Long Leash
Mirko Antich grew up in Los Angeles' South Bay, deeply immersed in the skateboarding, surfing, and punk subcultures that eventually sparked his passion for design. Today, he runs Long Leash Magazines, a digital and sometimes physical space for trading rare and contemporary magazines. He also recently launched Servicio Represents, a talent agency dedicated to celebrating the unique creatives on his roster. I expect there is more to come, so watch this space.
Can you share some details about your Peruvian family heritage and some of your fondest experiences there?
I was born in Lima, Peru, in a neighborhood called Miraflores. I don’t have many memories of it, as I was still a baby when my family emigrated from Peru to the US. From what I’ve been told, during the late '80s and early '90s there was a communist terrorist group named ‘Sendero Luminoso,’ which in English translates to ‘The Shining Path.’ My mom tells me that after a very brutal bombing in our neighborhood, she decided she didn’t want to raise me there. She had aunts who lived in the San Gabriel Valley in Los Angeles, which is where we landed when we arrived in the US.
When did the worlds of skate and design first collide for you?
As a teenager, I worked at skate/surf shops in the South Bay of Los Angeles. I would just be drawing stuff during downtime and asked the owners if I could do skate graphics. I had no formal design training, as I didn’t go to college, but I remember a customer came in one day and noticed me drawing. He told me about Adobe and later came in with a burnt copy of CS3 on a CD. Haha, I think the only thing I could do was live image trace. Soon after that, I met Herb George, who was the Creative Director at Globe Shoes in El Segundo. He let me intern for him in the art department (I lied and said I was getting school credit). That’s really where I learned everything about working in graphic design for a brand. I was just soaking up all I could about marketing and design and doing everything I was told. They ended up hiring me full-time, and I stayed there for about four years, simultaneously doing graphics for Dwindle skate brands and other companies in the industry as well. Outside of just general skate industry stuff, I think my taste level really grew in terms of photography and design when I would be tasked with scanning pages from magazines for references. I would just take stacks of mags that Herb had marked and sit at the scanner for hours. This is where I was exposed to publications like Purple, i-D, Dazed, tons of Japanese titles, and more. I was taught to explore references outside of skateboarding and learn how to apply them to our work.
“This is where I was exposed to publications like Purple, i-D, Dazed, tons of Japanese titles, and more. I was taught to explore references outside of skateboarding and learn how to apply them to our work.”
What's the premise behind Long Leash Magazine, and how do you operate both physically and digitally?
Long Leash was really just a fun idea that my co-founders, Justin and Jake, and I came up with one day. We are all print nerds and were discussing how Los Angeles didn’t really have a space that spoke to us and our interests. For me personally, I wanted to create a space for the community to find inspiration offline, host events, and engage the print community through publishing, zine swaps, book/issue launches, and more. Print still feels like a subculture to me, and I wanted the same clubhouse feeling I would get from the skate shops I grew up hanging out at and working in. I don't operate it in a traditional sense, as I just do pop-ups whenever a space presents itself. We just wrapped our Arts District Residency and are looking to plan a new one for the holidays. Outside of the physical space, we have an online shop that houses some of our rare/vintage selections, and I’m really looking to build out our content offering more as well, as I think sharing stories from our community is just as important. Los Angeles gets a bad rep for not being as tasteful or as cool as major cities like New York, Paris, London, and Tokyo, even though we drive a lot of culture. Visiting those cities made me realize that we really didn’t have a good space to converge and have access to certain titles, so the most logical next step was to just create one.
What are three of your most treasured items in your personal print collection?
That's a really tough one, but if I had to gauge it on what I wouldn't be able to part with, then it's my copy of Captive Chains by Raymond Pettibon, which is his first published comic; a zine of the photography of SPOT, who was a sound engineer at SST Records in the '70s and '80s and documented a lot of the early beach/hardcore scene on the beaches where I grew up (also published by Ed Templeton); and my wife’s and my growing collection of rare Christo and Jeanne-Claude books. When we first met, their work was something we really bonded over, and it’s an easy agreement when it comes to collecting their work for the house.
Which magazines have caught your attention in the past few months?
Comfort Magazine, EPOCH, Present Space, and BILL. Hands down, they are leading the new wave of print, and I am always excited to stock whatever they come out with.
