getone of these watches either in
(01:06):
my hand or in my collection.
And uh, and you made thathappen with my, my elka x and uh
, and this dial is just sobeautiful, like it's got the
vintage charm but it feels likea modern watch and that's what I
love, so congratulations.
Let's talk about the early daysof Elka.
(01:29):
You know, how did you get thebrand going?
How'd you get into the watchindustry?
Like, what brought you to today?
Hakim El Kadiri (01:38):
Okay, so my story is quite long in the watch
industry.
So I was working for differentbrands from the Swatch Group at
the beginning.
So I started in 98, working forSwatch for four years.
Then I went working forHamilton for 10 years and at the
end so I ended by Rado and Iwas working there for 11 years
(02:03):
and during that time also I wasworking for different brands
like Timberland, asics and Mango.
So we did some watches like OEMwatches for different companies
also working within the group,and so then I left in January 21
.
And so then I left in January21, and I wanted to start my
(02:27):
dream starting to do somethingby my own, starting to do
something that really pleased me.
I mean, I don't say that Ididn't like what I did before,
but I wanted to do it right forme and for I mean with my name,
my nickname and everything.
So doing something that Ireally like.
So be passionate about what I'mdoing.
Blake Rea (02:50):
And it really shows.
Obviously, Elka is derived fromyour name.
Didn't take too much to figurethat out.
And then, obviously, sinceyou've had the idea for Elka,
how has the brand evolved?
Hakim El Kadiri (03:09):
You know, at the beginning so the idea was
not really to have the name Elkaas a brand name.
So I had the dream to protectthe name Elgin.
You know, I mean it's anAmerican name, an American brand
.
I love what I did at Hamilton,so Hamilton was really my heart
(03:29):
brand and I wanted to continuealso the story with something,
also with the same story.
You know, I mean the railroadwatch, the army watch and
everything.
So I love this kind of spirit.
So my environment is quite,quite american in I mean the
style, so riding harley davidson, driving chrysler, something
(03:51):
like this.
You know, I mean I like thiskind of stuff.
And then I wanted to protectelgin, but that was already
taken.
And then I went through a biglist of names, so I mean with
the name of watch, existingwatches and also the one which
disappeared, and I felt on Elkaand Elka is my nickname, so
(04:13):
everyone is calling me Elka andthen I said, okay, so I don't
have to really find somethingelse, is the name available?
And then I jumped in andprotected it.
Blake Rea (04:24):
It was for my reading .
It was a Dutch brand orsomething like that.
Hakim El Kadiri (04:30):
It was a Dutch brand.
It was created in 1877 by MrEdouard Louis Kik from Amsterdam
, elka, and so he had somethinglike five shops in Amsterdam and
he was also the jeweler andwatchmaker of the Queen Juliana
(04:52):
that period and after that, in1930, he sent his son in
Switzerland to develop watchesand from then on they did a lot
of collaboration also withdifferent other brands, like
Vulcan, like Minerva, like Imean different other brands.
Blake Rea (05:13):
Yeah, and obviously, like you have a very, very, very
tight I would call it tightdesign language and you know
your watches are pretty, I'd say, recognizable, like they're
very clean, they're very legible.
Um, you know, you don't haveanything crazy going on, it's
all about legibility and I wouldconsider practicality while
(05:36):
giving it like a modern twist.
So when you're designing thesewatches, like what fuels, like
the future of the brand,obviously practicality and
legibility are huge for yourbrand.
Hakim El Kadiri (05:54):
I will reply in different words.
First of all, the first designI had was this watch.
This watch was my first pocketwatch that I bought from the
brand and you can see the minitrack and you can see also the
shape of the watch and thisshape is exactly what I took to
(06:14):
design my model.
I want also to integratesustainability here because you
know, I mean the design aregoing to evolve.
You have the, the design ofwatches, and every year
something is changing.
Every five years there are bigtrends.
(06:34):
So when the period is fine, isnice, is good, so you have big
watches with a lot of stones,with lots of colors.
Then, when the period is alittle bit more hard, so that
the watches are getting smaller,and I would like to compare my
watches to something which isreally big, bulky, a lot of
(06:58):
colors and something like this,and I would say all the design I
want to have are something thatwere taken from the past and
they are like the HarleyDavidson of the watches,
something that are already old,which are not looking old today
and which are not going to beold in 15 years or 50 years, so
(07:20):
it's something that you canreally wear at any period of
your life, and so this is theway I'm designing the things is
something which is classic,minimalist and something is
going to be also wearable formany years.
(07:40):
Where I'm going to head mydesign.
This is something also else,but it's something that I want
really to keep.
You know, I mean, I based thedesign of the logo.
The design of the pictures areblack and white.
Everything is based in the 60s.
I was born in the 60s, so then,ok, I like this period because
(08:04):
that was a period that wasreally open for everyone in
terms of design, in terms offreedom, in terms of I mean,
that was really crazy period,and the idea is really to start
developing, designing and tocontinue designing products from
that period Amazing and tocontinue designing products from
(08:27):
that period.
Blake Rea (08:28):
Amazing and something I've noticed that's very
special about your watch is thecase shape, like something that
nobody sees online.
You know I mean nobody gets toexperience online, should I say.
But what's crazy is it's?
It's, it's like it's a.
It's what it's in terms ofthickness it should be.
(08:50):
It's pretty standard, right,like it's probably, I'd say like
10 millimeters thick or so, oraround there, yeah, but but it
wears like it's four or fivemillimeters thick because of the
, the way the case design andI've never seen anything like it
.
Hakim El Kadiri (09:07):
I think the main, the main item on the watch
is the sapphire crystal.
The sapphire crystal is builtlike the old azalea glass.
Okay, in the past it was reallyin plastic and today I mean, we
can do it in a sapphire crystaland this gives really this
(09:29):
shape.
So you have the feeling.
So I don't know.
I mean it's kind of, yeah, ok,not so clear on the screen, but,
ok, you have the feeling to seeonly the metal part, but you
can see on top the sapphirecrystal which is going up and
everything is built inside sothe hands are bent, the dial is
bent.
So I have a dial here, forinstance, so you can see also
(09:51):
the dial is also bent like this.
Then you can see I mean all theconstruction is built inside in
order to have this kind ofreally slim effect, of really
slim effect.
Blake Rea (10:06):
And just the way that you use these really beautiful
long leaf hands and thisexaggerated counter weight.
On the second hand, it just isso fun See if everybody can see
mine, so all the space is taken,and it's just so fun See if
everybody can see mine, so allthe space is taken and yeah.
(10:33):
Yeah, we can see it well, yeah.
Yeah, it's really awesome.
Yeah, and I love how you keptthe name.
You know, like the, the, theway the logo is presented, you
know, and then you have yourmodern one back there.
Hakim El Kadiri (10:52):
Yeah, see here.
So the logo was the same herein the past.
Blake Rea (11:00):
Yeah, I know, that's why I liked about it.
So, and then obviously, likethe finishing, you know, like
the finishing is is well, isthis good, as you're going to
get for the money, if not better?
Um, and I'm assuming, comingfrom the watch industry, a lot
of people who started watchbrands, who had kind of that
(11:21):
headstart, you know, coming fromswatch group and and now
leaning into your own brand.
Did you have kind of that headstart, you know, coming from
Swatch Group and now leaninginto your own brand?
Did you have any challenge,like finding suppliers or like
actually kicking it off?
It just fell right into yourlap, is that?
Hakim El Kadiri (11:36):
No, In fact.
So I'm working for the SwatchGroup and knowing a lot of
suppliers, and I mean, when Ilaunched also I started also the
brand, that was during theCOVID period and this period of
time, so everyone was at home orwas in the office and there
were nobody else.
So then it was really easy tomeet everyone, to talk to
(11:58):
everyone, to know, I mean, whereI wanted to go with the
collection, and it was reallyreally nice period.
I mean, not for everyone, sorry, but that was a really nice
period to start also working onmy project.
And yeah, so I'm working withthe same people as I was working
in the past, more or less.
(12:18):
I mean not all of them, butmost of the people that I was
working with before theyfollowed me, and that was really
working with before theyfollowed me, and that was really
nice Also, I kind of rewardalso after working 25 years in a
group, so people who followedme, that was really nice.
Blake Rea (12:39):
And obviously you just launched.
You know we're recording thisin August, right, so you guys
are listening to this like wayout there, um, but you just had
your, your diver released theari ariness.
If I pronounce, I'm pronouncingthat correctly.
Yeah, um and it seems like Imean is that is that your new
(13:03):
baby now?
Because every post I see onyour instagram you're, you're
posting that one now and itseems like the, the x and the d
uh are are kind of uh beingoutshined at this point no, no,
no, I have to to rework on that.
Hakim El Kadiri (13:22):
You know, I mean, as it's a new baby, so the
new baby born, and you talkalways about the new baby born.
But you don't have to rework onthat.
You know, I mean, as it's a newbaby, so the new baby born, and
you talk always about the newbaby born.
But you don't have to forget Imean the old models, because
they are not old at all.
Blake Rea (13:34):
Totally, totally, and I'm glad that you came out with
a bracelet, you know, becausenow I need to get a bracelet for
my ex, so I'm going to have tohit you up about that.
Um, it's also.
I mean it's the same braceletthat you can fit, I mean, on
different uh watches and alsosomething that really stuck out,
(13:56):
like when I was going throughyour collection and and I was
trying to decide.
You know, obviously you andI've been going back and forth
and I was like I was kind of atyour.
Your portfolio is so fun, it'sso playful, you could pretty
much go anywhere.
You can find a watch for any,any, any situation, and some of
(14:16):
the watches that really stuckout were, uh were some of your
special edition watches, yourlimited edition watches, edition
watches, your limited editionwatches, um, like, particularly
the stuff with, like, acejewelers, um, which are just
insanely beautiful, insanelybeautiful.
Hakim El Kadiri (14:33):
Yeah, it was a limited edition of four watches,
can?
Blake Rea (14:37):
you see that, yeah, I'm trying to, I'm trying to
blow you up here so it waslimited, oops, so the other way,
okay, oops, okay.
Hakim El Kadiri (14:50):
So we have different languages, so we have
the standard Arabic numerals,then we have the kind of Eastern
Arabic numerals, chinese andHebrew.
Blake Rea (15:01):
Yes, and then you have just the no printed dial
dial I don't know if that's theproper term for it uh, the where
it's just just finished, justbeautifully finished yes, yes
yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes,yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes,
yes, yes, yes, yes, yes yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes,
(15:23):
on the screen.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, sorry.
We have a lot of people thatlisten to us through Spotify and
Apple, so everybody, we'regoing to have to jump onto
YouTube and you have to look atsome of these beautiful watches
Hakeem is showing off.
But then you also did thecollaboration with Heroes, which
(15:44):
is also a very cool watch it's.
Yeah, I mean I love how subtleit is.
It keeps the brand languagekind of coming through.
And, yeah, I mean I think I wasreading, or maybe we had talked
(16:06):
about it, like you and I,offline, or maybe I was reading,
but you were talking about howimportant it was for you to like
to develop with, or to developa product with a Dutch company
because of the foundation of thebrand and the way you know the
identity that followed.
Hakim El Kadiri (16:26):
Yeah, and may I just say something which is
also something interesting,because I met Alain Ben Joseph
in 2008.
And you know, I mean, when Itold him that I was restarting
Elka Brands, he told me you knowwhat?
I bought two stores from Mr Kikand then so we said okay, so we
(16:51):
have to do something, and thecircle is I mean, is circled.
Can we say that?
So yeah, it's amazing because Imean he bought two stores.
Now I mean he has only one left, but I mean two stores, and he
knew Mr Kick.
So that was really amazing todevelop something and we had to
(17:12):
do something together.
Blake Rea (17:14):
Yes, and then you know, obviously, when you're
kind of designing, a modernvintage is what I would classify
you as and you can correct,correct me if I'm wrong.
But obviously there becomes alot of challenges when you're
trying to to balance, likevintage design aesthetics while
(17:38):
keeping them and having themfeel modern, right.
So that's probably a reallychallenging question.
But how do you balance thosetwo kind of extremes and the
design is really based from thepast.
Hakim El Kadiri (17:53):
So the thing is , I just want to have the
impression that is coming fromthe past, but the thing is we
are talking to people who areliving today.
