Chris “Spanto” Printup, co-founder of Born x Raised – a men’s label that has often served as a love letter to Los Angeles and, in particular, Venice – has reportedly died.
The designer and entrepreneur is credited with building a brand and business that managed to transcend the label of Los Angeles streetwear and on into a fashion label. High-profile collaborations over the years have included Barney’s, Reebok, Converse, Babylon and earlier this month Levi’s.
“I’ve never used the word streetwear, but if you think about it, we are the true essence of streetwear,” Printup said in a late 2018 interview with WWD. “Do I consider ourselves a fashion label? No. Would I like to be respected in that venue? Yes. I think that we’re good enough – not to run with the big fashion houses – but I think that our message is strong enough. I think we’re refined enough. I think we’re talented enough to be perceived as that.”
A Venice Story
Printup, with no prior apparel experience, started Born x Raised in 2013 with Alex Erdmann, who goes by 2Tone.
They started with three dozen shirts printed with the now famous phrase associated with Born x Raised, “Gentrification is Genocide.”
Printup sold the shirts out of the back of his car for $30 before landing the brand in famed men’s boutique Union L.A. Born x Raised’s wholesale business would later go on to pick up Colette, Kith, Bodega, Selfridges and other directional retailers.
About a month into starting the label Printup was diagnosed with terminal cancer and underwent chemotherapy for the next four years, all the while continuing to furiously build Born x Raised.
“I guess Born x Raised is me trying to explain it, but it never comes out right,” Printup told WWD in reflecting on the core ideas behind the label. “It’s like me trying to explain what we had here [in Venice] growing up. This sort of story, energy and stronghold.”
That energy Printup sought to infuse in the label encompassed an Abbot Kinney Boulevard before corporate brands leased space on the retail thoroughfare and tech companies, such as Snap Inc., took up office space in the area.
“Everybody uses the world culture. Culture, culture, culture. Born x Raised is just a cultural movement,” Printup told WWD. “I felt like our culture got swept under the rug for so many years and ignored or got the finger pointed at it like ‘This is wrong. You shouldn’t be here.’ And I just saw so many other clothing lines that were emulating our lifestyle and selling it back and becoming really successful at it.”
Reflecting on the Momentum
The designer went on to say his hope for the brand was for it to live well beyond the streetwear bubble at the time of that feature and build a “real line” with sticking power.
The collaborations and momentum for Born x Raised continued well into this year. It was growth acknowledged by Printup in a December Instagram post after co-hosting a dinner with Nike at Soho House.
“I just want to take a moment to take a long, hard look back [at] what has happened over the last 10 years. I think if you would take a peek at my Instagram and see the highlight reel and think it might’ve been easy – but… from where I’ve started (like in the early years of my life)… growing up my dad was homeless and my mom was mentally ill – I spent a lot of time in and out of the system from an early age, from central juvenile hall to many years spent in the county. I decided to create a clothing brand … the last time I was incarcerated,” Printup wrote in his post.
He went on to say he was cancer free at the time after battling with the illness from 2013 up until December.
“What I’m getting at is life is hard for everyone and I want anyone to know, that if you’re feeling discouraged or like life has given you too many handicaps, it’s OK,” he wrote. “You’re going to be fine. Things will get better.”
This story will be updated as more information comes in.
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