You recently established Servicio Represents, a Los Angeles-based talent agency. Why now and why in L.A.?
I had just been very inspired by all the creative energy happening here—everything my friends have been grinding on and building from scratch. I’ve always felt like the energy bounces between NY and LA, and right now, it feels like it’s here on a cultural and creative level. Commerce is always right behind that, trying to capitalize on "cool," so similar to Long Leash, I just saw a hole and a lack of representation in the space. Everything just feels very stale right now, and with the way the industry is going, it felt like the right time to shake things up and forge a new path. So I just called a few friends that I’ve had the pleasure of working with in my career, and it just naturally turned into Servicio. By no means is it a traditional agency, and I am in no way a traditional agent. I want to approach it more like a subculture or something reminiscent of my experience working with skate teams. I think my experience coming from the creative side of working with talent is a fresh take, and at the end of the day, I am truly a huge fan of everyone on the roster. It is still very early on, and we have a long way to go, but I am excited to see what it becomes and to show people globally that the image makers here are on par with what is happening worldwide.
“I want to approach it more like a subculture or something reminiscent of my experience working with skate teams.”
Tell me about your work with General Admission. I've been a fan for a long time!
General Admission was a very fun four years of my life. I had the honor of running Creative and Marketing for the store, which we eventually turned into a brand. I really learned what it was like to build a global brand and what it actually takes. I met some of the most amazing people who are still in my life, and it taught me a lot of good life/business lessons. It really set the tone for how I approach projects and business today.
In addition to everything else, you're also a painter. What's your approach right now?
Haha, man, I wouldn’t call myself a painter. I think for me, I just have a lot of ideas, and they all manifest through different mediums. I used to make illustrations and paint several years ago, but when it stopped serving me creatively, I just quit. Now it’s more cathartic than anything. I deal with so many people on a daily basis that it feels good to have a creative outlet where it’s just me—not worrying if it's even good or not; it’s just what I want to express and put out.
Where and when is the next Long Leash pop-up?!
TBD, but aiming for the holidays this year.
Long Leash
Mirko Antich grew up in Los Angeles' South Bay, deeply immersed in the skateboarding, surfing, and punk subcultures that eventually sparked his passion for design. Today, he runs Long Leash Magazines, a digital and sometimes physical space for trading rare and contemporary magazines. He also recently launched Servicio Represents, a talent agency dedicated to celebrating the unique creatives on his roster. I expect there is more to come, so watch this space.
Can you share some details about your Peruvian family heritage and some of your fondest experiences there?
I was born in Lima, Peru, in a neighborhood called Miraflores. I don’t have many memories of it, as I was still a baby when my family emigrated from Peru to the US. From what I’ve been told, during the late '80s and early '90s there was a communist terrorist group named ‘Sendero Luminoso,’ which in English translates to ‘The Shining Path.’ My mom tells me that after a very brutal bombing in our neighborhood, she decided she didn’t want to raise me there. She had aunts who lived in the San Gabriel Valley in Los Angeles, which is where we landed when we arrived in the US.
When did the worlds of skate and design first collide for you?
As a teenager, I worked at skate/surf shops in the South Bay of Los Angeles. I would just be drawing stuff during downtime and asked the owners if I could do skate graphics. I had no formal design training, as I didn’t go to college, but I remember a customer came in one day and noticed me drawing. He told me about Adobe and later came in with a burnt copy of CS3 on a CD. Haha, I think the only thing I could do was live image trace. Soon after that, I met Herb George, who was the Creative Director at Globe Shoes in El Segundo. He let me intern for him in the art department (I lied and said I was getting school credit). That’s really where I learned everything about working in graphic design for a brand. I was just soaking up all I could about marketing and design and doing everything I was told. They ended up hiring me full-time, and I stayed there for about four years, simultaneously doing graphics for Dwindle skate brands and other companies in the industry as well. Outside of just general skate industry stuff, I think my taste level really grew in terms of photography and design when I would be tasked with scanning pages from magazines for references. I would just take stacks of mags that Herb had marked and sit at the scanner for hours. This is where I was exposed to publications like Purple, i-D, Dazed, tons of Japanese titles, and more. I was taught to explore references outside of skateboarding and learn how to apply them to our work.
