#RECKLESS RACING APPAREL TV#

We partnered 50/50.Īdams: How much start-up capital did you need and how did you raise it? They said, we’ll help you manufacture and distribute your line.

#RECKLESS RACING APPAREL TV#

I said, here’s my plan, I want to start a line of streetwear for the mainstream audience, I’m going to be on this TV show and it’s going to be huge. Pfaff: A friend of a friend had a contemporary men’s line called Five Four Clothing, which is now a subscription service. Pfaff: I had a buddy who knew graphic design and I had him sketch up the original logo.Īdams: How did you get the company off the ground? I knew I could take Y&R and make a logo out of it.

I wrote down names and somehow Young & Reckless stuck. Pfaff: I just wanted so badly to connect with the customer and I wanted the brand to mean something and I wanted it not to be pigeonholed into surfing or skateboarding. They all sold very similar stuff and you could probably get into one of them and start a business.Īdams: How did you come up with the concept for Young & Reckless? I just knew there were three big retailers, PacSun, Zumiez and Tillys. At the time there was just Billabong and Hurley and watered-down sports action brands.Īdams: What sort of market research did you do? I wanted to create that feeling for a kid who walked into a mall in Ohio. Those brands prided themselves on having one or two brick and mortar stores where they were really rude to you but when you got in you felt like you were part of the brand. But they only really existed in LA and New York and a little bit in Miami, but not in Akron, OH, where I’m from. Pfaff: When I moved to LA from Ohio I started getting into streetwear brands like Supreme. Also MTV was starting a second reality show with my cousin, “Rob Dyrdek’s Fantasy Factory,” and MTV was asking, what’s Drama’s thing? What’s he working on? I realized the reality show was a good place to launch my company.Īdams: Isn’t the market flooded with t-shirt brands? I realized I could take that old love and my newfound passion for building a brand and put them together. I would wear them inside out and cut holes in them. But because I was a dirty skateboarder kid, my clothes were t-shirts, jeans and hoodies. Pfaff: Growing up I was always really particular about my clothes.

I realized I liked the idea of putting together a business and a brand and a plan and executing it.Īdams: What made you think you could start a successful t-shirt company? Pfaff: Rob had all these sponsors and I would go with him when he was negotiating deals with DC Shoes or Monster energy drinks. Adams: What did the reality show teach you?

Reckless racing apparel