Satyan Gohil was one of those children who, if he liked a toy, was curious about how it was made and would take it apart then put it back together again. “I’ve always been a maker and a breaker of things to understand how they work.”
He’s well known in Topanga as a DJ, but Satyan has had incredible success as a designer. While working in Canada, Satyan was sponsored by Adidas to come to the United States and collaborate with Kanye West on his phenomenally successful shoe line.
Phenomenally successful, that is, until it wasn’t. “After four years, I could see the partnership between Kanye and Adidas was going to fizzle out,” Satyan said. “So I left and took a design job in Portland.”
Making and understanding how things fit together has been the through line of Satyan’s career. “There’s also the design aspect. You’ve got to have an eye. You’ve got to have vision. But I think my superpower as a designer is knowing how things are made.”
Satyan gives an example from when he was a designer at Lululemon. “I designed a beanie and the company would send the drawing to China to be made. They made the beanie, the exact material I wanted, but they tweaked the fit. So they didn’t give us exactly what we wanted.
“Imagine a beanie traveling from here to China four times before they got it right. So I would sit in fit sessions and I’d make a prototype exactly how I wanted with a sewing machine. With a prototype to copy, manufacturers got it right the first time. They didn’t even have sewing machines when I started at Lululemon.”
Satyan began giving workshops with designers and developers to show them how items come together. This saves a company time and money.
“I remember showing designers how to make a T-shirt. They could draw a T-shirt until the cows came home, but they didn’t know what stitches went where or how to pattern it.”
Satyan learned how to make things at his father’s small goods factory in Kenya. Both Satyan’s parents are Kenyan. Indian heritage on his dad’s side and Swahili on his mother’s. Satyan was born in Shrewsbury, England. Then he moved to Canada with his family before moving back to Kenya when he was eight until he was 18.
“My dad came from a long line of tailors, but he decided he wanted to do something different and started making mattresses, then progressed to upholstery, making chairs and sofas,” said Satyan, who has two brothers — a nurse practitioner and an engineer.
Mr and Mrs Gohil divorced and Satyan, aged 18, joined his mother in Canada where he lived and worked as a designer for 18 years. After studying industrial design, Satyan created wood products, then furniture upholstery, followed by clothes and shoes. His favorite material to work with is leather.
After leaving Adidas, Satyan stayed in shoe design for a few years. He’s just started a new gig as a product development manager at Guitar Center, designing various instrument-related things.
“We have a new directive where we’re putting the musician’s needs first,” he said. “What does a professional musician need to make them perform better? For example, we’ve learned from musicians that they want a mic stand that’s not flashy. One that sets up and tears down quickly without having to fiddle with it. Function has to come first.
“When it comes to guitar straps, the aesthetic plays a part. But it still has to work, have adjustability and comfort. Then you can have the surface flash on top.”
Just as importantly, Satyan’s role at Guitar Center is to simplify the manufacturing process. Satyan also loves repairing things. “As a society, we should start thinking more about reusing and repurposing,” he said, having just finished fixing a stroller.
You’ve probably seen and heard Satyan DJ ing at Topanga’s Endless Color, the Townhouse in Venice, and now Saturday nights at RVR restaurant on Abbot Kinney. Satyan has around 5,000 records in his collection, but doesn’t need them for the RVR gig.
“They have an incredible record selection at RVR, so I just show up with my headphones, and everything is there. This is music to eat by, not dance to. DJ-ing at RVR is about creating the right atmosphere.”
For some dance music, on the other hand, Satyan likes Colonel Abrams, and Earth, Wind & Fire. He also finds that “You Can Ring My Bell” by Anita Ward will get a shy audience up and moving. Even in this respect, Satyan is thinking of how each track follows on from the previous one, putting things together.
In his spare time, he crafts handbags and tote bags. No more shoes. “They’re so hard to make,” said Satyan.
He did create a pair of leather slippers recently for his partner, Cindy Shortt, an artist and therapist. Satyan lived in Topanga as a renter for six years before he met Cindy, and they decided to buy a home together in Topanga. They both love the place.
The couple found their dream home on Old Topanga Canyon and took ownership on January 3, 2025 with a view to moving in on January 10. Along with many of us, Satyan and Cindy were evacuated from the Palisades Fire on January 7. All their possessions in both their rental and their new house were threatened. Happily, everything they owned survived, and they moved in on February 11.
Has their new home lost value since the fire? “We weren’t buying the house as an investment, we were buying the house to create a home. We’re not going anywhere.”
@just_satyan | 747 267 8815
Great article. I know Satyan and your description of him is spot on and filled with sensitivity and feeling.