On Wednesday night, Ben and I rounded off our O.C. afternoon with Johnny Cupcakes‘ lecture at UC Irvine. Johnny spoke to a packed audience for hours about his story, how his personality roots his company, and what young entrepreneurs need to know to fulfill their dreams.
It may seem odd that Ben and I were there.. I know a few of the kids around us were surprised to see us (including the kid who hit me on Twitter from the seat behind me). Johnny is a peer of ours and although his brand may not fall under the same category as The Hundreds, why would we be at a competitor’s lecture on how to build a brand?
When all is said and done, we are still impassioned enthusiasts of t-shirt culture, of startup brands, and independent creatives like Johnny who are impacting a generation of youth. Even if I didn’t have the career opportunities that The Hundreds has provided, I would still be at the back of this lecture hall, listening, learning, and being inspired by different perspectives on branding, design, and running a clothing company. I think that is one of the secrets of our success.. truly.. that we maintain our bushy-tailed intrigue and obsession with the culture, and after almost 6 years of being actively involved in this industry, we are far from jaded. As always, we are just like every other kid in this room. Fans, foremost.
Johnny ended up coming over this evening to watch the Celtics get stomped out play against the Bulls. The native Bostonian had only Scotty iLL and Morgan to sympathize, as the rest of us rooted for Chicago (yeah we’re Lakers fans, but otherwise, we’re on whoever’s side that’s beating the Boston Celtics.)
3 overtimes later, Celtics fall by a point. This is shaping up to be quite the playoffs, folks. I love this game.
If you click on our ONLINE SHOP above, you’ll see that we’ve updated our STAFF PICKS for the Spring season. It’s a little late in the game considering Summer’s already trickling in, but at least you’ll get to see why Benjie likes wearing pink belts.
*This post had absolutely nothing to do with cops or arresting or police brutality or Rodney King or totalitarianism. Just a cool photo I thought. Sorry.
For some reason, we have meetings lined up in Orange County over the next couple Wednesdays. And it began today with stops at New Era, the Johnny Cupcakes lecture at UC Irvine, and to drop in on our good friend Mike at 686.
Mike’s been running 686 since 1992. I’m sure that’s older than some of you who read this blog. In that time, 686 has become one of the leaders in snowboard technical outerwear, having invented many of the trends that are followed today, as well as injecting a strong L.A. street aesthetic into design and interesting collaborative projects.
I like how the Shepard Fairey artwork locks up with the Bounty rolls on the fridge.
Early artist series with Hersk and others..
Collabo with New Era, where the fitted was built into the collar. And check the hood.. 20 1/8 sticker.. you’ll never see New Era doing something like that anymore.
Mike also gets creative with one-off projects like a jacket constructed entirely of 1 dollar bills. Only afterwards did he realize that this might be illegal.
Dalek’s interpretation.
Legomania.
Speaking of collaborations, here’s a sneak peek at the upcoming 686 x New Balance collection.. spans everything from sneaker-infused boots, outerwear, to even running shoes.
Rounded the corner of the warehouse and spotted Adam on this guy’s desktop wallpaper.
Turns out he goes by “Adam Bomb” as well.
Mike has a cool office. He says he practically lives out of here, and after awhile, I definitely got that vibe. Check out the original Daleks up there.
I’m not sure why, but I’m entirely obsessed with the state of print media, especially when it comes to magazines and newspapers. Nathan Olivarez-Giles asked me about that this afternoon, he’s in the middle of writing a nice article on Ben and I (The Hundreds) for The Los Angeles Times. I explained to Nate that it’s hard for me to fathom a world without print media, considering that much of how I learned about subculture came from magazines. Without the internet or mainstream presence, throughout the ’90s, the only means of experiencing skateboard and street culture outside of my immediate community was through print mags like Big Brother, Transworld, Thrasher, Slap, Strength, Heckler… Mass Appeal, While You Were Sleeping, Giant Robot.. And those books remain with me today, still resonating almost decades after published.
How are newspapers being affected by, and adapting to, web proliferation? How are they responding to popular culture’s obsession with Twitter and other social media? The urgency and immediacy of it all? These were the questions I asked Nate.. After 2 and a half hours of discussion, I realized I was interviewing the journalist more than the other way around.
I will expand on one leg of our conversation. Nate asked whether we were concerned about future trends. Since we had caught onto blogging and social media before most brands, and the world for that matter, were we worried about staying ahead of the curve and figuring out what was next?
Not really. Not at all. Because the blog/website/interactive brand was never a conscious strategic decision, although it just so happened to be where the world eventually headed. It was a natural manifestation of who, and how, we are as people. The internet was just the tool to relay that to our customers… The problem with everyone focusing so much on blogging and social media is that those are just the means.. especially if you’re trying to use it as a brand-builder, it won’t make sense unless the people behind it are naturally apt to engaging their community through those tools. But the tools, themselves, are not the answer.
At the end of the day, the personalities are what drive a brand like ours. I’m not just talking about Ben and I, but everyone who works within The Hundreds, their passion, their brains, and their spirit are ultimately what you as a supporter are tapping into. So as long as we have that, the trends will follow us.
