June 20, 2020

Factory Fitted soft launch at Black Label 2019

Ask anyone who knows me, and they'll probably tell you the same thing -

First impressions mean everything.

Factory Fitted was still very much in it's infancy when my longterm brother Ray who you may know from his previous involvements with 100mm, RWB Australia, 3 Spokes or more importantly (at least to me) the legendary Agentz crew - approached me with the idea of participating in Black Label 2019.

Black Label was to be a show with the same core ideologies as 100mm - (which FRUSH and myself won "Best Team" the debut year and got the popular vote the second year but still came second #Nakamagate - I'm kidding Vu and the Nakama boys killed it.) A car show with it's entrants hand picked, designed and carefully curated to bring the very best of Melbourne's finest together with an all inclusive, no bullsh*t, check your ego at the door mentality.

This would be the kind of show where you had RWB Porsches parked directly next to 180sx's, Corollas opposite Alpha Romeos - true enthusiasts from all factions of the automotive culture showing out in unison to bring their A GAME..

This would be the kind of show you don't miss.

We were nowhere NEAR ready for launch, let alone a full on activation - but offers like this don't come often and my late father used to always say, "never look a gift horse in the mouth." I still don't really know what that actually means, but there was no way I was going to pass up this opportunity - despite how "ready" I thought the brand was.

This was a big f*cking deal.

The ultimate goal was - 'If we're going to show this brand to the world for the first time, on a stage like this, we need to truly own every inch of space we were allocated.'

You needed you to see a level of authenticity that you've never seen before.

We wanted to transport you from a normal car show merchant stand with the typical branded marquee and the trestle table, into OUR world. From the industrial fences, to the vintage memorabilia, to your grandma's CRT rotary TV playing Option DVD's in black and white, to the vintage SPC cans and toolbox in the workshop locker.

We wanted you to feel like nothing outside those walls existed.

It was a big task - and I will be forever thankful for my team for sticking by me and pulling this off. This was more than just a "pop up" - this was a statement.

Admittedly, we may have accidentally set the bar super high from the jump - but that only means we get to have even more fun coming up with something better for the next one.

Huge thank you to everyone who came through, bought something, or just wanted to chop it up - you know I love that. And special thanks to the all-mighty Speedhunters crew for awarding my wagon with "Best Wheels" and of course, Ray for giving me the shove that I desperately needed.

I can't wait to blow your minds again with whatever we do next.

Changing the retail experience in this culture is what we strive to excel in, and I think with time - our activations will be just as popular as the stock we painstakingly curate.

S/O to the homies Matty, Aleks, Gwyn, Jimmy and Aaron for these killer flicks for your headtop.

I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.