We are talking to people whoare living today.
So then, if you look at theshape of the watch from the side
, so it's not an old product,it's something that you can wear
(18:15):
today, something which is basedon our time.
So I have some ideas from theproduct from the past.
I have also a lot of books andtalking about all the watches,
so then I can really takeinspiration from the past.
(18:50):
And also in the two pieces here.
I mean the one that we can seeon the back, which is the X
model.
So this is based from an airflight instrument which was done
by Heuer at that time for Elkabrand, and the second one, the D
model that I have here, was aNulis Narda model, which is
exactly the same.
So I can share also with youpictures, but okay, I don't have
them here.
So it's really a piece that wasdesigned by ulysse nada for
elka around the 60s and and so.
Blake Rea (19:15):
So yeah, I mean that was kind of my next question,
but it sounds like you startedoff with developing the x and
then you went to the d and thenI'm sure you probably did your
limited editions in between thattime and then the rns is that?
Is that the way that youunfolded the collection?
Hakim El Kadiri (19:33):
the.
The anis is okay at thebeginning, so I okay, I did a
lot of changes or so on whiledeveloping it, but the idea was
really to have the samedimension, so it's exactly the
same dimension.
So if you take the Arrhenius uplike this, the Arrhenius and
the X model or the D model areexactly the same size.
(19:54):
So if you look at thedimensions, it's 46 millimeters.
From lux to lux, it's 41millimeter diameter, and so
everything is basically the same.
I just added a bezel on it, andthe idea was also to have
something really clean in termsof design, so something pure
(20:15):
minimalistic, like I mean therest of the collection it really
shows.
Blake Rea (20:22):
Um, we, we talked a little bit about, uh, like you
know, using like lejoux parade.
Um, like, what is it for youthat?
That said, okay, lejoux paradeis the watch that I am gonna, or
the movement I'm gonna use topower my watches.
Like, it seems like lejouxparade is carving themselves a
(20:45):
huge name because of howreliable they are, how well
they're produced and how wellthey're finished.
I mean, you have so manyoptions, but was it just a
no-brainer for you just to startusing LeJou Perret?
Or did you have that concept inyour mind where you went back
and forth about, I mean,obviously you're coming from
(21:05):
Swatch, right, you would thinklike Eta or something of, know,
something of, I mean even maybesalita, but, um, you know, of
course there's supply chainissues getting out of movements,
and then you know salita,produced at a movement or
assembled move at a movementsfor a really long time.
Um, so what is it about lajouparade?
(21:25):
That just said, hey, this isthe watch, the movement that's
going to power my watches.
Hakim El Kadiri (21:30):
Yeah, so, of course, I mean, during many
years I was working with the ETAmovement when, okay, I start
looking at the differentmovements, so the Le Jouperet
was not available at that timewhen I started looking at that,
and the only ones which wereavailable were the Selita and
(21:53):
the Soprod movement, andeveryone I mean doing a
micro-event were using this kindof movement which are, I mean,
copies of the ETA movement, the28-24.
Then so I had the chance tomeet the people from La Jouperie
(22:15):
and I was at the beginning, thefirst prototype I did with my
watches were, I mean, the firstpieces tested by La Jouperie,
and so the construction of thismovement is the same size as all
the others that we were sayingbefore, but the construction is
totally different.
Furthermore, they have also 68hours power reserve and it's
(22:39):
really accurate.
So usually I'm having them, soI'm having them.
So the how do you say that?
Oh, I'm losing my words.
The precision of the movementnormally is minus 12 plus 12.
(23:01):
So when we have the accuracysorry, the accuracy of the
movement is minus 12, plus 12.
And so I'm giving that to mywatchmaker and then he's setting
them at plus minus 5.
But usually so he is more at 0,plus 2, or minus 2, which is
(23:22):
really really fine.
And then the accuracy of eachmodel.
So each model I'm wearing issuper fine, never had any
problem with this movement, andso I'm really happy to have
something which is different,which gives also an added value
to the product.
So that's position.
Also the brand I mean incertain way a bit higher than,
(23:45):
uh, other um micros yeah,obviously we're here.
Blake Rea (23:52):
we are in the end of august, but you guys are
listening to this in october,october 15th, and I think hakeem
has a few things to show usright that maybe have since been
released, since our recording,if I'm not mistaken, is that?
Hakim El Kadiri (24:09):
Yeah, sure.
So my next project is, in fact,the project I started three
years ago, so a project that Iwanted to start, so having no
idea about that, because, afterworking 25 years in the watch
industry, I wanted to dosomething else.
And then I woke up in themorning and I said, okay, I will
(24:29):
do a local whiskey.
No idea how the whiskey wasmanufactured, no idea at all.
And then so I started askingand I wanted to buy, you know,
the Alambic or I don't knowwhat's the name in English, to
process the liquid.
I had no idea.
(24:50):
So what was the base of what todo?
And so I wanted to start by asmall production, and in fact so
I had to buy 12,000 liters ofbeer Okay, it's like the mash.
So I had to buy 12,000 litersof beer Okay, it's like the mash
(25:12):
, the mash.
Yeah, 12,000 liters.
So that was not easy to have iton my trunk and to transfer all
the mash to the distiller, tothe first base of the whiskey,
so, in fact, so here this is mybowl, so it's.
(25:36):
I mean, here, that will be thebowl, okay.
The logo okay, represents aCeltic wheel that was found a
few meters from my house herethat has 2,600 years old, wow,
and it was made of oak wood.
(25:57):
So this is the reason why Iwanted also to have it on it,
and that tells also the story,the same story as I'm telling
with the Arrhenius.
So I will have each ballnumbered, okay, that way.
Okay, and it will be asingle-cast whiskey three years
old.
But what is interesting?
(26:18):
So I put some casks 60 literscasks or 58 liter casks, and
that were made of old barrels ofcognac, so barrels that were
something like 100 years oldbarrels of cognac.
(26:41):
So it means now in a small caskyou have a maturation which is
faster than a normal barrel,that is, almost three times
faster than a big barrel.
And so then you have also thetaste of the cognac into the
(27:03):
whiskey, which is really good.
So I will launch my first set,three years old, and then after
that I will open cask and cask.
I will do only single cask andof course I mean developing
something like this.
And then I had my id.
So, uh, maybe I I can see you,I can, I want to show your face
(27:23):
or so.
And then I wanted to dosomething that is really in link
with the whiskey, and of courseI will show you from far end.
Okay, so that is going to be awatch that has the look of the
whiskey, so the shape and thecolor of the whiskey from far
away, because I have to changethe hands and I have to change a
(27:46):
few things and that is going tobe a limited edition, 25 piece.
Blake Rea (27:50):
The limited edition whiskey color oh, man, you got
to send me some pictures on onwhatsapp like, so I will send
you, I will send you something.
Hakim El Kadiri (28:01):
Okay, it's not finalized.
I have, of course, the productthat is myized.
I have really finalized theproduct.
That is my first prototype.
I have really to change a fewthings, but the color is really
the color of my whiskey.
It's amazing.
Blake Rea (28:13):
I was actually getting ready to ask that,
because when we had talkedbefore and you were sending me
pictures of whiskey and I waslike it's very clear that you're
a very passionate person aboutthe things that you work on and
you know you go all in and putyour heart into your projects.
It shows in elka and, uh, italso is starting to show in your
(28:36):
, in your whiskey brand.
But I also can't imagine toomany swiss whiskey making
companies, because you know, Imean, it's an american, it's an
american spirit, right?
Hakim El Kadiri (28:47):
yeah, I mean it's scottish okay, yeah, sorry
sorry, yeah, no, in fact.
Uh, you know, um, there aresomething like 10 swiss whiskeys
, that's it.
And uh, the thing is, if I'mcorrect but I have read to find
into the archives, I think 100years ago it was not allowed by
(29:11):
the law to manufacture whiskey,because all the seeds were grown
to eat them but not to drinkthem.
So I have to find that I heardthat last drink them.
So I have to find that I heardthat last week.
But I have to find alsoinformation about that because
(29:33):
it's really interesting also tobe in doing a whiskey today.
Blake Rea (29:37):
But that was not allowed in the past and I was
actually getting ready to ask,but you answered my question
already that I was gonna see ifyou could kind of integrate the
two.
I mean, it's hard to to have awhiskey brand and then to also
have a watch brand and to tiethose together.
Hakim El Kadiri (29:53):
But you know when, when I developed the
whiskey that was before I meandoing the, the watch brand, and
I did that really because I meancrazy idea and then I think I
realized, probably four monthsago, okay, I can do the
connection between the twothings and the name of my
(30:16):
whiskey.
It's called Locla and in factit's a small lake.
Sorry, I'm working on the label.
The name is a small lake thatis really not far away from my
house, it's about 500 metersfrom here, and it's called
lulokla.
(30:36):
It's a small lake, really small, but the name is a celtic name.
So I heard that also from themuseum that is not far from here
and I mean, and the circuscircles.
Blake Rea (30:50):
So I was in Switzerland in January and we
talked about this too, because Iwas in Nostra Atele and
obviously we didn't get a chanceto meet in person.
But I also went to La Lakhla,where, I mean, you have two
other watch brands.
Is that the same area thatyou're referring to?
Hakim El Kadiri (31:09):
I don't know.
Blake Rea (31:09):
I mean, if you're talking about Le Lacla is just
right outside of Nostra Atoll.
Hakim El Kadiri (31:16):
Yeah, it's right outside.
I mean direction to NostraAtoll.
And there is another brand,also in Saint-Blaise, that you
have met, also last time yeah,yeah, yeah, um, yeah, bove right
no no, no, it's.
Uh, it's close to the local andhere is the local.
Blake Rea (31:36):
It's different oh, okay, okay, sorry, I'm getting
myself kind of regionallyconfused, because it was like a
week that I was there and Iliterally was doing like two
brands back to back for likefour days.
I landed, I slept for like 12hours, 20 hours or something
crazy, I don't remember and thenback to back to back, to back
(31:56):
to back, uh and and anyways, uh,so I guess that leads to the
question as, whenever you buythe limited edition watch, or is
there a bottle that's going tobe with it?
Hakim El Kadiri (32:10):
Yeah, you know, I mean, that is my dream to do,
but I have a big problemsending alcohol in the United
States.
I think it's not easy.
It's something that iscomplicated.
Easy, it's something that iscomplicated.
So, in fact, if you are comingto Switzerland, I will give you,
I will, I mean, organize atasting of the whiskey and then
(32:32):
I will give you a bowl ofwhiskey.
Blake Rea (32:36):
That was my next question.
It's like how are you going toget it to us?
How can we enjoy it?
Hakim El Kadiri (32:43):
I don't know.
I don't know.
I really have to see now withall the transporter.
I will have to see withimporter of alcohol in the
united states to see how I cando that.
But for the time being so Ihave no solution and probably
it's the reason why nobody issending alcohol or so on abroad
if they are not in this market.
Blake Rea (33:05):
That makes sense and I'll definitely take you up on
that, because I am going to comeback and we're going to hang
and I'm going to see some of thenew watches and I'm going to
enjoy some of that with you.
I'm not a huge drinker, butwhen in Rome, right, or in this
case, nacho Tal, let's take ashift back to the watch brand,
(33:29):
um and and obviously elka, Imean you've had some press done.
You've been featured on some ofthe teddy baldassar content
which I had no idea, uh, untilafter you and I'd connected and
I started doing some research.
And then you know, as youprogress through your limited
(33:59):
editions, are you seeing anysimilarities in the Elka
customers?
Like, who would be your idealcustomer?
I know that's a really hardloaded question.
I know that's a really hardloaded question, but when you
were designing this watch, right, very few people, or in some
cases, design watches with otherpeople in mind.
I know that sounds so selfish,right, and we're in the watch
industry, right, this is aselfish industry.
(34:22):
So when you were designing thisproduct, did you have a
customer that you wanted totarget in mind?
Or were you just saying, hey,if I make one of these watches,
and it is badass and I'm theonly one that wears it.
Hakim El Kadiri (34:35):
I'm happy you are almost right, you know I
mean.
So.
There are a lot of differentbrands.
You can find on the market alot of different super brands
which I love.
The problem is, okay, lots alsoof them are kind of copycat.
(34:56):
Mine are really simple in termsof design, really easy to accept
in terms of look, design, but Iwould say it's really a niche
brand because, I mean, itdoesn't please everyone.
