A 19 Year Old entrepreneur and creative mind Phillip T. Annand, Owns and manages his own clothing brand "Award Tour". Other endeavours include running his own personal blog "The Goodtimes Blog" and a small blog on Hypebeast. In addition he goes to school to write, design, and observe all while trying his hardest to stay away from an actual job. Check out the quick Sit-down I had with Phillip.
Introduce yourself for the good people who don't know you?
My name is Phillip Toussaint Annand. I reside in the great cultural experiment known as New Jersey where I attend Rutgers University. On the side I run a little line known as The Award Tour in addition to writing a little blog action here and there for Hypebeast.
How did the "Award Tour" name arise? and how did the brand take off?
Initially the name was inspired directly from the Tribe Called Quest track of share namesake. That song was the first track that I ever heard on a vinyl record and I was pretty much absolutely stunned when I heard it. It was an interested moment, especially today in the age of instant discovery on the Internet. I had never heard of Tribe at the time so to hear those sounds come crackling through a crappy little alarm clock stereo was surely something to remember.
The brand took off after a first run of four shirts. With a little bit hype that had already been built up from participation on the Hypebeast forms and a small but loyal little local following things sort of just grew from there.
How long does design process of creating a product from scratch usually take?
Eh usually a day or two for one specific design. I start with a blank piece of 8.5 x 11 printer paper. Scan in the hand drawn design and do a little color manipulation and it is off to the races.
How would you describe your style?
My personal style? Oh my man, I suppose it ranges all across the spectrum. I guess the vast majority of days I walk around in bright neon floral shorts, a hoody of some sort, long socks and a beat to death pair of Jordan IV's. Beyond that I suppose a lot of inspiration comes from old 80's and 90's era surf style. Lots of Van's Authentics and so fourth. Every once and a while I suppose I get dressed up in a more classic American inspired style coupled with the streetwear influence which is what ends up on the Internet a lot of the time. Not really sure why it is those pictures are the ones that get seen, going to have to change that little phenomenon.
What do you attribute to all the success thus far the brand has had?
People connect with the brand on a personal level. It's easy to relate to all of the antics the Award Tour family gets involved with. That helps to bring the brand past mere t-shirts and onto some other level people can relate to. We just like to have a good time, I feel like it isn't very hard for people to connect with that ideal. That's the essential Award Tour ethos.
Should we be looking out for any future collaborations?
We stay away from collaborations for the most part. They usually come out poorly when they are forced. On that note we may be creating some grand things with the good folks over at Good Wood NYC.
Do you have a motto you go by to keep you focused and motivated?
"Keep It Funky." Pretty simple concept, take the mundane and transform it into the grand. We all only live once.
Taevon's Questions
1. What would you consider your most popular item?
A favorite of mines would have to be your hoodies very clean!
Probably go with the beanies. Some new models are dropping this F/W which will definitely wreck a little havoc.
2. If i'm not mistaken you play basketball from time to time, what would be the score if we played 1 on 1 to 11?
Hah well it depends how I'm feeling. If I'm in a jolly mood that afternoon than I'll let you score 9 before "The Mitten" defense goes into effect and you find yourself unable to take more than three dribbles in any direction. On the other hand if I feel like business needs to be handled than the Kobe pullup may go into full effect and I'd have to drop 11 while you end up somewhere around 4. Sorry sir.
Taevon's Response
(Yeah Right -_-) haha
Thanks man! Take it easy.
Phil
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