Today we’d like to introduce you to Bobby Brimmer.
How you started/ How you got to where you are today?
In 2011 I teamed up with a childhood friend to start a t-shirt printing business. The plan was to print t-shirts for local businesses and people looking for t-shirts for special events, but surprisingly, we were connected with someone who worked for the Fabulous Forum in Inglewood. From that connection, we were given the opportunity to print the uniforms for the security and housekeeping staff during Prince’s 21 Nights of performance.
It was a monumental time that Prince was performing in Inglewood and I wanted to represent Inglewood at one of the concerts so I came up with the idea to create a shirt just for me wear. Which happened to be the “ Inglewood Genuine Draft” T-shirt that took off in popularity and sparked the idea to create an exclusive brand dedicated to my love of the city of Inglewood. From 2011 to 2013 the following t-shirts were released “Inglewood By Nature, RUN-ING that featured Michael Jackson & Built Wood Tough. As the t-shirts grew in popularity throughout the city of Inglewood, the business relationship with my childhood friend was not working and we had to dissolve our partnership due to creative differences.
It was never a goal to own my own clothing business however I saw that I was on to something with creating a brand that was dedicated to my love of Inglewood and thus Reck’Creations Clothing Company was.
Has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I was the creative idea man behind the t-shirts, I had no experience with the business of creating a t-shirt brand so being on my own forced me to learn the shirt business from the ground up. That included learning about fabrics, looking for graphic designers, finding printers that could mass-produce my product. I was learning as I was going and trying to keep up with the demand from customers. It was a big challenge juggling all of this alone, but I started from the bottom, set up the business and registered it as an LLC, opened a business bank account and figure out how to ship out orders faster and the demand grew.
People placed orders through text messages and Facebook, they did not pay ahead of time. I would get paid when they came to pick up their orders. I designated two days out of the week to get customers their shirts. After work from 4 pm to 9 pm, I was parked in the parking lot of CVS on Market Street and Regent in Inglewood. I was determined to get the shirts to the people so I would sit for hours with no guarantee that people would come to pick up their shirts.
Please tell us about Reck’Creations Clothing Company.
Reck’Creations is a black-owned business that operates out of the City of Inglewood. We create apparel with a unique play on all things Inglewood. Our mission is to change the narrative that Inglewood is “Always up to know no Good”, because, in all honesty, Inglewood has raised champions who have made an impact in film, television, sports, and politics to name a few.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
A fond memory I have from my childhood is spending time at Rogers Park. It was at Rogers Park where I saw Magic Johnson, Bryon Scott, Michael Cooper playing pick up basketball games or I would see Lou Ski who is an iconic Soul Train dancer playing basketball with New Edition. Seeing all of this going on in Inglewood made me know I could dream beyond the blocks of Inglewood to do great things for the city of Inglewood.
Who else deserves credit – have you had mentors, supporters, cheerleaders, advocates, clients or teammates that have played a big role in your success or the success of the business? If so –who are they and what role did they plan / how did they help.
First of all, I want to give a big shout out to MYSELF for never giving up.
I want to thank my parents Karen and Keno for not qualifying for a loan and being forced to move to Inglewood in 1980.
I want to thank my Inglewood homie Saterah who linked me with Maya (costumer for HBO’s Insecure).
I want to thank Issa Rae for not only rocking my apparel but for repping the brand and the city of Inglewood.
I have to give a huge shout out to the homies Jared and Physent for linking me with Inglewood native Kenya Barris(creator of Black-ish and Grown-ish) who then introduced me to Michele (Costume Designer, Black-ish and Grown-ish) and Ariké (Key Costumer, Black-ish and Grown-ish).
And most importantly the entire city of Inglewood!
Contact Info:
- Website: Reckcreations.com
- Email: reckcreationsccgmail.com
- Instagram: @reckcreations
Image Credit:
@SlauCienega
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