Benny Gold Connects With Miller High Life to Create Meaningful Collaboration – Exclusive

Benny Gold, the man behind the San Francisco-based streetwear brand and boutique of the same name, teamed up with brewing company Miller High Life for their Miller Life series. The result of the partnership culminated in the release of 16-ounce beer cans designed by Gold, who added his signature touch and his "Stay Gold" mantra.

Now, the Benny Gold-inspired beer cans are available all over the U.S., giving consumers options to drink in style and admire the designs of the streetwear brand. Along with the beer cans, the partnership features collectible memorabilia, including two T-shirts and skateboard decks. The items containing a touch of Benny Gold's magic are limited while supply lasts, so it's even more of an incentive to get out their and get some.

During a recent visit to New York City with the Miller High Life team, the streetwear mogul and graphic designer stopped by the XXL office to shed light on his latest collaboration with the lauded beer brand and speak on the current state of streetwear.

XXL: How did the collaboration between Miller High Life and yourself begin?

Benny Gold: Miller High Life reached out to me about a year-and-a-half ago to work on an artist series and I was honored to be a part of it. I’m a big fan of the Miller High Life brand and the heritage behind the brand is incredible, so it was great to join the Miller High Life brand on this project.

What was it about the Miller High brand that made you want to partner up with them for this collaboration?

I feel like a lot of our ideas are in line together like “Stay Gold” has been part of the Benny Gold brand for a long time and it’s basically saying High Life in a different way like living the life that you want in a positive way and do the stuff that’s meaningful and the stuff that you love.

How similar is the way you conduct business to the way Miller High Life conducts their business?

I think we both don’t take ourselves as too serious and focus on what’s important to us in life. It’s not about what you do at work, it’s what you do after work and living the high life is the same as living the gold life.

How long has the project between you and Miller High Life been in the works?

It’s been in the works for about a year, a year-and-a-half I would say and it’s nice to see it out in the public and seeing the cans in the markets as well as the T-shirts. I get tagged on my Instagram all the time with people posting pictures of the cans, so it's been awesome.

What’s been the overall feedback of the cans and its design?

Oh, man it’s been super cool to see people react in such a positive way. People are so used to seeing the Benny Gold brand within streetwear so it’s nice to see next to something so iconic like Miller High Life.

How involved were you in the creative process of the cans?

I was involved 100 percent. From the very beginning of the process. Everything with me starts off with a sketch and a concept, so I started sketching from the very beginning. You now from the moment I got off the phone with Miller I started sketching and presented my concepts and ideas and everything went through.

You’re known for your streetwear designs with the Benny Gold brand, but did you face any challenges when making this collaboration being that it’s a different type of collab for you?

I mean there’s always challenges with every project. I approach each project always the same and that’s just from a genuine point of view and just try to do the best work I possibly can.

What else is expected from the Benny Gold brand in 2016?

Well, the Benny Gold brand you know, we’ve been here for a while now and I think we’re finally now catching our steam and our stride. We’re moving our retail location in San Francisco to a bigger, better spot so we can have more event space and do bigger projects. The Miller project has started off really strong. We dropped a collaboration for Super Bowl and I got some stuff coming out with Primitive and a Black Scale collab.

What are the elements needed for a good collaboration between a streetwear brand and a brand like Miller High Life?

I think the best thing for collaborations is when two companies come together outside of each others element and come together for something unexpected. Like I’m not a beer company but I know graphics, so to merge that with something so iconic like Miller is dope! A good collab is when two people from different worlds come together to create something beautiful.

Besides the cans, what else does the collab consist of?

Yeah, so there’s a 16 ounce can that’s in the market now and if you drink enough beer you can redeem the points and get limited edition T-shirts and then we have a skateboard also that’s pretty much the can design blown up on a skate deck.

Are the cans available everywhere in the U.S.?

Yeah, you can now purchase the cans everywhere they sell beer at and the T-shirts are out there too.

How cool is it for you to see your designs on the cans of beers everywhere?

Oh, man it’s awesome and mind-blowing. When I was sketching and drawing my stuff during the come up of the brand I never imagined to work with such a prestigious brand like Miller High Life. It’s been awesome. It stills blow my mind.

Are there plans of doing a second collaboration?

Yeah, we’ve been talking about keeping the partnership going and now taking what Miller High Life is known for and put it on our garments.

How do you feel about the world of streetwear now?

Streetwear is crazy. It’s at a point now where it used to be our best kept secret. Like only the people that were into and the people that worked in it were involved, so it was like a small family, but now the whole world knows about it and that’s awesome. I’ve always known it’s been cool, so it’s greta to see it become as big as it is.

What still drives you to be creative and think outside the box?

I think I get inspired a lot by living in San Francisco. It’s such a creative city and just from pushing around my skateboard and seeing the city I get inspired by a lot of the street art and more, so I always have cool ideas.

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