Johnny Cupcakes and Bobby Hundreds may have grown up on different Coasts, but they both share a drive and vision that has made their brands (Johnny Cupcakes and The Hundreds respectfully) some of the most recognizable in modern day street fashion.
Though they tend to serve different consumer sets, both young men are clearly peers in many respects.
I recall a conversation a few years ago during the MAGIC tradeshow in Las Vegas where I asked Bobby about Johnny's line only to discover the two men were friends. Where many in the industry saw the "Cupcake Phenomenon" as a passing fad, Bobby clearly knew there was more to the line than what people were giving credit to. In meeting Johnny in Boston, it was clear he felt the same way about The Hundreds.
The similarities in the rise of the The Hundreds and Johnny Cupcakes are very apparent: from their respective ages and to their drive to keep moving forward without concern for public acceptance.
Their brands are becoming more and more encompassing with each passing season, with focus on design, cuts, and packaging. Without any formal training in the industry both men have grown their brands into full fledged working business. Their flagship stores in Los Angeles (TH) and Boston (JC) are heavily trafficked stops for their fans and the curious alike.
I had the opportunity to sit down and talk to them about their relationship.
Jeff: Halloween is around the corner.
Bobby: Johnny you doing anything crazy for that?
Johnny: I have some friend coming down from Chicago and California, but its gonna be my first Halloween at my house so I think I'm gonna try and scare the crap out of kids that come trick or treating.
Bobby: Yeah! You gotta dress up as Vigo and then come out of your painting. You should have another painting made where its like the empty portrait so that when you come out of the painting... and then you come around the corner... that would be really really elaborate.
Johnny: What's the Ghostbusters car made out of?
Bobby: It wasn't an old hearse was it?
Jeff: No it was an old ambulance. I used to be obsessed with Ghostbusters 1 when I was a kid.
Johnny: I think the Ghostbusters car may be the new DeLorean.
Bobby: Wow, I don't know about that.
Johnny: Nobody has been thinking about the Ghostbusters car. I haven't seen any Ghostbusters cars out there. There's Deloreans left and right at least on Ebay.
Jeff: Well the Deloreans are being manufactured again right?
Bobby: Yeah, there is a website where you can buy up parts and remake them.
Jeff: So let me get going with this. When people look at Johnny Cupcakes and The Hundreds, specifically you Bobby, there is a massive list of similarities between the two of you.
Bobby: Cool hair?
Jeff: Huh?
Bobby: Nothing.
Jeff: Let me chop through this list: Both young brands, started right out of school. Both of you live on the far coasts of the US. Both have been empowered by the strength of the youth to allow your brands to grow,
Bobby: Right
Jeff: The strength of the Internet has also helped the lines grow. I think you will both agree with that.
Bobby/Johnny: Yes.
Jeff: You both seem to have a relentless drive to keep moving forward at a young age. You both have flagship stores. What are some of the differences you two brands have?
Bobby: You don't whole sale right Johnny?
Johnny: We keep it to a minimum or no stores at all for a few different reasons. We don't really wholesale.
Bobby; I think one of the biggest differences is that you have really hot chicks at your store. I have ugly guys.
Jeff: That is absolutely true.
Bobby: I'm asian. You're white. We're basically the same exact brand is what you're getting at, Jeff. The same person actually. I don't know. I'm trying to concentrate on our full range. Our cut and sew. That is my next really big emphasis. We're a t-shirt brand at the end of the day. I'm really trying to make us much different.
Jeff: Bobby, when you look at Johnny's brand how do you describe it?
Bobby: I'm thinking limited, exclusive because you have to get it pretty much through Johnny's store or website. I think of keeping a sense of humor about things and levity about products and having a connection with his consumer. He has a very niche audience, and Johnny stays very grounded and direct with them.
We (The Hundreds) talk about them a lot. Just the fact that he can capture such an audience with something as simple as a cupcake. He found something that wasn't there. I think he did something with it that nobody else could have done.
Jeff: What do you mean by that?
Bobby: I was just talking about it the other day with one of my designers. He was like "what's going on with Johnny Cupcakes? What's up with that brand?" He couldn't figure it out. He didn't understand how Johnny did it.
I don't really know to be honest but I also do not think anyone else could have done it.
Johnny Cupcakes is a very personality driven brand. When I think of the brand, I really do think of Johnny and the kids do too. They know who it is behind the brand and that is a big part of why they support the brand.
