Minus-8Ten Questions with Mike Airaudi

Minus-8 sponsored our second anniversary, and their watches have been in the shop ever since. We sent co-founder and CEO Mike Airaudi ten questions and a couple of bonus ones. Here are his answers, in his own words.

From concept to company

Minus-8 started inside Astro Studios. How did a design studio end up making watches, and who's behind the brand today?

The MINUS-8 brand started out as a concept project that was not originally intended to become an actual business. However, after sharing some of the brand and design work with partners and other clients, it became clear that the distinct approach to the watch space was an opportunity area.

The brand had quite an interesting journey between 2013 and 2020, but the short version is that in 2020 I thought it was time to push the brand into new areas, so I bought out the original partners (including Astro Studios) with a goal of building it into something a little more forward thinking and the result is the brand you see today.

Right now I run the brand myself, with the help of Dana Krieger, who is the designer that created the original MINUS-8 concept 13 years ago.

Sketches by Dana Krieger, who designed the original Minus-8 concept.

Why the West Coast

The name comes from GMT-8. What does being a West Coast brand mean to you, beyond the time zone?

I've lived on the West Coast my whole life (San Diego, Seattle and the Bay Area) and the art, culture and lifestyle here inspires me in new ways every single day. The Bay Area specifically is like nowhere else in the world. The insanely beautiful landscapes combine uniquely with the forward-thinking tech culture in a way that is tough to describe.

If you are a designer, product person or just someone who appreciates innovation and building for the future, it is impossible to not be inspired living here.

One of the things I say all the time to people when discussing the brand is that we are designing the future of watches and there is no better place to be doing it. What you see come through in the brand and watch designs today is a distinct combination of the unique topography, advanced technology and classic West-Coast lifestyle that surrounds us here.

“We are designing the future of watches and there is no better place to be doing it.”

Mike Airaudi, Minus-8

Designing for the wrist

How is designing something that sits on a wrist for years different from designing other products?

I spent over 15 years building consumer technology products for some of the biggest tech companies in the world and I have to say that designing products for the wrist is so much more fun. At MINUS-8, we are creating something timeless, not something disposable/replaceable, which indeed requires a different approach.

A timepiece is a very personal item to build, so everything starts by creating a product definition with that in mind first. How are we delivering an experience that is optimized for the wearer, and better than anything out there in the category and price point? Once we have a concept, and before designs even hit a sketchbook, we spend time just walking through the consumer experience in regards to forms, materials, finishes, etc. to ensure we can deliver on our mission.

This is different from building many other consumer products, where the process often begins with the latest specs and features and the designs get built around those. From our perspective, that approach has too many constraints.

Diver 1T sketches.

Why a watch takes years

Walk us through how a Minus-8 watch goes from sketch to finished piece. What takes the longest?

I think there is a common misconception out there that you can just spin up a new watch in 6 months. You certainly can do this, if you use off-the-shelf parts and source from Alibaba, as many new “brands” do, but we design and build everything from scratch (outside of the movements, of course) and that just takes time.

Building a new watch is certainly not a straight line, and it almost always takes longer than we plan. The beginning of the process is the longest, and it starts with us staring at a loosely defined product roadmap and determining where we take the brand next. Once the category focus and strategy is agreed to and set, the concept/design begins and is very fluid. We like to go back and forth on designs and specs with enough time in between each review to allow different perspectives, concerns and approaches to marinate. That’s where we can bring clarity to each product design and strategy review.

It might sound crazy to some, but it typically takes us over a year to get to a point where we have a fully defined product that we are ready to sample. Sampling parts, materials, shapes, etc. typically takes another 6-10 months, depending on the complexity of the program. If we're happy, we go forward and in another 6-8 months we'll launch the watch.

If we're not happy, we reevaluate, which can mean pivoting or even starting over (we just spent almost 1.5 years designing a new field watch and I decided to shut the project down since we were just not 100% confident in where we landed).

In CAD, and fresh off the 3D printer.

Obsessing over everything

Is there one detail you obsess over more than the rest?

As a design-driven business, we pretty much obsess over everything and almost all of that happens in the exploration/concept/design phase. Over the years we've learned not to focus on one specific detail more than any other. I actually think we've found a nice balance here and once we lock in on a design, we spend fairly equal time reviewing each specific element. We won't bring anything to market that we are not 100% confident with, so I think obsession has just become an inherent part of the overall process.