I know I mean it pleases and Iknow that also it's something
(35:19):
that is recognizable, which isreally good, and it will take
probably more time to developthese brands than something that
could be different in term ofdesign.
I did it as a selfish, becauseI wanted to develop this type of
shape, because I love that andit reminds me a bit, um, the
(35:43):
kind of German brands likeBauhaus.
I like this type of design, butmixed also with the army type
of design.
I mean the field watch, I meanthe one you can see here on the
back is really kind of army.
So that reminds me the Hamiltonkhaki field or something like
(36:06):
this, but in a different way.
So it's a mix between thingsthat I loved developing during
the years I was working in this.
Blake Rea (36:15):
What this industry and yeah, I mean I'm sure you're
probably aware, and I mean moreso than I am, but you know,
obviously there's a milliongreat brands out there, like
there's a million awesome brands, um, and so did you feel, like,
immediately, that Elka was, wasunique?
(36:39):
Did you feel like you had asomething like a different twist
on on what the other industryis offering?
Like you know how, um, how, howare you facing some of these
challenges in a competitivewatch market?
Hakim El Kadiri (36:55):
it's, it's really I mean okay, so the brand
has today two years.
So I, I did my kickstarter in2022.
Okay, I delivered the firstwatch in September 2022, and I
officially started the companyin November, mid of November
(37:16):
2022.
So the brand is not all that atall.
The thing is it takes timebecause nobody is expecting,
nobody is waiting for a newbrand like elka.
So it's not easy, because youcan push, you can be the best in
marketing.
You have really to push all thetime you need.
Also, I mean, I'm by myself,I'm working by myself, I'm one
(37:40):
man show in my company, which isfantastic.
I love that, because you canwrite texts, you can design the
product, you can sell theproduct and you do everything,
and that is really a fantastic,fantastic job.
But it's not easy to make itknown.
(38:02):
So then you have to find allthe ways and you have also to be
smarter than big brands,because big brands they do have
also, uh, the capability ofinvesting in marketing, in
communication, in events and andall of that.
And being alone and with yourown budget is really really more
(38:24):
complicated.
So I see a lot of new brandscoming on the market.
It's amazing what they are doingso I will not name them,
because I will see them at theend of this week because there
are the Geneva Watch Days and somost of them are investing.
(38:45):
They are there, so they aredoing events.
It's there, so they are doingevents.
It's fantastic, so they arereally pushing.
And today I would say there arelots of competition in the
micros A lot good, a lot lessgood, but a lot of competition
and not easy to fight against.
(39:08):
I mean we are not fightingagainst, so I'm helping.
Also other brands talking aboutwhat we do, what we can do,
with whom we are working and soon.
So we are, I mean not in a biggroup Then we help us together,
I mean, to find the way todevelop, uh, each other yeah,
(39:31):
yeah and something.
Blake Rea (39:32):
Um, I never told you this, but I used to work in the
beer industry, so I used to.
I come from the alcoholindustry and something that you
see in the alcohol industrywhich you don't see in the watch
industry is that same communityright?
So, like here in Las Vegas,like you have a brewer on the
(39:54):
north side of town and then youhave a brewer on the south side
of town and they're brewing beertogether and creating like a
special beer.
That is like you know that theyboth can use and market and
this and that.
But something that I haven'tseen too frequently in the watch
industry is watch brandscollaborating with each other,
(40:16):
you know yeah, I did.
Hakim El Kadiri (40:18):
I did the proposal to one of uh another, I
mean another brand that isreally strong in term of shape,
face, something like this, sosomething that I had the feeling
that we could merge togetherand do something really even
more special, because they havesomething I mean inside which is
(40:40):
special and my shape is thesapphire crystal and the case
and the idea is to mix and tomerge two different brands and I
mean that could be a nicecollaboration.
Blake Rea (40:55):
Is that something we should count on, or is that
something that I still have to?
Hakim El Kadiri (41:00):
discuss.
I still have to discuss, youknow, I mean working by my own.
So there are lots of people inmy head.
We can talk a lot and shareideas, Sure.
So I still have to convincethem doing something.
That would be really nice.
Blake Rea (41:20):
I can't see you having to do much convincing.
All it takes is putting one ofyour watches on wrist to kind of
.
You know, I'm not just sayingthat right, you know, um, you
really have a special product.
You know, and, um, and I'm sureyou probably know, like before
you and I got connected, I wassending you emails like every
(41:43):
week trying to get yourattention.
And you know, finally youreplied to me, and you know I
also work in cybersecurity, so,like, I was able to get your
personal email instead of, like,going through the form I'm sure
you probably remember like, hey, how did this kid get my email?
(42:03):
But no, no.
So would you say your customerbase is here in North America,
us, or would you say that Elkowatches are more popular back
home in Switzerland?
Hakim El Kadiri (42:19):
No, I would say , I mean I have a big community.
I'm a lot of customers comingfrom USA, I think you know,
because I started selling alsoonline and I would say probably,
I mean the fact is people inUSA they are not afraid about
(42:40):
buying on the net, and I think Imean in Switzerland the people
they have to see the product,they have to understand the
product because they are goingto spend some amount of money.
And I think USA is.
I mean they are used to buy onthe net and I think it's easier
(43:04):
also to sell in the UnitedStates today.
Blake Rea (43:08):
I've done some consulting with some other watch
brands because I've had a weirdcareer, but I started off in
marketing.
First of all, I worked at abrewery, then I left the beer
industry, the alcohol industryand I went into marketing and
then I started doing marketingin the cybersecurity industry,
which is a challenge, right,because you know everybody is,
(43:30):
there's always something goingon in that industry.
But something I noticed isyou're absolutely right is how
mature the market is here, andwhen I first started consulting
with some of these, these swisswatch brands, they're, uh, I'll
say off stream, right, I don't Idon't want to blast them out
there, um, but you know theywere selling watches online,
(43:54):
right, and the way that you paidfor those watches online is you
had a swift number, you had a,a bank number, and you know
they're like, oh, here's how youpay.
You wire transfer the money tous, and I was like no, americans
are gonna want to do that.
Like you know, everybody's usedto just being able to use their
credit card, pay for it andhave it arrive, um, but it's
(44:18):
such a common thing in swSwitzerland that you guys send
money through wire transferslike all the time.
It's very common and you'reabsolutely right.
You know the watch market hereis very mature.
Are you making any?
I'm assuming you're probablytrying to do.
(44:38):
You have any intention oncoming to some of the watch
shows in America Like is that onyour roadmap?
I would love to.
Hakim El Kadiri (44:46):
I would love to , but then you need to develop
and to be on differentexhibitions, but slowly and
slowly.
So this year I went to inUrganta, then I went to Time to
Watch in Geneva, then now I'mgoing to Geneva one day, then
(45:11):
after that I'm going to HongKong, then right after there is
another exhibition inSwitzerland, then after that I'm
going to Paris, probably I'mgoing to Czech Republic.
So then I mean I need also timeto recover, I mean, and to
develop the product and tofollow also my business.
But I would love to come to theUnited States and also to show
(45:34):
my product.
Blake Rea (45:35):
Someone went to USA, to Chicago, this year, with my
brand, yeah, and so he presentedthe brand to the local people,
yeah, and they, they liked it,they liked it, yeah um, let's go
back a little bit into thedesign space, because our
audience is obsessed with designtalks and, uh, um, I know every
(46:01):
brand out there is having funand you see a lot of brands that
are kind of segmentingthemselves by materials.
They're developing their ownproprietary materials and cases.
It seems kind of I guess Idon't know if gimmicky is the
(46:22):
right word but are there anymaterials that you're planning
to use in the future?
Hakim El Kadiri (46:32):
No, you know, this is kind of trend.
What I said before I want tohave a product that can be worn
today, can be worn in 50 yearsand could be worn also 50 years
ago.
And if you look at the watches,of course they were in brass in
the past but look was like goldor like stainless steel.
(46:56):
What I want is a design.
It's, it's not the material.
Today, I mean, you can.
You can see, okay, I wasworking on some for ceramic
watches at Rado.
Okay, known for ceramic,fantastic product.
But it is also super niche tohave something like this.
It doesn't please to anyone, Imean, depending on the color.
(47:17):
Also, you are going to add, youcan see, I mean product like,
for instance, in carbon fiber.
Okay, this is over.
I mean, if someone is doingsomething today, probably I mean
he can relaunch a new trend.
You can see also the forgedcarbon.
So I had once last week I hadone piece, I mean from I mean
(47:41):
2005 or 2010, something likethis in hand.
It's something which isoutdated If you use.
I mean that's my opinion, so Imean it's only myself what I'm
saying.
So if you try to use kind ofdifferent materials, it's fine.
Everyone has also to have hisown DNA in the product.
(48:03):
But for me, I mean, a watch isa watch.
It's something that has to berecognizable, something that has
to last for years.
This is the.
I mean the.
How did you say that?
Blake Rea (48:21):
Yeah, the foundation of your brand.
The foundation of your brand,the foundation of the brand, of
course.
Hakim El Kadiri (48:26):
I mean, on the Arrhenius, okay, I'm using
rubber, I'm using ceramic insert, I'm using the sapphire crystal
in dome shape Okay, there areplenty of things, but this is
something that is not going tohurt, it's not something that is
going to disappear, it's notgoing to be something that is
going to be outdated and yeah.
Blake Rea (48:51):
What do you feel?
Because I was thinking in mymind because of the form factor.
I mean, I'm surprised youhaven't had fun with a little
bit of foam, with titanium, youknow?
Is it not as appealing to youas steel, or yeah, I love
titanium.
Hakim El Kadiri (49:10):
It's light.
But Again, titanium is, itdoesn't please to anyone because
sometimes you can, it's toolight for me, you know.
Blake Rea (49:24):
I've never heard that .
You've never heard that.
No.
Hakim El Kadiri (49:29):
I did many, many in the past.
I mean, I have been in Hamilton, also in Hado, and I did many
watches in titanium.
Sometimes people they alwayssay it's too light.
Watches in titanium, fine,sometimes people they always say
it's too light.
You know, I mean it's, you havesomething that has the right uh
, weight, the, the right thing,that you feel well on your wrist
(49:52):
.
It's fantastic.
So and that is also something.
But okay, never, say never, Inever, I don't know.
Okay, maybe in one year.
So I will wake up in themorning, oh, let's do it.
Blake Rea (50:03):
You see, people are trying, like you know, to create
a product that that meshes toyou, right, like you see, people
that are like in in yourspecific product, right, like
the case shape you know, I'vesaid it a million times already.
Like the case shape makes shape, you know, I've said it a
(50:24):
million times already like thek-shape makes your watch so
comfortable, right, it sits sowell on the wrist that you don't
want to take it off, you know.
And so people are trying to.
And the reason why I say thatis because you see people that
are getting lighter and lighterand thinner and thinner, and
it's just like, um, it's like arat or a rat race in the watch
industry.
People are trying to make thethinnest watches and the
(50:46):
lightest watches because, uh,the, the watch that people are
going to wear every single day,is their most comfortable watch,
in my opinion, and um, and so Iwas just curious to get your
take on that, um, and then youknow, we're coming up here, uh,
(51:09):
we try and shoot for an hour, sowe're coming up to an hour, um,
I'm assuming.
Obviously, you know it hasn'tbeen all all the beautiful
moments, right, starting thiswatch company and you know, we,
we.
We hear about youraccomplishments and we see them
on your website, but I'm surethere's some challenges that you
faced and I'm curious to hearabout some of those challenges
(51:34):
and how you've overcame them.
Hakim El Kadiri (51:38):
I would say I mean the challenges are not in
the development of the product,because I love that.
For me, I mean it's kind of, Imean it's not a second life,
it's I mean I'm breathing that,Developing, I'm a developer, I
love that, I love developing.
So you can see, I mean thewhole 25 years working in the
(52:01):
watch industry I was developing,developing and sometimes people
were saying, just be relaxed, Imean, don't develop that much.
And I can still see also someproducts just launched by my
previous company and they stilllaunch products that I developed
four years ago and they justlaunched them now that I
(52:23):
developed four years ago andthey just want them now.
Okay, so I had a lot of watchesand sometimes people are saying,
okay, you always have somethinginto the drawers, so that's
fantastic.
