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From: Danny Spyra Jul 08, 2010 |
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Photo: ambsn
Dustin and Dylan Odbert of ambsn"My friend got hit by a train and lost both his arms and his right leg. To help pay for his medical expenses, we started selling t-shirts." If I had a dollar for every clothing company I know which started like this...I'd have a dollar.
The Odbert brothers, Dustin and Dylan, are like Bengal tigers: they're a rare breed. As you'll come to read, they wear their hearts on their sleeves...literally.
Founded in 2005 to help their friend Cameron Clapp by raising $2,000, ambsn (pronounced "ambission") picked up steam and now the boys run a full-fledged clothing brand. When creating each seasonal line of clothes, Dustin and Dylan derive creative vision from previous experiences and eras. The guys recently swung by the BNQT offices, and hearing their ambitious tale was quite inspiring. Enjoy!
- Danny Spyra
Photo: ambsn
The ambsn logo, a mix of a heart and an a, on the
Fired Up tee
BNQT - THE AMBSN LOGO LOOKS LIKE A MIX OF A HEART AND AN "A." CAN YOU EXPLAIN THE LOGO FOR US?
Dylan - The ambsn logo was designed by Aaron Drapplan out of Oregon. When he interviewed us on how we wanted our logo to look we told him our company story, which had to do with helping people. So he started coming up with concepts and it always came back to the heart. When we can help people, we will. We do an art show called Champion Hotdogs, where we donate money to kids in need. The heart really represents who we are as a company and as human beings.
Photo: ambsn
The Popsicle tank, a best seller
BNQT - LOOKING AT YOUR PRODUCTS BRIGHTENS MY DAY. YOU CERTAINLY USE A WIDE SPECTRUM OF COLORS; WHY IS THAT?
Dustin - We don't want to just blend in with everything. It's really good for us to use a wide color palette because it enables us to stay fresh and give a really youth-vibrant look to our line. It seems like some of the trends tend to go towards darker, earth tones, but for us it's just not our story. We like cool, poppy pieces that people are going to be like, "Wow, I know exactly what that is." I think it's one of the things that sets us apart. If you see an ambsn piece, you know exactly what it is. From a mile away whether you see the logo or not because of the bright colors we use and the pop-art my brother uses.
Dylan - Another part is that we never worked at other surf or skate brands so we're not jaded on not using colors that might be a little bit more out-there. Due to our company size, we might not have the set of color rules other brands might use I guess.
Photo: ambsn
The Hypnotic, like all ambsn boardshorts, comes in
18 inch outseams
BNQT - AMBSN'S SUMMER BOARDSHORTS STICK OUT TO ME; THEY'RE ALL A BIT SHORTER AT 18" LENGTH. DID YOU CHANNEL THE 80S WHEN YOU SET OUT TO DESIGN THEM?
Dylan - Haha, ya you know I think so. I always try to look back at things that used to be cool. For example, I might check out old patterns or designs and try to make them relevant today. Definitely looking at 60s, 70s and 80s color palettes and the shorter shorts. When we first offered boardshorts, we offered 21" and 18" length and it seemed the 18" outseams did so much better than the 21" outseam for the customer we bring in. So we just decided to go full 18" and it's worked out great.
Dustin - We like 18" length and realized after doing both cuts you can't be all things to all people. We realized our customer is going to wear 18" or shorter and decided this is what we're going to do.
Photo: ambsn
The Popsicle boardshorts - every pair is different
BNQT - I HEARD EVERY PAIR OF THE POPSICLE BOARDSHORTS IS DIFFERENT. IS IT DUE TO THE DIE? WHAT KIND OF A PRODUCTION PROCESS DO YOU UTILIZE?
Dylan - The first round of Popsicle trunks that we did, we had them sown all together as one solid boardshort. Then, just the way the sublimination paper lays out; some might be higher, some might be lower where the print actually lands and there's folds in the fabric that sublimination will not land on and there might be white streaks. Just kind of a different way of doing things and I think people like one-off items and they work really well for us.
Dustin - For that particular boardshort, it came down to a sourcing thing. We figured, well this would look cool. We had one of the best strike-offs done and it looked insane so we went ahead with it. The Popsicle and Popsicle II both have sold well. We actually sold out of both. 
Photo: ambsn
The Upper II shirt, part of the Summer 2010
collection
BNQT - AMBSN CAN BE FOUND IN CORE SURF SHOPS AS WELL AS MORE CONTEMPORARY STORES LIKE FRED SEGAL. WHO IS YOUR TARGET CONSUMER?
Dustin - I'd say our target consumer is 17-22 year old. The kid that that is not necessarily trying to stand out but doesn't want to look like everyone else and appreciates differentiation in what they wear. Someone that can say, "That's my style, I can throw that in with my jeans." Not the kid that wears a "I'm with stupid t-shirt."
Dylan - Ya probably someone who appreciates a different approach to design. Both skate and surf have worked really well with us, as well as a bit of a higher-end fashion. Trunks kind of span all genres, because a guy shopping at Fred Segal is looking for a rad pair of boardshorts that you're not going to get anywhere else. Same thing with a surfer.
Photo: ambsn
The Haole boardshorts, inspired by the 80s and North
Shore
BNQT - HOW DO YOU COME UP WITH THE NAME FOR SOME OF YOUR PIECES? FOR EXAMPLE, THE HAOLE BOARDSHORT.
Dylan - Haha, it's a Hawaiian short, so I thought it would be funny to name it the Haole. It just works really well with that piece. It's shorter and has a scallop on the side, so it's more of an 80s style short. I didn't want to just do a basic floral print; I wanted to do it different. So I added the half-tone to it and Haole stuck really well. You know, it's like North Shore: "You're so haole you don t even know you're haole."
BNQT - ANY LAST WORDS?
Dustin & Dylan - We have to thank our parents and brother Ricky for all of the support as we have grown ambsn over the years. They have been the biggest and best supporters we could have ever asked for and we wouldn't be anywhere without the fam. Also the late great Dick Baker and his wonderful wife Una and kids Jack and Ryan who have treated us like family; those people have been huge in our lives and the growth of ambsn. There are too many industry people to thank but there is a huge list and we are great full for all the backing. And last but definitely not least are all the retailers who have taken a chance on us and carried ambsn over the years.
Street Beat Archive:
John Harbin with West Wetsuits
Nicole Hanriot with TAVIK Swimwear
Matt Gleason with Liquid Force
Jonathan Paskowitz with Lightning Bolt
Great article AMBSN! Fantastic work! Your gear is looking hot! My heart is big for you homies. Thanks for the shout out too. PEACE! -CAM