Can a Lakai vegan?

Updated 20 June 2019

Or in actual English: Does Lakai have any vegan skate shoes? UPDATE: More vegan Riley Hawk models have been added. See below.

The somewhat surprising answer is yes.

Lakai seems to have six vegan skate shoes (plus the textile Dalys) at the moment. Note that not all the canvas upper shoes by Lakai are vegan because some might have real leather Lakai logos ("the flare"). But the Lakai flare is synthetic at least on some styles.

The following are vegan based on info from the friendly Lakai customer service:

Lakai Riley Hawk 2 Charcoal (Synthetic Nubuck Vegan) - Summer 19 (NOTE: ONLY THE MENTIONED COLOURWAYS ARE VEGAN.)





Lakai Riley Hawk 2 Navy (Canvas) - Summer 19 (NOTE: ONLY THE MENTIONED COLOURWAYS ARE VEGAN.)





Lakai Riley Hawk 2 White (Canvas) - Summer 19 (NOTE: ONLY THE MENTIONED COLOURWAYS ARE VEGAN.)





Lakai Riley Hawk 2 Tobacco (Synthetic Nubuck Vegan) - Spring 19 (NOTE: ONLY THE MENTIONED COLOURWAYS ARE VEGAN.)




Lakai Griffin Black Canvas - Summer 19 (NOTE: ONLY THIS COLOURWAY, i.e. "black canvas" ... I'd also be cautious as there might be other "black canvas" versions.)





Lakai Sheffield Leon (Pink Canvas) - Summer 18 (NOTE: ONLY THIS VERSION OF THE "Sheffield", i.e. the "Sheffield Leon", that means the "Leon Karssen" version. Second note: Leon Karssen is a skate artist from Holland and is rumoured to be a vegan himself. That's why his two Lakai collab shoes are vegan.)





Lakai Owen Leon Sky Blue (Synthetic Suede) - Summer 18 (NOTE: ONLY THIS VERSION OF THE "Owen", i.e. the "Owen Leon", that means the "Leon Karssen" version. Second note: The Lakai website states that this shoes has an "all suede upper" but it's synthetic suede! Thank you, Lakai!)





Lakai Newport Charcoal (NOTE: ONLY THIS COLOURWAY, i.e. "charcoal")






Lakai Flaco 2 Red (NOTE: ONLY THIS COLOURWAY, i.e. "red")






Lakai Daly - the colourways that have an all textile upper (NOTE: Some of the Dalys have a suede upper, and the textile and suede versions might have the same name, such as "Lakai Daly burgundy" - there is a textile upper and a suede upper version)




Final note for the uninitiated: You might think ... WHAT is Lakai? Lakai is a skate shoe company and Tony Hawk rides for them.
Or in their own words: "Lakai is a Los Angeles, California based footwear manufacturer that enjoys a rich history in the skateboarding lifestyle. Founded by professional skateboarders Mike Carroll and Rick Howard in 1999, Lakai is built on the dedication and pride they have always invested into their skateboarding and the Girl and Chocolate brands."

The very last note: With all due reverence (seriously) to Messrs. "baby blue" Carroll and "Mouse" Howard ... if their pride in Girl and Chocolate persists I implore them to consider raising the quality of the current Girl and Chocolate decks from completely crap to something a little better,