Jeff: I am sure Johnny could say the same thing about you, Bobby.
Johnny: I would probably say most of the same things. When you think of The Hundreds you think of Bobby. He updates his blog every day and everyone is getting addicted to reading it if they're not already onto it. Its definitely turned into a brand lifestyle and less of a t-shirt company. Its seems with both of our companies every type of person is into it, whether its skater kids, thugs, indie rockers...
Jeff: I think that is a really important point. There is something that is so similar between the brands as far as public acceptance. At the same time there is still a school of people in the industry that may come down on your both for one reason or another. I am not sure I know why. The one thing I hear in regards to Johnny the most is that its a fucking "cupcake" and for the The Hundreds is that its on "the corner of Fairfax."
Bobby: Haha!
Jeff: The one thing I have noticed about both of you guys as individuals as well as the brand is your ability transcend all that bullshit while driving yourselves forward. You guys ever bounce those ideas off one another?
Johnny: We've talked about it a couple of time. I remember when we both started, we used to be in this one message board where kids would make fun of us left and right. Now we're both making livings off what we do for fun and those kids are still on the messages boards.
Bobby: Exactly.
Johnny: It is really important to just have fun. It is just a cupcake and it is almost unbelievable that its turned into a multimillion dollar business without a college education, investors, or crazy loans. We just keep moving forward and try to come up with new crazy ideas and have fun with it.
Jeff: Can either of you talk about how you met each other and how that relationship started?
Bobby: I think it was definitely through the Internet. i don't remember how it started. That was years ago.
Johnny: It was probably four years ago.
Bobby: I remember the first few times we spoke on IM. We both were mutual fans. I remember the first time speaking with Johnny about his brand. I was so impressed. I went to see Ben the next day. when it was just him and I back then. [I said] there is this guy and he's doing his thing. It's a little different from what we're dong but there are a lot of important lessons that we can learn from what he is doing.
We didn't have crazy connections and we have no investors or backers. I think that is a testament to both of our brands. We don't take anything for granted. It shows how passionate we are with our brands. We're very appreciative that we get to do this every day. We just encouraged each other.
Jeff: Were you both excited to discover you had peers in the same field?
Bobby: I know I definitely was. That is how I felt when I first spoke to Johnny. I think his business was even a bit more advanced than ours. It was a bit of a light at the end of the tunnel for me to know someone else was doing it and succeeding.
Johnny; I think of us as being very personal between our blogs, websites, and keeping things exclusive to a point. Being personal with our customers allowed us to have a cult like following of kids that will line up for both our products. We have kids that check our sites daily. I think a many brand thats have loads of money behind them put their stuff everywhere, They don't really have the following that both Bobby and I have developed. I think thats one of the big difference between both of our brands and some of the other bigger companies.
Jeff: When you look at Johnny Cupcakes, his face is what people recognize. When people look at The Hundreds its slightly different. They look at the brand first then the people behind the brand. That an important difference because Johnny is simply better looking than you Bobby and he gets all the girls.
Bobby: I know!
Jeff: And your asian and people hate you.
Bobby: Haha!
Jeff: Who is that target consumer that Johnny Cupcakes has as opposed to the The Hundreds?
Johnny: I never really targeted anybody. I just kind of started making shirts as a joke. Right now my audience is really every type of person. Indie rock kids, to thugs, to college kids, to younger kids, to young adults, the Kid Robot fans. It's a really a mix of everybody and its split half and half: men and women. Pretty much every type of person.
Bobby: For us it is the same. We never targeted anybody. Thats how it works best. I also think that we live in a decade where everyone can dress the same and maybe only have that brand in common. I don't think 10 years ago it would have worked.
Its cool that everyone can share the same music and fashion tastes no matter what walk of life they come from.
Jeff: The universal appeal.
Bobby: I mean its a t-shirt. And with our line you can find one that suits you.
Johnny: I've seen dozens and dozens of people with Johnny Cupcakes tattoos. It's very important to stay connected with your customers. It makes me happy seeing people get excited about my new products, blog posts, ideas, etc.. which also happens with The Hundreds' customers.
Jeff: I think people connect with your products because of the surface emotion that is presented. Something friendly, cheeky, and overall bright.
Johnny: A lot of companies are too busy and narrow minded to put some extra time or thought into staying connected with their customers. They want to cut corners and turn as much profit as possible. But while they're focussing on that aspect, Bobby and I are building a strong foundation of exclusive products and loyal, happy customers.