“This is where I was exposed to publications like Purple, i-D, Dazed, tons of Japanese titles, and more. I was taught to explore references outside of skateboarding and learn how to apply them to our work.”
What's the premise behind Long Leash Magazine, and how do you operate both physically and digitally?
Long Leash was really just a fun idea that my co-founders, Justin and Jake, and I came up with one day. We are all print nerds and were discussing how Los Angeles didn’t really have a space that spoke to us and our interests. For me personally, I wanted to create a space for the community to find inspiration offline, host events, and engage the print community through publishing, zine swaps, book/issue launches, and more. Print still feels like a subculture to me, and I wanted the same clubhouse feeling I would get from the skate shops I grew up hanging out at and working in. I don't operate it in a traditional sense, as I just do pop-ups whenever a space presents itself. We just wrapped our Arts District Residency and are looking to plan a new one for the holidays. Outside of the physical space, we have an online shop that houses some of our rare/vintage selections, and I’m really looking to build out our content offering more as well, as I think sharing stories from our community is just as important. Los Angeles gets a bad rep for not being as tasteful or as cool as major cities like New York, Paris, London, and Tokyo, even though we drive a lot of culture. Visiting those cities made me realize that we really didn’t have a good space to converge and have access to certain titles, so the most logical next step was to just create one.
What are three of your most treasured items in your personal print collection?
That's a really tough one, but if I had to gauge it on what I wouldn't be able to part with, then it's my copy of Captive Chains by Raymond Pettibon, which is his first published comic; a zine of the photography of SPOT, who was a sound engineer at SST Records in the '70s and '80s and documented a lot of the early beach/hardcore scene on the beaches where I grew up (also published by Ed Templeton); and my wife’s and my growing collection of rare Christo and Jeanne-Claude books. When we first met, their work was something we really bonded over, and it’s an easy agreement when it comes to collecting their work for the house.
Which magazines have caught your attention in the past few months?
Comfort Magazine, EPOCH, Present Space, and BILL. Hands down, they are leading the new wave of print, and I am always excited to stock whatever they come out with.
You recently established Servicio Represents, a Los Angeles-based talent agency. Why now and why in L.A.?
I had just been very inspired by all the creative energy happening here—everything my friends have been grinding on and building from scratch. I’ve always felt like the energy bounces between NY and LA, and right now, it feels like it’s here on a cultural and creative level. Commerce is always right behind that, trying to capitalize on "cool," so similar to Long Leash, I just saw a hole and a lack of representation in the space. Everything just feels very stale right now, and with the way the industry is going, it felt like the right time to shake things up and forge a new path. So I just called a few friends that I’ve had the pleasure of working with in my career, and it just naturally turned into Servicio. By no means is it a traditional agency, and I am in no way a traditional agent. I want to approach it more like a subculture or something reminiscent of my experience working with skate teams. I think my experience coming from the creative side of working with talent is a fresh take, and at the end of the day, I am truly a huge fan of everyone on the roster. It is still very early on, and we have a long way to go, but I am excited to see what it becomes and to show people globally that the image makers here are on par with what is happening worldwide.
“I want to approach it more like a subculture or something reminiscent of my experience working with skate teams.”
Tell me about your work with General Admission. I've been a fan for a long time!
General Admission was a very fun four years of my life. I had the honor of running Creative and Marketing for the store, which we eventually turned into a brand. I really learned what it was like to build a global brand and what it actually takes. I met some of the most amazing people who are still in my life, and it taught me a lot of good life/business lessons. It really set the tone for how I approach projects and business today.
In addition to everything else, you're also a painter. What's your approach right now?
Haha, man, I wouldn’t call myself a painter. I think for me, I just have a lot of ideas, and they all manifest through different mediums. I used to make illustrations and paint several years ago, but when it stopped serving me creatively, I just quit. Now it’s more cathartic than anything. I deal with so many people on a daily basis that it feels good to have a creative outlet where it’s just me—not worrying if it's even good or not; it’s just what I want to express and put out.
Where and when is the next Long Leash pop-up?!
TBD, but aiming for the holidays this year.
ALL CULTURE IS A CONVERSATION LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA © MR. WREN 2025
ALL CULTURE IS A CONVERSATION – LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA
© MR. WREN 2025