ing—skateboarding—which is gaining more and more traction in modern culture as the sport makes its Olympics debut in 2020. The brand’s first merchandise line, SUBSURF, is expected to launch next year, allowing fans of the game to don the funky flare of the Subway Surfers environment. Think: graffiti skater-esque edgy apparel, accessories, and wearable street art. SYBO will also coordinate more street art opportunities. The company had started its mural project in February for Valentine’s Day, when it commissioned Beautify Earth to design and create a mural at Rue Henri Noguères - Paris 19, reading “Liberte, Egalite, Amour.” This mural not only provided tourists with some Instagram fodder, but echoed the street-style art vibe of the Subway Surfers brand. It is evident that SYBO is striving to shake off the stigma that street art is vandalism, and instead show how it can beautify a community. For these gaming gods, staying genuine to the brand is how to win the game. “Whether it’s the mobile game, the new animated series, or the overall brand itself, Subway Surfers resonates as the original street art brand, and our goal is to democratize street culture,” says Amarchi-Cuevas. She explains that SYBO is specific with partners, looking only for those that encompass the key elements of Subway Surfers: street smarts, edgy youth culture, skate music, and dance. “This style of art—whether it be graffiti, stencils, prints and murals, large-scale paint-
ings and projects of artistic collaboration, among others—is very much part of the brand and represented in all aspects,” says Amarchi-Cuevas. » Kelly Corbett is an editorial assistant at Adventure Publishing Group, where she contributes to leading trade magazines The Toy Book and The Licensing Book. In addition to handling toy and licensing news and updates, she writes toy reviews and commentaries for the Toy Insider.
SUBSURF, a line of apparel and accessories, is set to launch in 2019.
This mural dedication to Paris is among the first initiatives by SYBO to bring in-game content into the real world.
In the Subway Surfers shorts, we meet four best friends as they navigate the exuberant joys and ironically epic dilemmas of life as tweens. Together, these friends explore their magical city on skateboards and discover an amazing mystery that will introduce technology and change their lives forever.
toybook.com | MAY//JUNE 2018 | THE TOY BOOK 101