I love developing, I candevelop, I mean at any moment of
the day.
Sometimes I have to be quietand relaxed because I first have
to sell my product before I'mgoing ahead.
(52:47):
So I think that's the mostcomplicated thing to not develop
because you have to wait and Idon't know, I mean it's not in
my nature to be passionate,that's the most yeah yeah I mean
, I'm also assume, since you'rea designer, you have the, the
(53:08):
perspective on the watch marketthat not a lot of us have.
Blake Rea (53:13):
Um, are there any trends that you're forecasting
or that you're you're observing,and're observing and you're
thinking, okay, this might besomething that Elka plays in, or
does it go against your kind ofrooted in the 60s like identity
(53:36):
?
Hakim El Kadiri (53:38):
You know, as I told you before, I think my
brand so Elka is based on thepast element and I guess it's
something that is not going tohurt also in the future.
It's something that is, I wouldsay, also sustainable because
(53:59):
you can wear it today, you canwear it in 10 or 20 years.
So I already say that.
But I think this is the trendthat I can see, something that
is not going to change too fast.
Change everything is changingtoo fast today, so you can see,
I mean what people are wearingtoday, so connected watches.
(54:21):
Maybe there is one brand whichis the most popular than all the
others and this is going fastand changing and you have to buy
, I mean one every year or atleast maybe each two years,
because I mean so technology isgoing to be changed and you have
to adapt and I want to stopeverything.
(54:42):
So, with my design to stopeverything, to stay at a level,
of course I mean you have toevolve, because the planet,
everything is evolving, but Iwant to have something which is
sustainable, something that isgoing to last for years,
something that is going,something that you can pass to
your children and grandchildren,and something like this.
(55:03):
And I want to see somethinglike this and I would say this
is my idea of the watch for thenext years.
Blake Rea (55:13):
I don't know but and, and that that's a.
That's a great point.
Now that you have this living,breathing, successful brand and
you've got a great product, whatdoes the next decade, or even
(55:34):
further, look like for Elka?
Hakim El Kadiri (55:41):
So next decade is I mean times flies, of course
but okay, in 10 years, I hopeso I can continue like this
probably okay, now I'm in the60s and probably in 10 years I
will be in the 70s or maybe inthe 80s.
Blake Rea (56:01):
Okay, okay, and and that makes a lot of sense 10
years, I will be in the 70s ormaybe in the 80s, okay, okay,
and that makes a lot of sense.
You know, do you and I'massuming that you're probably
not going to be able to answerthis, or maybe it's impossible,
because it's like asking whoyour favorite child is, but you
(56:24):
know, which of your, yourdesigns, uh, and collections is
is the one and done for you?
If you say, hey look, this isthe only elka I would ever wear,
it would be this, this watchthis is because you know, I mean
, once I develop one product, Iwant to wear it.
Hakim El Kadiri (56:45):
So that's the the, that's the problem.
So I love them all, of course,uh, but my problem is I told you
I'm a developer and I love thenew one the, the RNS.
Blake Rea (57:01):
Yeah yeah, ironically , I was in Iowa for like a watch
event and I took my Elka and Ishowed it off to a group of
people and it was crazy just tosee the feedback.
(57:24):
You know, I mean, obviouslyit's not my feedback, it's you
know, um, or the response.
Should I say right?
The response that, uh,everybody was was was like hey,
man, this is super cool, this issuper special.
Like where can I get one?
Hopefully they purchased somefrom your website since then.
(57:45):
But it was, it was really coolto kind of see, I'm sure, the
the customer connection right.
The the, the vintage nostalgia,but the, the familiar film,
familiar feelings, that that youhave when you're wearing one of
your watches, and just gettingthe chance to enjoy that moment
(58:11):
was epic.
Just to see the response.
And my dogs are having awrestling match out there, and
so, yeah, I was curious aboutthat because to me, the x is is
the epitome of everything Ienjoy in a watch.
Um, but honestly, the rns.
(58:35):
Now, since you've released it,uh, that's been the one that my
friends have been saying, hey,have you seen this one yet?
No, I haven't.
No, I haven't.
Um, and you know you're headingin a great direction.
And uh, and hopefully you'llspend a little bit more time in
the 60s, because you know thatthat is the golden era.
(58:56):
The 60s and 70s are, in myopinion, the golden era of
watchmaking, where you had, uh,tone, tonu cases and these weird
fun colors and, like um, I meanthose are the golden years for
watchmaking, in my opinion.
And uh, and yeah, yeah.
(59:19):
So, and then let's get one morequestion in um, I'm assuming
you've you've probably soldenough of your watches where
you've seen them in the wild.
Right, you're walking down thestreet and all of a sudden you
see somebody that is wearing oneof your watches.
(59:40):
Sudden, you see somebody thatis wearing one of your watches,
uh, and I'm sure that's one ofthose feelings, that that you're
like, okay, this is the best.
This is the reason why Icontinue to do it and I just
want to tell you a small story.
Hakim El Kadiri (59:54):
I mean it happened some recently, that was
two, three months ago, um.
So there were a tv show and uhwas about diamonds, and so my
watches are sold in a jewelryshop in Geneva, and so he was
(01:00:14):
interviewed by the Swissnational TV about diamonds.
And then the the jeweler wasalso saying okay, you know, okay
, I'm also selling watch fromyoung brands.
And then the camera did just asmall slide, I mean slide on the
(01:00:39):
watches, okay, but nobody saidanything about the name of the
brand.
But I mean just the camera wenton the watches and then I had
five phone calls directly, wesaw your watches on the TV, okay
.
And then I went to see, I meanthe TV show, just to see the
watches, to see I mean the TVshow, just to see the watches,
(01:01:03):
and it's amazing because justthe shape was recognized by the
people and this is amazing.
Okay, this watch was also on,and also the color, I mean,
which is really, I mean it's notso clear, okay.
And this one is my best selleron this one and this one was on
the display in the shop and itwas amazing Five people just
(01:01:27):
calling me right after.
Okay, we saw your watches onthe screen, which is something
which was so nice having that.
So, even without the logo,nothing, people recognize them,
and that is what I wanted tohave also with this brand that
that's a watchmaker's dream tohave a silhouette that is
(01:01:51):
instantly recognizable.
Blake Rea (01:01:52):
And you know, of course, we haven't said any
brand names right in thispodcast, except for yours, so
I'm not gonna I'm not gonna saythat.
You know, you can spot certainwatches from a mile away, right,
and and once you have that,that, uh, that happened with
your brand, like, I'm surethat's the like okay, this, this
(01:02:18):
is what I signed up for.
This is everything I hoped forfor um, and I'm sure it had to
be an awesome experience andmoment and uh and yeah, yeah, we
need to work on getting yousome dealers here I love
(01:02:39):
you know, I, I, I can, I canconnect you with a couple of
people that, uh, that have adistribution company, um, cause,
you know, obviously everybodyknows, like you know, on this
podcast, we we get, we we getanybody who wants to come on and
talk watches.
We're pretty open.
You know, um, we've had adiverse panel of guests.
(01:03:02):
We're pretty open.
You know, um, we've had adiverse panel of guests um, and
and, yeah, you know, I, I reallythink, and I I actually took
your watch to, uh, one of mylocal jewelers, um, like maybe a
couple weeks ago, and you knowshe was like hey, uh, like I
want to see some of the coolestwatches in your collection that
(01:03:23):
I could carry, and she saw yourwatch and I just was going on
and on and on.
I had 10 or 15 watch brands onthe table, but your brand really
resonated with me, um, but youknow, your brand really
(01:03:44):
resonated with me, um, justbecause of of, I mean, I I take,
you know I look, the mostimportant thing for me in a
watch is legibility, right,Legibility, practicality and
comfort.
You know, those are the threethings that I prioritize over
anything, right, and yours islike a cocktail cocktail, uh, of
(01:04:05):
that, and so I just kept kindof saying, like, hey, hey, this
is, this is the watch brand thatyou know I think you need to
carry, like, uh, this is the onethat I I love wearing and you
know, I love all of all my mywatches and all the watches in
my collection, and in differentways, Um, but but anyways, yours
(01:04:25):
is a very, is very unique anduh, and yeah, you know,
obviously I'm not just sayingthat cause you're shitting in
front of me.
I've I've said that to otherpeople and I'm sure they'll,
they'll vouch for me, uh, that Ibelieve this.
And uh, and yeah, I, Idefinitely want to see, uh, you
kind of uh, open the doors moreto the States and um, you know,
(01:04:49):
because there is there is alarge portion of of our
customers or of the U S?
Uh market that does demand tosee the product before, you know
, purchasing Right and um, andyeah, you know, people are
saying, hey, look, there's a$2,000 product, which is a lot
(01:05:10):
of money.
You know it's a lot of money,no matter what type of watch
you're buying.
And um, and so you know, a lotof the micro brands tend to play
in the cheaper sandbox.
You know they're like the 500,600, 800, 900 dollar mark and
that's where they're kind ofsitting and and they can, they
can sell those left and rightand move them, um, but you know
(01:05:35):
you're you're definitely kind ofstepping up in in better
attention to detail, finishingquality, and so you definitely
have to figure out a way to getyour product in front of the
customer, because people willbuy them and I want to see that
(01:05:55):
happen.
So, yeah, all right.
So we have just finished upabout an hour here with hakeem
from elka.
It's been an honor having youon um, we've been trying this
new thing and I don't know howmany times we've done this.
(01:06:15):
The episodes just all blurtogether for me because we're
just recording so many of themand we're I think we're five
episodes, uh, already recordedbefore hakeem here, um, but
we've been turning our platformover to our guest.
So you answered pretty much allthe questions I had.
(01:06:36):
Is there anything that you feellike we didn't cover that you
that you wanted to talk about?
That has been burning a holewaiting for you to say.
Is there anything that you haveto say directly to our
listeners?
Hakim El Kadiri (01:06:52):
No, I think I mean you ask everything and you
have seen also more or less.
I mean from far away, thenovelty which is going to be
launched November the 1st.
I mean from far away, thenovelty which is going to be
launched November the 1st.
Then no, I don't have somethingspecial to say, but of course I
wish to see more Elka watchesin the United States.
Blake Rea (01:07:15):
Yeah, I want that too .
By the time this has beenrecorded and published, our
YouTube video will already beout and hopefully people will
see what I am talking about,because I'm actually going out
(01:07:40):
today and buying a whole newcamera system Because, you know,
at this point we're getting somany watches in and I have I
have this crazy camera and it'sit's so difficult to produce
content with it because of, uh,of the the workflow, right like
I just can't.
Like you know, like you canflip a page and start drawing,
right like when you're filmingcontent, you can't do that.
(01:08:02):
Like you have to set up thecamera, you have to change the
colors, you have to make surethe mics are.
Like it makes it hard for me todeliver consistent content
because we have so much, uh likerefinement that has to go down
in post-production, um.
So, anyways, I've already shotyours, um, my old camera, but
(01:08:22):
I'm going to go get a new cameratoday and I'm probably going to
reshoot it so that way I canget it out sooner and I plan to
do a lot more content with yourbrand and anything that I can do
here at Lonely Wrist.
(01:08:42):
You know we are a smaller outlet.
Our website does get the bulkof our audience.
And then the podcast, and thenthe YouTube is the third, not so
popular as the newest right,but anything that I can do I'm a
fan and I would be happy andhonored to to help you in any
(01:09:04):
type of way on this journey, andI mean that.
So- good.
Hakim El Kadiri (01:09:09):
Thank you very much.
Blake Rea (01:09:11):
All right everybody.
Thank you so much for tuning in.
Uh, just over an hour here withHakeem from Elka.
We are going to leave the linkto Elka in the podcast
description.
By then you'll have seen ourYouTube video and hopefully
there's no more convincing thatHakeem has an awesome product
(01:09:32):
and hopefully they'll be comingto a city near you very soon.
Thank you so much for coming onand we will talk soon.
Hello everybody, welcome to another episode of
Lonely Wrist Today.
Super excited and this has beena long time coming.
We have Akeem from Elka WatchWelcome.
Hakim El Kadiri (00:16):
Thank you.
Nice meeting you, Blake Again.
Yeah.
Blake Rea (00:23):
Again.
Yeah, yeah, kind of interesting.
Interesting story on how Iwouldn't say how we met, but how
I found your watch brand is Iwas looking at, like some of the
I don't know what watch show itwas.
