Humble beginnings and a self-made track to success, the story of Rebel8 has infiltrated the crooks and corners of the streetwear industry since its birth 12 years ago. With $500 to print all the t-shirts he could afford, founder Joshy D sold the first products out of a messenger bag and that anecdote echoes to this day as the core of Rebel8, certainly no longer the t-shirt seller on the streets. Rebel8, a play on words to mean ‘revelate’ as in revelation was Joshy’s deliberate naming to steer the brand away from any other connotations.
Banking on the forte of his friend and tattoo artist Mike Giant, combined with his own street smarts, Joshy D took tattoo designs on paper and translated them into Rebel8’s apparel. A synergistic relationship between the two breathed life into the brand with their first Rebel8 print and within months of flipping t-shirts, they went on to develop their next design, a skull t-shirt and with that, street history was made.
A name intertwined with skateboard, graffiti and tattoo culture, Rebel8 is the depiction of their distinct lifestyle and the communities they came from. Spring of 2015 had Rebel8 transitioning from San Francisco to Los Angeles and this move was reflected in the collection which portrays LA imageries of musical and cinematic roots, consistent with the Rebel8 proclivity to strong graphics and this time, with bolder colours.
Delivery 1 of Rebel8’s Spring ’15 collection is now on Major Drop.
Banking on the forte of his friend and tattoo artist Mike Giant, combined with his own street smarts, Joshy D took tattoo designs on paper and translated them into Rebel8’s apparel. A synergistic relationship between the two breathed life into the brand with their first Rebel8 print and within months of flipping t-shirts, they went on to develop their next design, a skull t-shirt and with that, street history was made.
A name intertwined with skateboard, graffiti and tattoo culture, Rebel8 is the depiction of their distinct lifestyle and the communities they came from. Spring of 2015 had Rebel8 transitioning from San Francisco to Los Angeles and this move was reflected in the collection which portrays LA imageries of musical and cinematic roots, consistent with the Rebel8 proclivity to strong graphics and this time, with bolder colours.
Delivery 1 of Rebel8’s Spring ’15 collection is now on Major Drop.
Words by Rueann Dass
Photos by Razlan Yusof