Jun-keez.com | Online Fashion Magazine

INTRODUCE YOURSELF AND A LITTLE BIT OF WHAT YOU DO.

Yo, my name’s Gavin and I’m the brains, muscle and personality behind Still Proud Clothing. In other words, SP is a one-man team. I come up the ideas, converse with our fans, package orders, and love every moment of contributing to something that I’ve created, and others enjoy.

WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO CREATE STILL PROUD CLOTHING BRAND?

I started Still Proud after getting laid off in the winter of 08. I always had the idea to start a line and with being unemployed for 9 months, finally had the perfect opportunity so I ran with it. After lots of brainstorming/ research and good coffee, I dropped a nice bit of my savings and officially launched our online store in the summer of 2009. Having been involved in the hardcore and indie music scene for the better part of my life, I set out to create a line that embodied that lifestyle. Still Proud is much more than a name on fabric. At its core, we are all taking a swing at the world as students, entrepreneurs and even outcasts to get what’s rightfully ours. We grow up and in the process often times leave behind our passions in pursuit of societies expectations. With SP, I aim to put out clothing that inspires individuals to live life on their own terms and to never give up in the pursuit of their dreams. It’s this underdog mentality and sense of defiance that defines SP, and our upcoming release will definitely embody that fighting spirit even more.

WHERE DO YOU SEE STILL PROUD CLOTHING IN 5 TO 10 YEARS FROM NOW?

Wow, I’ll speak in a futuristic/ dreamy tone as a lot of businesses (let alone clothing companies) never make it beyond year 2, if that. In 5 to 10 years, SP will have built a name for itself in the 4 corners of the world. Much like Johnny Cupcakes has successfully done with his brand, our primary sales would be through our online store and perhaps a flagship shop. This growth would be the result of our growing sponsorship list, touring with our bands, and a nice retail presence. Since our foundation stems from independent music it wouldn’t be out of the ordinary for us to also have a small record label. As for me, I’d be traveling the world spreading the word, surfing quite a bit, hanging out with our fans and sampling good coffee and beer in every country I stop.

All big baller dreams aside, I just see us further carving out our niche and representing our lifestyle to the world with the best quality gear possible. Where that takes us, is up to our fans. Even though we’re not moving truckloads of goods yet, we are seeing a lot of support come from across seas (Europe, Australia), which is very exciting. If the response from our last drop has been any forecast of where we are headed, I think good things are on the horizon. The important thing to me is that if we are afforded the means to grow, that we do it smart with an independent DIY philosophy.

WHAT HAS BEEN THE MOST CHALLENGING PART OF RUNNING YOUR BUSINESS?

At this point, the most challenging part has been maintaining a consistent release schedule. In addition to SP I work a full time job so of course that unfortunately takes up a big part of my working day. The morning and evening hours are my SP time of which a majority goes into promoting the brand and coming up with concepts. Without moving the current line, there won’t be a future, which is why I spend a lot of time on that. Plus, I enjoy the interaction with our fans. Ideally, I’d like to have a 3-season release (Winter, Spring and Summer) with one offs in between and once the sales start picking up more consistently, I can then direct my energies towards adhering to the schedule.

WHAT WORDS OF ADVICE/INSPIRATIONS DO YOU HAVE FOR YOUR FANS?

I have quite a bit actually but for the sake of time I’ll boil it down to what I aim to convey in our releases. It goes a little something like this: We all come from different walks of life but one common thread that we share is the passion for the beliefs and hobbies that shape our lives. As we grow up and take on “responsibility,” we lose this sense of pride and identity as we unwittingly adhere to the status quo. It’s this original sense of self, identity and the passion for it that I encourage all of us to represent. In other words: live your life according to you, know what you’re worth and go out and get it. Head up, goals set, Stay Proud!

ANY LAST WORDS OR SHOUT OUTS?

Thank you folks for the interview and to all my peeps across seas and in the good ole USA, much respect for the opportunity to build this idea! Also, shouts to all the SP sponsored artists in Knock Em Dead, Pay No Respect, Providence, Outerspace, Thick As Blood and the Legacy.

WHERE CAN YOU COP FRESH STILL PROUD CLOTHING?

In the near future I’ll be looking to build a retail presence but as of now the sole location to pick up our gear is through  http://stillproudclothing.bigcartel.com/.

Also, follow us on the below sites:

www.stillproudclothing.com

http://www.facebook.com/stillproudclothing

www.myspace.com/stillproudclothing

www.twitter.com/stillproud

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