It was in switzerland orsomething, and you know you were
showcasing there and it'salways cool to see like because
there's a lot of brands thatdon't get the credibility they
(00:44):
deserve and I I would think elkais a good example of you have
an amazing product and you'reyou're new to the market, but
you have a very, very, veryspecial product and I'm so
excited for the world to see uhand and yeah.
So I saw your products and I waslike, holy crap, like I have to
at some point in my life, getone of these watches either in
(01:06):
my hand or in my collection.
And uh, and you made thathappen with my, my elka x and uh
, and this dial is just sobeautiful, like it's got the
vintage charm but it feels likea modern watch and that's what I
love, so congratulations.
Let's talk about the early daysof Elka.
(01:29):
You know, how did you get thebrand going?
How'd you get into the watchindustry?
Like, what brought you to today?
Hakim El Kadiri (01:38):
Okay, so my story is quite long in the watch
industry.
So I was working for differentbrands from the Swatch Group at
the beginning.
So I started in 98, working forSwatch for four years.
Then I went working forHamilton for 10 years and at the
end so I ended by Rado and Iwas working there for 11 years
(02:03):
and during that time also I wasworking for different brands
like Timberland, asics and Mango.
So we did some watches like OEMwatches for different companies
also working within the group,and so then I left in January 21
.
And so then I left in January21, and I wanted to start my
(02:27):
dream starting to do somethingby my own, starting to do
something that really pleased me.
I mean, I don't say that Ididn't like what I did before,
but I wanted to do it right forme and for I mean with my name,
my nickname and everything.
So doing something that Ireally like.
So be passionate about what I'mdoing.
Blake Rea (02:50):
And it really shows.
Obviously, Elka is derived fromyour name.
Didn't take too much to figurethat out.
And then, obviously, sinceyou've had the idea for Elka,
how has the brand evolved?
Hakim El Kadiri (03:09):
You know, at the beginning so the idea was
not really to have the name Elkaas a brand name.
So I had the dream to protectthe name Elgin.
You know, I mean it's anAmerican name, an American brand
.
I love what I did at Hamilton,so Hamilton was really my heart
(03:29):
brand and I wanted to continuealso the story with something,
also with the same story.
You know, I mean the railroadwatch, the army watch and
everything.
So I love this kind of spirit.
So my environment is quite,quite american in I mean the
style, so riding harley davidson, driving chrysler, something
(03:51):
like this.
You know, I mean I like thiskind of stuff.
And then I wanted to protectelgin, but that was already
taken.
And then I went through a biglist of names, so I mean with
the name of watch, existingwatches and also the one which
disappeared, and I felt on Elkaand Elka is my nickname, so
(04:13):
everyone is calling me Elka andthen I said, okay, so I don't
have to really find somethingelse, is the name available?
And then I jumped in andprotected it.
Blake Rea (04:24):
It was for my reading .
It was a Dutch brand orsomething like that.
Hakim El Kadiri (04:30):
It was a Dutch brand.
It was created in 1877 by MrEdouard Louis Kik from Amsterdam
, elka, and so he had somethinglike five shops in Amsterdam and
he was also the jeweler andwatchmaker of the Queen Juliana
(04:52):
that period and after that, in1930, he sent his son in
Switzerland to develop watchesand from then on they did a lot
of collaboration also withdifferent other brands, like
Vulcan, like Minerva, like Imean different other brands.
Blake Rea (05:13):
Yeah, and obviously, like you have a very, very, very
tight I would call it tightdesign language and you know
your watches are pretty, I'd say, recognizable, like they're
very clean, they're very legible.
Um, you know, you don't haveanything crazy going on, it's
all about legibility and I wouldconsider practicality while
(05:36):
giving it like a modern twist.
So when you're designing thesewatches, like what fuels, like
the future of the brand,obviously practicality and
legibility are huge for yourbrand.
Hakim El Kadiri (05:54):
I will reply in different words.
First of all, the first designI had was this watch.
This watch was my first pocketwatch that I bought from the
brand and you can see the minitrack and you can see also the
shape of the watch and thisshape is exactly what I took to
(06:14):
design my model.
I want also to integratesustainability here because you
know, I mean the design aregoing to evolve.
You have the, the design ofwatches, and every year
something is changing.
Every five years there are bigtrends.
(06:34):
So when the period is fine, isnice, is good, so you have big
watches with a lot of stones,with lots of colors.
Then, when the period is alittle bit more hard, so that
the watches are getting smaller,and I would like to compare my
watches to something which isreally big, bulky, a lot of
(06:58):
colors and something like this,and I would say all the design I
want to have are something thatwere taken from the past and
they are like the HarleyDavidson of the watches,
something that are already old,which are not looking old today
and which are not going to beold in 15 years or 50 years, so
(07:20):
it's something that you canreally wear at any period of
your life, and so this is theway I'm designing the things is
something which is classic,minimalist and something is
going to be also wearable formany years.
(07:40):
Where I'm going to head mydesign.
This is something also else,but it's something that I want
really to keep.
You know, I mean, I based thedesign of the logo.
The design of the pictures areblack and white.
Everything is based in the 60s.
I was born in the 60s, so then,ok, I like this period because
(08:04):
that was a period that wasreally open for everyone in
terms of design, in terms offreedom, in terms of I mean,
that was really crazy period,and the idea is really to start
developing, designing and tocontinue designing products from
that period Amazing and tocontinue designing products from
(08:27):
that period.
Blake Rea (08:28):
Amazing and something I've noticed that's very
special about your watch is thecase shape, like something that
nobody sees online.
You know I mean nobody gets toexperience online, should I say.
But what's crazy is it's?
It's, it's like it's a.
It's what it's in terms ofthickness it should be.
(08:50):
It's pretty standard, right,like it's probably, I'd say like
10 millimeters thick or so, oraround there, yeah, but but it
wears like it's four or fivemillimeters thick because of the
, the way the case design andI've never seen anything like it
.
Hakim El Kadiri (09:07):
I think the main, the main item on the watch
is the sapphire crystal.
The sapphire crystal is builtlike the old azalea glass.
Okay, in the past it was reallyin plastic and today I mean, we
can do it in a sapphire crystaland this gives really this
(09:29):
shape.
So you have the feeling.
So I don't know.
I mean it's kind of, yeah, ok,not so clear on the screen, but,
ok, you have the feeling to seeonly the metal part, but you
can see on top the sapphirecrystal which is going up and
everything is built inside sothe hands are bent, the dial is
bent.
So I have a dial here, forinstance, so you can see also
(09:51):
the dial is also bent like this.
Then you can see I mean all theconstruction is built inside in
order to have this kind ofreally slim effect, of really
slim effect.
Blake Rea (10:06):
And just the way that you use these really beautiful
long leaf hands and thisexaggerated counter weight.
On the second hand, it just isso fun See if everybody can see
mine, so all the space is taken,and it's just so fun See if
everybody can see mine, so allthe space is taken and yeah.
(10:33):
Yeah, we can see it well, yeah.
Yeah, it's really awesome.
Yeah, and I love how you keptthe name.
You know, like the, the, theway the logo is presented, you
know, and then you have yourmodern one back there.
Hakim El Kadiri (10:52):
Yeah, see here.
So the logo was the same herein the past.
Blake Rea (11:00):
Yeah, I know, that's why I liked about it.
So, and then obviously, likethe finishing, you know, like
the finishing is is well, isthis good, as you're going to
get for the money, if not better?
Um, and I'm assuming, comingfrom the watch industry, a lot
of people who started watchbrands, who had kind of that
(11:21):
headstart, you know, coming fromswatch group and and now
leaning into your own brand.
Did you have kind of that headstart, you know, coming from
Swatch Group and now leaninginto your own brand?
Did you have any challenge,like finding suppliers or like
actually kicking it off?
It just fell right into yourlap, is that?
Hakim El Kadiri (11:36):
No, In fact.
So I'm working for the SwatchGroup and knowing a lot of
suppliers, and I mean, when Ilaunched also I started also the
brand, that was during theCOVID period and this period of
time, so everyone was at home orwas in the office and there
were nobody else.
So then it was really easy tomeet everyone, to talk to
(11:58):
everyone, to know, I mean, whereI wanted to go with the
collection, and it was reallyreally nice period.
I mean, not for everyone, sorry, but that was a really nice
period to start also working onmy project.
And yeah, so I'm working withthe same people as I was working
in the past, more or less.
(12:18):
I mean not all of them, butmost of the people that I was
working with before theyfollowed me, and that was really
working with before theyfollowed me, and that was really
nice Also, I kind of rewardalso after working 25 years in a
group, so people who followedme, that was really nice.
Blake Rea (12:39):
And obviously you just launched.
You know we're recording thisin August, right, so you guys
are listening to this like wayout there, um, but you just had
your, your diver released theari ariness.
If I pronounce, I'm pronouncingthat correctly.
Yeah, um and it seems like Imean is that is that your new
(13:03):
baby now?
Because every post I see onyour instagram you're, you're
posting that one now and itseems like the, the x and the d
uh are are kind of uh beingoutshined at this point no, no,
no, I have to to rework on that.
Hakim El Kadiri (13:22):
You know, I mean, as it's a new baby, so the
new baby born, and you talkalways about the new baby born.
But you don't have to rework onthat.
You know, I mean, as it's a newbaby, so the new baby born, and
you talk always about the newbaby born.
But you don't have to forget Imean the old models, because
they are not old at all.
Blake Rea (13:34):
Totally, totally, and I'm glad that you came out with
a bracelet, you know, becausenow I need to get a bracelet for
my ex, so I'm going to have tohit you up about that.
Um, it's also.
I mean it's the same braceletthat you can fit, I mean, on
different uh watches and alsosomething that really stuck out,
(13:56):
like when I was going throughyour collection and and I was
trying to decide.
You know, obviously you andI've been going back and forth
and I was like I was kind of atyour.
Your portfolio is so fun, it'sso playful, you could pretty
much go anywhere.
You can find a watch for any,any, any situation, and some of
(14:16):
the watches that really stuckout were, uh were some of your
special edition watches, yourlimited edition watches, edition
watches, your limited editionwatches, um, like, particularly
the stuff with, like, acejewelers, um, which are just
insanely beautiful, insanelybeautiful.
Hakim El Kadiri (14:33):
Yeah, it was a limited edition of four watches,
can?
Blake Rea (14:37):
you see that, yeah, I'm trying to, I'm trying to
blow you up here so it waslimited, oops, so the other way,
okay, oops, okay.
Hakim El Kadiri (14:50):
So we have different languages, so we have
the standard Arabic numerals,then we have the kind of Eastern
Arabic numerals, chinese andHebrew.
Blake Rea (15:01):
Yes, and then you have just the no printed dial
dial I don't know if that's theproper term for it uh, the where
it's just just finished, justbeautifully finished yes, yes
yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes,yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes,
yes, yes, yes, yes, yes yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes,
(15:23):
on the screen.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, sorry.
We have a lot of people thatlisten to us through Spotify and
Apple, so everybody, we'regoing to have to jump onto
YouTube and you have to look atsome of these beautiful watches
Hakeem is showing off.
But then you also did thecollaboration with Heroes, which
(15:44):
is also a very cool watch it's.
Yeah, I mean I love how subtleit is.
It keeps the brand languagekind of coming through.
And, yeah, I mean I think I wasreading, or maybe we had talked
(16:06):
about it, like you and I,offline, or maybe I was reading,
but you were talking about howimportant it was for you to like
to develop with, or to developa product with a Dutch company
because of the foundation of thebrand and the way you know the
identity that followed.
Hakim El Kadiri (16:26):
Yeah, and may I just say something which is
also something interesting,because I met Alain Ben Joseph
in 2008.
And you know, I mean, when Itold him that I was restarting
Elka Brands, he told me you knowwhat?
I bought two stores from Mr Kikand then so we said okay, so we
(16:51):
have to do something, and thecircle is I mean, is circled.
Can we say that?
So yeah, it's amazing because Imean he bought two stores.
Now I mean he has only one left, but I mean two stores, and he
knew Mr Kick.
So that was really amazing todevelop something and we had to
(17:12):
do something together.
Blake Rea (17:14):
Yes, and then you know, obviously, when you're
kind of designing, a modernvintage is what I would classify
you as and you can correct,correct me if I'm wrong.