When I release my annual collectible monster shirts, every October - I go all out. Renting out a make up artist to do all of our faces up, twisting the store hours around so that we open when it's all dark out, giving out Halloween themed cupcakes with gummy worms inside (which also messes with the people who freak out about us not ever having food... they see someone leave my store with a cupcake during one of our releases, and their brain explodes). I've even gone as far as renting out an actual hearse, to be pulled out of when the doors open at my shop that night.
Nobody would ever do this because it's time consuming, costly, and crazy. But nothing makes me more happy than creating an out of the norm experience for my customers.
Jeff: Is there still an good amount of foot traffic coming into the stores who are not familiar with your brands?
Johnny: Oh yeah. Every day we have people coming in looking for food. You cant tell that we don't sell food. It says "Johnny Cupcakes." Its too big a store to sell t-shirts. Its smells like food. Employees wear aprons. People carry food boxes. People stand outside and debate about it up to five minutes. "Lets just wait and see what happens." Some people get really mad. I've had grown ass men with kids who come into my store and say to my face I'd like to see this place last more than a month. "Good luck. You're gonna need it."
They just get really mad that they got tricked walking into my store and there was no food in there.
Everyone loves food in America and its kinda cool that the store is disguised and tricks people. About 80% of the people thinking its food end up leaving with something.
Jeff: There is some intention in that.
Johnny: Yeah. I love playing jokes on people. Ever since I was a kid, I have been the class clown. What better way to display shirts with cupcakes than with ovens and refrigerators?
Bobby: It is is like what we do. The background behind the brands are similar and the stories are similar. I like to think that though we're lumped together we're all different brands.
There is a reason behind having his face a bit more in front of the brand because people connect better with that. Unlike my ugly face which I don't do so much.
Overall, we're both clothing brands and a lot of hype is associated with them but I think we have very different mentalities about how we approach what we do.
Jeff: Both of you guys kind of grew up together and I know you guys talk on the regular to bounce shit off one another. That I find to be the most interesting part of it all.
Johnny: We're both straight edge. I think that plays a huge part in everything we do. We're so focused in what we do. So many people are worried about throwing parities for their brands. We get a few steps ahead of everybody, because while they're partying we're sketching up different ideas and concepts.
Bobby: Because we're straight edge, we both have backgrounds in the punk and hardcore scene. Everyone I know that grew up in that scene and was really heavy into it have the craziest drive to do more. Whether they used it to open a tattoo shop or start a clothing line or be a photographer, people that come out of the hardcore movement are very driven.
Everyone has a motive to do something when they come out of that scene. Being straight edge is not very present in todays culture. That movement alone is so difficult that once you get beyond that you realize you can do so much more. Its starts off with photo copying zines to running your own magazine. Many people that came of out that scene have done awesome things. I know Benny Gold has some background in it, Jason from Flying Coffin ... so many people in the industry that most of the kids may not even be aware.
Jeff: Johnny, I drive through Hull, MA every once a two year. Usually your Christmas party gives me a reason to go out.
Johnny: My town is about one hour outside of Boston. Starting a clothing line in Boston is difficult. There are not many resources. Most of the people I know go out and party.
I grew up with some of the worst people who did awful things. Maybe my parents were very lenient with me and let me do whatever and I really did not want to rebel after seeing these kids doing awful things. It set an example for me.
Jeff: What are the chances of the two lines working together in the future?
Bobby: I think they're pretty high. We've talked about it before.
Jeff: Bobby what is the strangest gift you every got from Johnny?
Bobby: I've gotten strange gifts in terms of his baking mix giftboxes but thats just Johnny.
Johnny: Back to the Future cards.
Bobby: Oh yeah that is true. But is that strange?
Jeff: No thats just JC.
Bobby: A strange thing would be like a box of chocolates.
Jeff: Its funny i had someone going though one of my jackets and the found a random pack of Saved by the Bell cards in it, and they were totally freaked out and concerned.
Johnny: what did you tell them.
Jeff: They wouldn't believe me if I told them. They were like who the fuck gives you those cards?
Bobby: And then you were like, Johnny Cupcakes gave them to me?
Jeff: Well the problem is then you have to explain Johnny Cupcakes to people out of the loop. Its always fun.
END
Ressources:
Words: Jeff Carvalho