Titanium and tool watches

Why the move toward titanium and tool watches like the Diver line?

The simple answer here is that once we built (and started wearing) the original titanium Diver in 2015, we found it very difficult to go back to designing anything else. As we've grown the brand over the years, we've discovered that tool watches really fit with our design and business philosophies.

As consumers, we've become more and more passionate about the tool watch space and it brings us a ton of enjoyment to design in this world. We love the concept of owning all-day, everyday watches that seamlessly transition in any environment, but that also serve a purpose when needed.

When it comes to designing fashion watches, we find it limiting and while we love the previous ones we built (original Layers, Zone 2, Layer 2.0), we just don't have the same drive to focus on this space anymore. I do think that we'll come back to it at some point, but maybe not for a while.

Similarly, the original Diver taught us to love building with titanium. It meets all of our requirements for creating the optimal tool watch and wrist experience. It's lightweight and comfortable, but can run through a wall with you. And it can go from the beach to the office seamlessly, if you need it to. Titanium just checks every box in what we want a MINUS-8 watch experience to feel like.

“It’s lightweight and comfortable, but can run through a wall with you.”

Mike on titanium

Early Diver drawings.

Going solar

The Diver 1T runs on solar. What made you go solar over automatic for that one?

I can't lie, my original intention for the brand when I took it over was to only make automatics, since I think autos deliver the best experience. However, I am constantly listening to our audience (I personally handle all of the customer service) and many in the EDC community that follow MINUS-8 were requesting a solar piece from us. I was also quite curious about the space, so we decided to do some research and give it a try.

As it turns out, the solar movement experience is pretty killer. And, when you combine it with a super durable, corrosion-resistant material like titanium and wrap it in our modern design approach, it fills a clear gap in the market. This is why we are always open to trying new stuff here at MINUS-8. I was skeptical in the beginning, but I think the design turned out amazing for this watch and it has likely found a permanent home in the lineup.

The one to own

If someone could only own one Minus-8, which would you hand them, and why?

I go back and forth on this all the time, but right now, it is the Diver GMT. The weight, versatility and size allow it to fit in anywhere. It's the perfect watch when you are just not sure what to wear that day or where the day will take you. I wear mine every single day and it's never felt out of place on my wrist. I have not taken it off since we launched it a year ago. Even before that, I wore one of the prototypes for months.

That said, I do wear it with a 20mm rubber strap, as I prefer the feel.

[Side note, I am hoping to make the 20mm rubber strap available on the site next year. The development is complete, but we have yet to hit production.]

Why the carry community

What made you want to get involved with a carry community like ours for the anniversary?

Ever since my days building products for Incase Designs in San Francisco, I've been involved in the carry community. My time there really influenced how I am building this business, in terms of both design and community.

I don't look at MINUS-8 as a classic watch company, I think it is more than that. Yes, we build watches, but I don't care about creating a giant watch company. That's not the goal. I care about finding like-minded people who appreciate what we are doing here. I have found over the years that the carry community has a very similar vibe, in that they care more about authenticity and transparency, the people behind the brand, why brands build things the way that they do, the attention to detail that goes into creating great products, the brand purpose, etc.

It is super important to me to create products that people are proud to own, love to share and love to talk about, so the carry community is a natural fit.

What's next

What's next for Minus-8? Anything you can tease?

MINUS-8 is growing, still evolving the brand and becoming even more focused on the dive space. We are really interested in designing a sport watch, with dive roots, so that is a project we have been working on for about the last 8-10 months. It's a longshot, but we're trying to get this to market next fall…

Oh, and if anyone loves carbon fiber, be on the lookout for something next year (potentially)...

Bonus

Mike’s everyday carry

What does the team wear day to day, and what's in your own bags?

Out in the wild

What's the best story you've heard from a Minus-8 owner?

This might not be the best, but I thought it was pretty insane. I just got a photo sent to me a few months back from a customer who traveled to Lake Issyk Kul, Kyrgyzstan, where he was wearing a Diver 2.0 while getting lessons on how to handle Golden Eagles for hunting. Not a water/diver story, but the birds are huge, so I thought it was pretty cool to see the Diver out in the wild like that.

Thanks to Mike for taking the time. The Minus-8 watches are at the shop at 67 West St through November 24, so come by and try one on.

Ed, UrbanCred