But obviously there becomes alot of challenges when you're
trying to to balance, likevintage design aesthetics while
(17:38):
keeping them and having themfeel modern, right.
So that's probably a reallychallenging question.
But how do you balance thosetwo kind of extremes and the
design is really based from thepast.
Hakim El Kadiri (17:53):
So the thing is , I just want to have the
impression that is coming fromthe past, but the thing is we
are talking to people who areliving today.
We are talking to people whoare living today.
So then, if you look at theshape of the watch from the side
, so it's not an old product,it's something that you can wear
(18:15):
today, something which is basedon our time.
So I have some ideas from theproduct from the past.
I have also a lot of books andtalking about all the watches,
so then I can really takeinspiration from the past.
(18:50):
And also in the two pieces here.
I mean the one that we can seeon the back, which is the X
model.
So this is based from an airflight instrument which was done
by Heuer at that time for Elkabrand, and the second one, the D
model that I have here, was aNulis Narda model, which is
exactly the same.
So I can share also with youpictures, but okay, I don't have
them here.
So it's really a piece that wasdesigned by ulysse nada for
elka around the 60s and and so.
Blake Rea (19:15):
So yeah, I mean that was kind of my next question,
but it sounds like you startedoff with developing the x and
then you went to the d and thenI'm sure you probably did your
limited editions in between thattime and then the rns is that?
Is that the way that youunfolded the collection?
Hakim El Kadiri (19:33):
the.
The anis is okay at thebeginning, so I okay, I did a
lot of changes or so on whiledeveloping it, but the idea was
really to have the samedimension, so it's exactly the
same dimension.
So if you take the Arrhenius uplike this, the Arrhenius and
the X model or the D model areexactly the same size.
(19:54):
So if you look at thedimensions, it's 46 millimeters.
From lux to lux, it's 41millimeter diameter, and so
everything is basically the same.
I just added a bezel on it, andthe idea was also to have
something really clean in termsof design, so something pure
(20:15):
minimalistic, like I mean therest of the collection it really
shows.
Blake Rea (20:22):
Um, we, we talked a little bit about, uh, like you
know, using like lejoux parade.
Um, like, what is it for youthat?
That said, okay, lejoux paradeis the watch that I am gonna, or
the movement I'm gonna use topower my watches.
Like, it seems like lejouxparade is carving themselves a
(20:45):
huge name because of howreliable they are, how well
they're produced and how wellthey're finished.
I mean, you have so manyoptions, but was it just a
no-brainer for you just to startusing LeJou Perret?
Or did you have that concept inyour mind where you went back
and forth about, I mean,obviously you're coming from
(21:05):
Swatch, right, you would thinklike Eta or something of, know,
something of, I mean even maybesalita, but, um, you know, of
course there's supply chainissues getting out of movements,
and then you know salita,produced at a movement or
assembled move at a movementsfor a really long time.
Um, so what is it about lajouparade?
(21:25):
That just said, hey, this isthe watch, the movement that's
going to power my watches.
Hakim El Kadiri (21:30):
Yeah, so, of course, I mean, during many
years I was working with the ETAmovement when, okay, I start
looking at the differentmovements, so the Le Jouperet
was not available at that timewhen I started looking at that,
and the only ones which wereavailable were the Selita and
(21:53):
the Soprod movement, andeveryone I mean doing a
micro-event were using this kindof movement which are, I mean,
copies of the ETA movement, the28-24.
Then so I had the chance tomeet the people from La Jouperie
(22:15):
and I was at the beginning, thefirst prototype I did with my
watches were, I mean, the firstpieces tested by La Jouperie,
and so the construction of thismovement is the same size as all
the others that we were sayingbefore, but the construction is
totally different.
Furthermore, they have also 68hours power reserve and it's
(22:39):
really accurate.
So usually I'm having them, soI'm having them.
So the how do you say that?
Oh, I'm losing my words.
The precision of the movementnormally is minus 12 plus 12.
(23:01):
So when we have the accuracysorry, the accuracy of the
movement is minus 12, plus 12.
And so I'm giving that to mywatchmaker and then he's setting
them at plus minus 5.
But usually so he is more at 0,plus 2, or minus 2, which is
(23:22):
really really fine.
And then the accuracy of eachmodel.
So each model I'm wearing issuper fine, never had any
problem with this movement, andso I'm really happy to have
something which is different,which gives also an added value
to the product.
So that's position.
Also the brand I mean incertain way a bit higher than,
(23:45):
uh, other um micros yeah,obviously we're here.
Blake Rea (23:52):
we are in the end of august, but you guys are
listening to this in october,october 15th, and I think hakeem
has a few things to show usright that maybe have since been
released, since our recording,if I'm not mistaken, is that?
Hakim El Kadiri (24:09):
Yeah, sure.
So my next project is, in fact,the project I started three
years ago, so a project that Iwanted to start, so having no
idea about that, because, afterworking 25 years in the watch
industry, I wanted to dosomething else.
And then I woke up in themorning and I said, okay, I will
(24:29):
do a local whiskey.
No idea how the whiskey wasmanufactured, no idea at all.
And then so I started askingand I wanted to buy, you know,
the Alambic or I don't knowwhat's the name in English, to
process the liquid.
I had no idea.
(24:50):
So what was the base of what todo?
And so I wanted to start by asmall production, and in fact so
I had to buy 12,000 liters ofbeer Okay, it's like the mash.
So I had to buy 12,000 litersof beer Okay, it's like the mash
(25:12):
, the mash.
Yeah, 12,000 liters.
So that was not easy to have iton my trunk and to transfer all
the mash to the distiller, tothe first base of the whiskey,
so, in fact, so here this is mybowl, so it's.
(25:36):
I mean, here, that will be thebowl, okay.
The logo okay, represents aCeltic wheel that was found a
few meters from my house herethat has 2,600 years old, wow,
and it was made of oak wood.
(25:57):
So this is the reason why Iwanted also to have it on it,
and that tells also the story,the same story as I'm telling
with the Arrhenius.
So I will have each ballnumbered, okay, that way.
Okay, and it will be asingle-cast whiskey three years
old.
But what is interesting?
(26:18):
So I put some casks 60 literscasks or 58 liter casks, and
that were made of old barrels ofcognac, so barrels that were
something like 100 years oldbarrels of cognac.
(26:41):
So it means now in a small caskyou have a maturation which is
faster than a normal barrel,that is, almost three times
faster than a big barrel.
And so then you have also thetaste of the cognac into the
(27:03):
whiskey, which is really good.
So I will launch my first set,three years old, and then after
that I will open cask and cask.
I will do only single cask andof course I mean developing
something like this.
And then I had my id.
So, uh, maybe I I can see you,I can, I want to show your face
(27:23):
or so.
And then I wanted to dosomething that is really in link
with the whiskey, and of courseI will show you from far end.
Okay, so that is going to be awatch that has the look of the
whiskey, so the shape and thecolor of the whiskey from far
away, because I have to changethe hands and I have to change a
(27:46):
few things and that is going tobe a limited edition, 25 piece.
Blake Rea (27:50):
The limited edition whiskey color oh, man, you got
to send me some pictures on onwhatsapp like, so I will send
you, I will send you something.
Hakim El Kadiri (28:01):
Okay, it's not finalized.
I have, of course, the productthat is myized.
I have really finalized theproduct.
That is my first prototype.
I have really to change a fewthings, but the color is really
the color of my whiskey.
It's amazing.
Blake Rea (28:13):
I was actually getting ready to ask that,
because when we had talkedbefore and you were sending me
pictures of whiskey and I waslike it's very clear that you're
a very passionate person aboutthe things that you work on and
you know you go all in and putyour heart into your projects.
It shows in elka and, uh, italso is starting to show in your
(28:36):
, in your whiskey brand.
But I also can't imagine toomany swiss whiskey making
companies, because you know, Imean, it's an american, it's an
american spirit, right?
Hakim El Kadiri (28:47):
yeah, I mean it's scottish okay, yeah, sorry
sorry, yeah, no, in fact.
Uh, you know, um, there aresomething like 10 swiss whiskeys
, that's it.
And uh, the thing is, if I'mcorrect but I have read to find
into the archives, I think 100years ago it was not allowed by
(29:11):
the law to manufacture whiskey,because all the seeds were grown
to eat them but not to drinkthem.
So I have to find that I heardthat last drink them.
So I have to find that I heardthat last week.
But I have to find alsoinformation about that because
(29:33):
it's really interesting also tobe in doing a whiskey today.
Blake Rea (29:37):
But that was not allowed in the past and I was
actually getting ready to ask,but you answered my question
already that I was gonna see ifyou could kind of integrate the
two.
I mean, it's hard to to have awhiskey brand and then to also
have a watch brand and to tiethose together.
Hakim El Kadiri (29:53):
But you know when, when I developed the
whiskey that was before I meandoing the, the watch brand, and
I did that really because I meancrazy idea and then I think I
realized, probably four monthsago, okay, I can do the
connection between the twothings and the name of my
(30:16):
whiskey.
It's called Locla and in factit's a small lake.
Sorry, I'm working on the label.
The name is a small lake thatis really not far away from my
house, it's about 500 metersfrom here, and it's called
lulokla.
(30:36):
It's a small lake, really small, but the name is a celtic name.
So I heard that also from themuseum that is not far from here
and I mean, and the circuscircles.
Blake Rea (30:50):
So I was in Switzerland in January and we
talked about this too, because Iwas in Nostra Atele and
obviously we didn't get a chanceto meet in person.
But I also went to La Lakhla,where, I mean, you have two
other watch brands.
Is that the same area thatyou're referring to?
Hakim El Kadiri (31:09):
I don't know.
Blake Rea (31:09):
I mean, if you're talking about Le Lacla is just
right outside of Nostra Atoll.
Hakim El Kadiri (31:16):
Yeah, it's right outside.
I mean direction to NostraAtoll.
And there is another brand,also in Saint-Blaise, that you
have met, also last time yeah,yeah, yeah, um, yeah, bove right
no no, no, it's.
Uh, it's close to the local andhere is the local.
Blake Rea (31:36):
It's different oh, okay, okay, sorry, I'm getting
myself kind of regionallyconfused, because it was like a
week that I was there and Iliterally was doing like two
brands back to back for likefour days.
I landed, I slept for like 12hours, 20 hours or something
crazy, I don't remember and thenback to back to back, to back
(31:56):
to back, uh and and anyways, uh,so I guess that leads to the
question as, whenever you buythe limited edition watch, or is
there a bottle that's going tobe with it?
Hakim El Kadiri (32:10):
Yeah, you know, I mean, that is my dream to do,
but I have a big problemsending alcohol in the United
States.
I think it's not easy.
It's something that iscomplicated.
Easy, it's something that iscomplicated.
So, in fact, if you are comingto Switzerland, I will give you,
I will, I mean, organize atasting of the whiskey and then
(32:32):
I will give you a bowl ofwhiskey.
Blake Rea (32:36):
That was my next question.
It's like how are you going toget it to us?
How can we enjoy it?
Hakim El Kadiri (32:43):
I don't know.
I don't know.
I really have to see now withall the transporter.
I will have to see withimporter of alcohol in the
united states to see how I cando that.
But for the time being so Ihave no solution and probably
it's the reason why nobody issending alcohol or so on abroad
if they are not in this market.
Blake Rea (33:05):
That makes sense and I'll definitely take you up on
that, because I am going to comeback and we're going to hang
and I'm going to see some of thenew watches and I'm going to
enjoy some of that with you.
I'm not a huge drinker, butwhen in Rome, right, or in this
case, nacho Tal, let's take ashift back to the watch brand,
(33:29):
um and and obviously elka, Imean you've had some press done.
You've been featured on some ofthe teddy baldassar content
which I had no idea, uh, untilafter you and I'd connected and
I started doing some research.
And then you know, as youprogress through your limited
(33:59):
editions, are you seeing anysimilarities in the Elka
customers?
Like, who would be your idealcustomer?
I know that's a really hardloaded question.
I know that's a really hardloaded question, but when you
were designing this watch, right, very few people, or in some
cases, design watches with otherpeople in mind.
I know that sounds so selfish,right, and we're in the watch
industry, right, this is aselfish industry.
(34:22):
So when you were designing thisproduct, did you have a
customer that you wanted totarget in mind?
