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How I dropped out of uni and started BY SUNMONU
Let’s throw it back to between ’06-’08. This is when I started doing graphic design and obv at the tender age of 11-13 or so, it was pure vibes. I just did it for fun and nothing more. And it all started with my older cousin designing mixtape covers, Bebo skins etc. So basically, when I used to sleepover at her house she’d be designing away then right before she’d go to bed I’ll ask if I could do my ting on it. From there, I’d go home download GIMP later using Photoshop and just vibe out.
I started to design “productionz” as we used to call it back then, for context, imagine them old school mixtape covers but for year 8 kids. I just used to put them on Facebook or Pikzo or whatever we were using at that time and was casually starting and stopping with no aspirations.
Fast forward to like 2011-2012 kinda times. Another one of my cousins from America started a fashion brand (check him on socials @spxrk @spxrkstudios) and I was damn near mesmerised. He inspired me so much that I wanted to start my own ting. I worked on it for a while but never really showed anyone and tried to contact a few manufacturers but the prices I was hearing were brazyyyy. So I just left it but I started to customise bomber jackets. I had to work with the little coins I had so I went on eBay grabbed plain jackets and various patches that I was feeling and took it to my local tailor to stitch on for me.
I never sold any jackets cuz that wasn’t even the aim, I just wanted them for myself. And I remember at the time, a couple close friends were inspired by what I did so they did the same thing, making their own jackets. I never really deeped the influence but we move.
Fast forward again to 2015. I’m into trainers heavy! Slowly getting into fashion too and this was the early earth tone Yeezy Season 2 time. I started uni in September and it was all vibes, no university. A couple friends in my accom were DJing before we went out and I was inspired, I wanted to do just that. I didn’t really do anything about it until we fast forward to December 2016. At this point I’m in 2nd year and fresh out of a breakup, I needed to keep myself busy. I remember being on a break during my Christmas temp job at Harrods and I called one of my boys and told him as soon as I get back to uni in January, I’m gonna start DJing. Come January, I’m scraping by in uni, barely passing exams but I started DJing. As we approach summer I’m practising, vibing, putting out mixes, enjoying life. And at the same time, I was applying for internships.
Come summertime 2017, I was still DJing but my exam results were in the MUD! I was failing badddd. I had to do retakes in the summer and I just knew I flopped and remember walking thru the campus, looking up and saying I’m never coming back here again…and let’s just say I’m a man of my word.
I continued DJing and got a few gigs in the summer and I was enjoying it. Then all of a sudden, to both my and your surprise I secured an internship with Adidas in their Germany HQ. So I decided to take my talents out of uni and straight to Nuremberg. When I arrived I hit the ground running, shouting clubs, telling them about my experience DJing in London, doing guest mixes for radio stations and my own guest mixes, and the first club I emailed told me to pull up and I secured reoccurring gigs and your boy was shelling down the placeeeeee!
After about 2 months or so to Oct/Nov 2017, the novelty wore off with Adidas and the Law based internship just wasn’t for me. I knew the creative route was my vibe so that’s what I chased. I remember I left Germany on the Wed 1st of November, landed at Stansted and while waiting for coach I emailed bare radio show presenters for a guest mix slot and by the next morning I had a live guest mix on Amika Ezer's Reprezent Radio show on Monday 6th November.
From there, I hit the ground running and just kept DJing and working here and there. Let's fast forward to Jan 2019. This is when I made the Jeans that got everything started.
You can read how that all went down here, come back when you’re done, it gets juicy.
Fast forward to Jan 2020, I believe God was telling me to leave my job and I was baffed. I had only been there for like 4-5 months and it wasn’t too bad. Obviously, coro came by March and I remember around this time my dad and I got into a heated argument about working and I told him with CHEST that something amazing would come out of my bedroom that year. My people, I had no plans loooooooool. I was just steadily painting jeans. Fast forward to May, I design the Jesus Christ Saves Lives t-shirt and the rest is history.
Read about the whole 2020 process here!