Bobby Hundreds: 80′s Icons to the Present | Hypebeast

Judging by the waves caused by many of your releases and sales, The Hundreds customer is among the most loyal in the business. Case in point the recent Black Friday sales including a video of a guy that broke his finger for a free hat (was it legit?!)? Without coming off as a pretentious dick which you’re far from haha, how calculated and foreseeable was the current state of The Hundreds? Was it in the plans anyways to be where you are now? 

Haha, I’m not sure if that was legit, but if it wasn’t, that dude put on a great show.  It was 3:30am and those kids were losing their minds.  As far as the growth, Ben and I have followed the blueprint we envisioned from the start.  Even when it was nothing but a few graphic t-shirts and a website, we were already planning out retail stores, footwear, music publishing, print magazines.  So I could say that this was all foreseeable.  However, it’s not about the destination as it is the journey.  The experiences, knowledge, and relationships we’ve gained on our path were Unforeseeable, incalculable, and much more valuable and important to us than any brick-and-mortar shop.   

The everyday The Hundreds blog has an obvious emphasis on photography from your vantage point. To what degree do you view photography as part of your life… and how do you feel spawning a new generation of kids that are permanently attached to their DSLRs at the hip.

You know what, photography was just always a hobby of mine, and somehow it became another facet of my career. The same can be said for writing.  Most people who know of my work because of what we’ve done with The Hundreds apparel are probably only familiar with my art and design contributions. But we live in an age where I could combine my passions for art, photography, and writing all in a singular project through blogging.  And that is just something serendipitous, at no other place in time could I have found a way to do that.  

I started shooting skate and band photography when I was 14 years old.  My friend Zach Cordner, who is now an established photographer, taught me how to use my dad’s dusty SLR.  The learning curve was so slow back then, because it was all film. Plus, expensive.  But I always liked how I could chronicle the best experiences of my life through photography.  I have photos of my friends and I at 16 snowboarding at 2am in the forest.  Photos of riot cops spraying me (and my camera) with mace after a punk show.  Photos of Brad from Sublime performing to a crowd that barely cared 2 months before he passed.  

I’ve never looked at myself as a serious photographer or thought of the medium as a career base, so that’s why I think I enjoy it so much.  Every night when I’m uploading my day’s work, it’s like opening Christmas presents.  I wouldn’t say I spawned a new generation of kids to get into the DSLR game, but I do think it’s pretty awesome that so many young people have found an active interest in photography.  I always tell people that they should pick up the art because anyone can do it, and it changes how you see the world and the beauty within it.  It certainly makes everyday life just a tad more enjoyable.  

As you put it so nicely, these days most creatives are decidedly much more diverse and multi-platform based. Maybe it’s by virtue of how accessible everything is for better or worse, but I personally seeing the act of creativity unfold for people beyond their primary or most notable skill. Like you mentioned, you’re perhaps better known for your graphic design yet seeing how your creativity manifests itself in other mediums creates this interesting inter-connected web of art and communication. As we round things off, do you have any last things you want to add or say? 

It’s been a while since I’ve granted an online interview and this was one of the most insightful to date, so thanks to Eugene and Hypebeast.  The Hundreds has got some big things planned for the new decade, 2010 is gonna be monumental for us as a brand.  Thanks to all our dedicated clientele who’ve been down since the start, and all the new jacks that have just found out about TH and think it’s only about the bomb.  You’ll learn!  I hope you all enjoy the DeLorean project, and thank you for giving us the opportunity to try new creative things.  The Hundreds is Huge.