Or were you just saying, hey,if I make one of these watches,
and it is badass and I'm theonly one that wears it.
Hakim El Kadiri (34:35):
I'm happy you are almost right, you know I
mean.
So.
There are a lot of differentbrands.
You can find on the market alot of different super brands
which I love.
The problem is, okay, lots alsoof them are kind of copycat.
(34:56):
Mine are really simple in termsof design, really easy to accept
in terms of look, design, but Iwould say it's really a niche
brand because, I mean, itdoesn't please everyone.
I know I mean it pleases and Iknow that also it's something
(35:19):
that is recognizable, which isreally good, and it will take
probably more time to developthese brands than something that
could be different in term ofdesign.
I did it as a selfish, becauseI wanted to develop this type of
shape, because I love that andit reminds me a bit, um, the
(35:43):
kind of German brands likeBauhaus.
I like this type of design, butmixed also with the army type
of design.
I mean the field watch, I meanthe one you can see here on the
back is really kind of army.
So that reminds me the Hamiltonkhaki field or something like
(36:06):
this, but in a different way.
So it's a mix between thingsthat I loved developing during
the years I was working in this.
Blake Rea (36:15):
What this industry and yeah, I mean I'm sure you're
probably aware, and I mean moreso than I am, but you know,
obviously there's a milliongreat brands out there, like
there's a million awesome brands, um, and so did you feel, like,
immediately, that Elka was, wasunique?
(36:39):
Did you feel like you had asomething like a different twist
on on what the other industryis offering?
Like you know how, um, how, howare you facing some of these
challenges in a competitivewatch market?
Hakim El Kadiri (36:55):
it's, it's really I mean okay, so the brand
has today two years.
So I, I did my kickstarter in2022.
Okay, I delivered the firstwatch in September 2022, and I
officially started the companyin November, mid of November
(37:16):
2022.
So the brand is not all that atall.
The thing is it takes timebecause nobody is expecting,
nobody is waiting for a newbrand like elka.
So it's not easy, because youcan push, you can be the best in
marketing.
You have really to push all thetime you need.
Also, I mean, I'm by myself,I'm working by myself, I'm one
(37:40):
man show in my company, which isfantastic.
I love that, because you canwrite texts, you can design the
product, you can sell theproduct and you do everything,
and that is really a fantastic,fantastic job.
But it's not easy to make itknown.
(38:02):
So then you have to find allthe ways and you have also to be
smarter than big brands,because big brands they do have
also, uh, the capability ofinvesting in marketing, in
communication, in events and andall of that.
And being alone and with yourown budget is really really more
(38:24):
complicated.
So I see a lot of new brandscoming on the market.
It's amazing what they are doingso I will not name them,
because I will see them at theend of this week because there
are the Geneva Watch Days and somost of them are investing.
(38:45):
They are there, so they aredoing events.
It's there, so they are doingevents.
It's fantastic, so they arereally pushing.
And today I would say there arelots of competition in the
micros A lot good, a lot lessgood, but a lot of competition
and not easy to fight against.
(39:08):
I mean we are not fightingagainst, so I'm helping.
Also other brands talking aboutwhat we do, what we can do,
with whom we are working and soon.
So we are, I mean not in a biggroup Then we help us together,
I mean, to find the way todevelop, uh, each other yeah,
(39:31):
yeah and something.
Blake Rea (39:32):
Um, I never told you this, but I used to work in the
beer industry, so I used to.
I come from the alcoholindustry and something that you
see in the alcohol industrywhich you don't see in the watch
industry is that same communityright?
So, like here in Las Vegas,like you have a brewer on the
(39:54):
north side of town and then youhave a brewer on the south side
of town and they're brewing beertogether and creating like a
special beer.
That is like you know that theyboth can use and market and
this and that.
But something that I haven'tseen too frequently in the watch
industry is watch brandscollaborating with each other,
(40:16):
you know yeah, I did.
Hakim El Kadiri (40:18):
I did the proposal to one of uh another, I
mean another brand that isreally strong in term of shape,
face, something like this, sosomething that I had the feeling
that we could merge togetherand do something really even
more special, because they havesomething I mean inside which is
(40:40):
special and my shape is thesapphire crystal and the case
and the idea is to mix and tomerge two different brands and I
mean that could be a nicecollaboration.
Blake Rea (40:55):
Is that something we should count on, or is that
something that I still have to?
Hakim El Kadiri (41:00):
discuss.
I still have to discuss, youknow, I mean working by my own.
So there are lots of people inmy head.
We can talk a lot and shareideas, Sure.
So I still have to convincethem doing something.
That would be really nice.
Blake Rea (41:20):
I can't see you having to do much convincing.
All it takes is putting one ofyour watches on wrist to kind of
.
You know, I'm not just sayingthat right, you know, um, you
really have a special product.
You know, and, um, and I'm sureyou probably know, like before
you and I got connected, I wassending you emails like every
(41:43):
week trying to get yourattention.
And you know, finally youreplied to me, and you know I
also work in cybersecurity, so,like, I was able to get your
personal email instead of, like,going through the form I'm sure
you probably remember like, hey, how did this kid get my email?
(42:03):
But no, no.
So would you say your customerbase is here in North America,
us, or would you say that Elkowatches are more popular back
home in Switzerland?
Hakim El Kadiri (42:19):
No, I would say , I mean I have a big community.
I'm a lot of customers comingfrom USA, I think you know,
because I started selling alsoonline and I would say probably,
I mean the fact is people inUSA they are not afraid about
(42:40):
buying on the net, and I think Imean in Switzerland the people
they have to see the product,they have to understand the
product because they are goingto spend some amount of money.
And I think USA is.
I mean they are used to buy onthe net and I think it's easier
(43:04):
also to sell in the UnitedStates today.
Blake Rea (43:08):
I've done some consulting with some other watch
brands because I've had a weirdcareer, but I started off in
marketing.
First of all, I worked at abrewery, then I left the beer
industry, the alcohol industryand I went into marketing and
then I started doing marketingin the cybersecurity industry,
which is a challenge, right,because you know everybody is,
(43:30):
there's always something goingon in that industry.
But something I noticed isyou're absolutely right is how
mature the market is here, andwhen I first started consulting
with some of these, these swisswatch brands, they're, uh, I'll
say off stream, right, I don't Idon't want to blast them out
there, um, but you know theywere selling watches online,
(43:54):
right, and the way that you paidfor those watches online is you
had a swift number, you had a,a bank number, and you know
they're like, oh, here's how youpay.
You wire transfer the money tous, and I was like no, americans
are gonna want to do that.
Like you know, everybody's usedto just being able to use their
credit card, pay for it andhave it arrive, um, but it's
(44:18):
such a common thing in swSwitzerland that you guys send
money through wire transferslike all the time.
It's very common and you'reabsolutely right.
You know the watch market hereis very mature.
Are you making any?
I'm assuming you're probablytrying to do.
(44:38):
You have any intention oncoming to some of the watch
shows in America Like is that onyour roadmap?
I would love to.
Hakim El Kadiri (44:46):
I would love to , but then you need to develop
and to be on differentexhibitions, but slowly and
slowly.
So this year I went to inUrganta, then I went to Time to
Watch in Geneva, then now I'mgoing to Geneva one day, then
(45:11):
after that I'm going to HongKong, then right after there is
another exhibition inSwitzerland, then after that I'm
going to Paris, probably I'mgoing to Czech Republic.
So then I mean I need also timeto recover, I mean, and to
develop the product and tofollow also my business.
But I would love to come to theUnited States and also to show
(45:34):
my product.
Blake Rea (45:35):
Someone went to USA, to Chicago, this year, with my
brand, yeah, and so he presentedthe brand to the local people,
yeah, and they, they liked it,they liked it, yeah um, let's go
back a little bit into thedesign space, because our
audience is obsessed with designtalks and, uh, um, I know every
(46:01):
brand out there is having funand you see a lot of brands that
are kind of segmentingthemselves by materials.
They're developing their ownproprietary materials and cases.
It seems kind of I guess Idon't know if gimmicky is the
(46:22):
right word but are there anymaterials that you're planning
to use in the future?
Hakim El Kadiri (46:32):
No, you know, this is kind of trend.
What I said before I want tohave a product that can be worn
today, can be worn in 50 yearsand could be worn also 50 years
ago.
And if you look at the watches,of course they were in brass in
the past but look was like goldor like stainless steel.
(46:56):
What I want is a design.
It's, it's not the material.
Today, I mean, you can.
You can see, okay, I wasworking on some for ceramic
watches at Rado.
Okay, known for ceramic,fantastic product.
But it is also super niche tohave something like this.
It doesn't please to anyone, Imean, depending on the color.
(47:17):
Also, you are going to add, youcan see, I mean product like,
for instance, in carbon fiber.
Okay, this is over.
I mean, if someone is doingsomething today, probably I mean
he can relaunch a new trend.
You can see also the forgedcarbon.
So I had once last week I hadone piece, I mean from I mean
(47:41):
2005 or 2010, something likethis in hand.
It's something which isoutdated If you use.
I mean that's my opinion, so Imean it's only myself what I'm
saying.
So if you try to use kind ofdifferent materials, it's fine.
Everyone has also to have hisown DNA in the product.
(48:03):
But for me, I mean, a watch isa watch.
It's something that has to berecognizable, something that has
to last for years.
This is the.
I mean the.
How did you say that?
Blake Rea (48:21):
Yeah, the foundation of your brand.
The foundation of your brand,the foundation of the brand, of
course.
Hakim El Kadiri (48:26):
I mean, on the Arrhenius, okay, I'm using
rubber, I'm using ceramic insert, I'm using the sapphire crystal
in dome shape Okay, there areplenty of things, but this is
something that is not going tohurt, it's not something that is
going to disappear, it's notgoing to be something that is
going to be outdated and yeah.
Blake Rea (48:51):
What do you feel?
Because I was thinking in mymind because of the form factor.
I mean, I'm surprised youhaven't had fun with a little
bit of foam, with titanium, youknow?
Is it not as appealing to youas steel, or yeah, I love
titanium.
Hakim El Kadiri (49:10):
It's light.
But Again, titanium is, itdoesn't please to anyone because
sometimes you can, it's toolight for me, you know.
Blake Rea (49:24):
I've never heard that .
You've never heard that.
No.
Hakim El Kadiri (49:29):
I did many, many in the past.
I mean, I have been in Hamilton, also in Hado, and I did many
watches in titanium.
Sometimes people they alwayssay it's too light.
Watches in titanium, fine,sometimes people they always say
it's too light.
You know, I mean it's, you havesomething that has the right uh
, weight, the, the right thing,that you feel well on your wrist
(49:52):
.
It's fantastic.
So and that is also something.
But okay, never, say never, Inever, I don't know.
Okay, maybe in one year.
So I will wake up in themorning, oh, let's do it.
Blake Rea (50:03):
You see, people are trying, like you know, to create
a product that that meshes toyou, right, like you see, people
that are like in in yourspecific product, right, like
the case shape you know, I'vesaid it a million times already.
Like the case shape makes shape, you know, I've said it a
(50:24):
million times already like thek-shape makes your watch so
comfortable, right, it sits sowell on the wrist that you don't
want to take it off, you know.
And so people are trying to.
And the reason why I say thatis because you see people that
are getting lighter and lighterand thinner and thinner, and
it's just like, um, it's like arat or a rat race in the watch
industry.
People are trying to make thethinnest watches and the
(50:46):
lightest watches because, uh,the, the watch that people are
going to wear every single day,is their most comfortable watch,
in my opinion, and um, and so Iwas just curious to get your
take on that, um, and then youknow, we're coming up here, uh,
(51:09):
we try and shoot for an hour, sowe're coming up to an hour, um,
I'm assuming.
Obviously, you know it hasn'tbeen all all the beautiful
moments, right, starting thiswatch company and you know, we,
we.
We hear about youraccomplishments and we see them
on your website, but I'm surethere's some challenges that you
faced and I'm curious to hearabout some of those challenges
(51:34):
and how you've overcame them.
Hakim El Kadiri (51:38):
I would say I mean the challenges are not in
the development of the product,because I love that.
For me, I mean it's kind of, Imean it's not a second life,
it's I mean I'm breathing that,Developing, I'm a developer, I
love that, I love developing.
So you can see, I mean thewhole 25 years working in the
(52:01):
watch industry I was developing,developing and sometimes people
were saying, just be relaxed, Imean, don't develop that much.
And I can still see also someproducts just launched by my
previous company and they stilllaunch products that I developed
four years ago and they justlaunched them now that I
(52:23):
developed four years ago andthey just want them now.
Okay, so I had a lot of watchesand sometimes people are saying,
okay, you always have somethinginto the drawers, so that's
fantastic.
I love developing, I candevelop, I mean at any moment of
the day.
Sometimes I have to be quietand relaxed because I first have
to sell my product before I'mgoing ahead.
(52:47):
So I think that's the mostcomplicated thing to not develop
because you have to wait and Idon't know, I mean it's not in
my nature to be passionate,that's the most yeah yeah I mean
, I'm also assume, since you'rea designer, you have the, the
(53:08):
perspective on the watch marketthat not a lot of us have.
Blake Rea (53:13):
Um, are there any trends that you're forecasting
or that you're you're observing,and're observing and you're
thinking, okay, this might besomething that Elka plays in, or
does it go against your kind ofrooted in the 60s like identity
(53:36):
?
Hakim El Kadiri (53:38):
You know, as I told you before, I think my
brand so Elka is based on thepast element and I guess it's
something that is not going tohurt also in the future.
It's something that is, I wouldsay, also sustainable because
(53:59):
you can wear it today, you canwear it in 10 or 20 years.
So I already say that.
But I think this is the trendthat I can see, something that
is not going to change too fast.
Change everything is changingtoo fast today, so you can see,
I mean what people are wearingtoday, so connected watches.
(54:21):
Maybe there is one brand whichis the most popular than all the
others and this is going fastand changing and you have to buy
, I mean one every year or atleast maybe each two years,
because I mean so technology isgoing to be changed and you have
to adapt and I want to stopeverything.
(54:42):
So, with my design to stopeverything, to stay at a level,
of course I mean you have toevolve, because the planet,
everything is evolving, but Iwant to have something which is
sustainable, something that isgoing to last for years,
something that is going,something that you can pass to
your children and grandchildren,and something like this.
(55:03):
And I want to see somethinglike this and I would say this
is my idea of the watch for thenext years.
Blake Rea (55:13):
I don't know but and, and that that's a.
That's a great point.
Now that you have this living,breathing, successful brand and
you've got a great product, whatdoes the next decade, or even
(55:34):
further, look like for Elka?
Hakim El Kadiri (55:41):
So next decade is I mean times flies, of course
but okay, in 10 years, I hopeso I can continue like this
probably okay, now I'm in the60s and probably in 10 years I
will be in the 70s or maybe inthe 80s.
Blake Rea (56:01):
Okay, okay, and and that makes a lot of sense 10
years, I will be in the 70s ormaybe in the 80s, okay, okay,
and that makes a lot of sense.
You know, do you and I'massuming that you're probably
not going to be able to answerthis, or maybe it's impossible,
because it's like asking whoyour favorite child is, but you
(56:24):
know, which of your, yourdesigns, uh, and collections is
is the one and done for you?
If you say, hey look, this isthe only elka I would ever wear,
it would be this, this watchthis is because you know, I mean
, once I develop one product, Iwant to wear it.
Hakim El Kadiri (56:45):
So that's the the, that's the problem.
So I love them all, of course,uh, but my problem is I told you
I'm a developer and I love thenew one the, the RNS.
Blake Rea (57:01):
Yeah yeah, ironically , I was in Iowa for like a watch
event and I took my Elka and Ishowed it off to a group of
people and it was crazy just tosee the feedback.
(57:24):
You know, I mean, obviouslyit's not my feedback, it's you
know, um, or the response.
Should I say right?
The response that, uh,everybody was was was like hey,
man, this is super cool, this issuper special.
Like where can I get one?
Hopefully they purchased somefrom your website since then.
(57:45):
But it was, it was really coolto kind of see, I'm sure, the
the customer connection right.
The the, the vintage nostalgia,but the, the familiar film,
familiar feelings, that that youhave when you're wearing one of
your watches, and just gettingthe chance to enjoy that moment
(58:11):
was epic.
Just to see the response.
And my dogs are having awrestling match out there, and
so, yeah, I was curious aboutthat because to me, the x is is
the epitome of everything Ienjoy in a watch.
Um, but honestly, the rns.
(58:35):
Now, since you've released it,uh, that's been the one that my
friends have been saying, hey,have you seen this one yet?
No, I haven't.
No, I haven't.
Um, and you know you're headingin a great direction.
And uh, and hopefully you'llspend a little bit more time in
the 60s, because you know thatthat is the golden era.
(58:56):
The 60s and 70s are, in myopinion, the golden era of
watchmaking, where you had, uh,tone, tonu cases and these weird
fun colors and, like um, I meanthose are the golden years for
watchmaking, in my opinion.
And uh, and yeah, yeah.
(59:19):
So, and then let's get one morequestion in um, I'm assuming
you've you've probably soldenough of your watches where
you've seen them in the wild.
Right, you're walking down thestreet and all of a sudden you
see somebody that is wearing oneof your watches.
(59:40):
Sudden, you see somebody thatis wearing one of your watches,
uh, and I'm sure that's one ofthose feelings, that that you're
like, okay, this is the best.
This is the reason why Icontinue to do it and I just
want to tell you a small story.
Hakim El Kadiri (59:54):
I mean it happened some recently, that was
two, three months ago, um.
So there were a tv show and uhwas about diamonds, and so my
watches are sold in a jewelryshop in Geneva, and so he was
(01:00:14):
interviewed by the Swissnational TV about diamonds.
And then the the jeweler wasalso saying okay, you know, okay
, I'm also selling watch fromyoung brands.
And then the camera did just asmall slide, I mean slide on the
(01:00:39):
watches, okay, but nobody saidanything about the name of the
brand.
But I mean just the camera wenton the watches and then I had
five phone calls directly, wesaw your watches on the TV, okay
.
And then I went to see, I meanthe TV show, just to see the
watches, to see I mean the TVshow, just to see the watches,
(01:01:03):
and it's amazing because justthe shape was recognized by the
people and this is amazing.
Okay, this watch was also on,and also the color, I mean,
which is really, I mean it's notso clear, okay.
And this one is my best selleron this one and this one was on
the display in the shop and itwas amazing Five people just
(01:01:27):
calling me right after.
Okay, we saw your watches onthe screen, which is something
which was so nice having that.
So, even without the logo,nothing, people recognize them,
and that is what I wanted tohave also with this brand that
that's a watchmaker's dream tohave a silhouette that is
(01:01:51):
instantly recognizable.
Blake Rea (01:01:52):
And you know, of course, we haven't said any
brand names right in thispodcast, except for yours, so
I'm not gonna I'm not gonna saythat.
You know, you can spot certainwatches from a mile away, right,
and and once you have that,that, uh, that happened with
your brand, like, I'm surethat's the like okay, this, this
(01:02:18):
is what I signed up for.
This is everything I hoped forfor um, and I'm sure it had to
be an awesome experience andmoment and uh and yeah, yeah, we
need to work on getting yousome dealers here I love
(01:02:39):
you know, I, I, I can, I canconnect you with a couple of
people that, uh, that have adistribution company, um, cause,
you know, obviously everybodyknows, like you know, on this
podcast, we we get, we we getanybody who wants to come on and
talk watches.
We're pretty open.
You know, um, we've had adiverse panel of guests.
(01:03:02):
We're pretty open.
You know, um, we've had adiverse panel of guests um, and
and, yeah, you know, I, I reallythink, and I I actually took
your watch to, uh, one of mylocal jewelers, um, like maybe a
couple weeks ago, and you knowshe was like hey, uh, like I
want to see some of the coolestwatches in your collection that
(01:03:23):
I could carry, and she saw yourwatch and I just was going on
and on and on.
I had 10 or 15 watch brands onthe table, but your brand really
resonated with me, um, but youknow, your brand really
(01:03:44):
resonated with me, um, justbecause of of, I mean, I I take,
you know I look, the mostimportant thing for me in a
watch is legibility, right,Legibility, practicality and
comfort.
You know, those are the threethings that I prioritize over
anything, right, and yours islike a cocktail cocktail, uh, of
(01:04:05):
that, and so I just kept kindof saying, like, hey, hey, this
is, this is the watch brand thatyou know I think you need to
carry, like, uh, this is the onethat I I love wearing and you
know, I love all of all my mywatches and all the watches in
my collection, and in differentways, Um, but but anyways, yours
(01:04:25):
is a very, is very unique anduh, and yeah, you know,
obviously I'm not just sayingthat cause you're shitting in
front of me.
I've I've said that to otherpeople and I'm sure they'll,
they'll vouch for me, uh, that Ibelieve this.
And uh, and yeah, I, Idefinitely want to see, uh, you
kind of uh, open the doors moreto the States and um, you know,
(01:04:49):
because there is there is alarge portion of of our
customers or of the U S?
Uh market that does demand tosee the product before, you know
, purchasing Right and um, andyeah, you know, people are
saying, hey, look, there's a$2,000 product, which is a lot
(01:05:10):
of money.
You know it's a lot of money,no matter what type of watch
you're buying.
And um, and so you know, a lotof the micro brands tend to play
in the cheaper sandbox.
You know they're like the 500,600, 800, 900 dollar mark and
that's where they're kind ofsitting and and they can, they
can sell those left and rightand move them, um, but you know
(01:05:35):
you're you're definitely kind ofstepping up in in better
attention to detail, finishingquality, and so you definitely
have to figure out a way to getyour product in front of the
customer, because people willbuy them and I want to see that
(01:05:55):
happen.
So, yeah, all right.
So we have just finished upabout an hour here with hakeem
from elka.
It's been an honor having youon um, we've been trying this
new thing and I don't know howmany times we've done this.
(01:06:15):
The episodes just all blurtogether for me because we're
just recording so many of themand we're I think we're five
episodes, uh, already recordedbefore hakeem here, um, but
we've been turning our platformover to our guest.
So you answered pretty much allthe questions I had.
(01:06:36):
Is there anything that you feellike we didn't cover that you
that you wanted to talk about?
That has been burning a holewaiting for you to say.
Is there anything that you haveto say directly to our
listeners?
Hakim El Kadiri (01:06:52):
No, I think I mean you ask everything and you
have seen also more or less.
I mean from far away, thenovelty which is going to be
launched November the 1st.
I mean from far away, thenovelty which is going to be
launched November the 1st.
Then no, I don't have somethingspecial to say, but of course I
wish to see more Elka watchesin the United States.
Blake Rea (01:07:15):
Yeah, I want that too .
By the time this has beenrecorded and published, our
YouTube video will already beout and hopefully people will
see what I am talking about,because I'm actually going out
(01:07:40):
today and buying a whole newcamera system Because, you know,
at this point we're getting somany watches in and I have I
have this crazy camera and it'sit's so difficult to produce
content with it because of, uh,of the the workflow, right like
I just can't.
Like you know, like you canflip a page and start drawing,
right like when you're filmingcontent, you can't do that.
(01:08:02):
Like you have to set up thecamera, you have to change the
colors, you have to make surethe mics are.
Like it makes it hard for me todeliver consistent content
because we have so much, uh likerefinement that has to go down
in post-production, um.
So, anyways, I've already shotyours, um, my old camera, but
(01:08:22):
I'm going to go get a new cameratoday and I'm probably going to
reshoot it so that way I canget it out sooner and I plan to
do a lot more content with yourbrand and anything that I can do
here at Lonely Wrist.
(01:08:42):
You know we are a smaller outlet.
Our website does get the bulkof our audience.
And then the podcast, and thenthe YouTube is the third, not so
popular as the newest right,but anything that I can do I'm a
fan and I would be happy andhonored to to help you in any
(01:09:04):
type of way on this journey, andI mean that.
So- good.
Hakim El Kadiri (01:09:09):
Thank you very much.
Blake Rea (01:09:11):
All right everybody.
Thank you so much for tuning in.
Uh, just over an hour here withHakeem from Elka.
We are going to leave the linkto Elka in the podcast
description.
By then you'll have seen ourYouTube video and hopefully
there's no more convincing thatHakeem has an awesome product
(01:09:32):
and hopefully they'll be comingto a city near you very soon.
Thank you so much for coming onand we will talk soon.
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