Andrew Reid found that the T-shirts he wore never fit right and wanted a better fitting tee, so he decided to create his own.
Overthrow Clothing is a West Coast lifestyle mobile retail company specializing in skateboarding and snowboarding attire – a business venture inspired by Reid, Overthrow’s creator, having a love of snapback style hats and baseball.
Reid was working as a recording engineer, as well as playing bass for various bands when he launched Overthrow Clothing in fall 2012. Rachel Cary, Overthrow co-owner and Reid’s girlfriend, said Reid was familiar with the T-shirt printing process through having them made for his bands like metal/hardcore act The Rendering. Starting as a simple T-shirt business, Cary and Reid set up shop at local metal shows.
Overthrow now sells its apparel online at overthrowclothing.com and out of its customized RV. The couple is always traveling, and the idea of a mobile retail business appealed more to them than a permanent retail space in Phoenix. So far they have driven through Southern California and Colorado.
Overthrow also sells its line out of Arizona shops such as Bunky Boutique in Phoenix, Freedom Boardshop in Mesa, Oncore and Snowbowl Mountain Shop in Flagstaff, as well as other retailers in California and Colorado.
The company specializes in tees made by either cut and sew, which are fully customized pieces made from raw hand picked fabric, or blank T-shirts from a wholesale distributor that are printed on locally.
“To have a local brand doing cut and sew pieces of the high level quality that they are is something that the fashion culture here in Arizona should be extremely proud of,” Rachel Malloy, owner of Bunky Boutique, said. “I’m honored to carry their line at Bunky.”
In 2015, Overthrow quadrupled its generated sales from 2014. Besides T-shirts, the company offers dress shirts, jackets, hats, wallets, mugs and water bottles.
Although Overthrow gears its line toward extreme sports and an outdoor lifestyle, anyone can rock its apparel. One customer, Alix Adame, said she wears Overthrow as casual attire and always receives compliments on the designs.
“You don’t have to be super sporty,” Adame said. “Overthrow is not like most sports brands; they encompass everything.”
Adame also wears Overthrow when she goes off-roading at the Glamis Dunes in California. She said Overthrow’s jackets protect her from the wind and sand without being too heavy or bulky.
All of Overthrow’s pieces are Southwest inspired. Cary said the company collaborates with friends, freelance designers and a personal tattoo artist for design ideas. Overthrow offers a limited number of its designs and sizes with availability dependent on how fast it sells out.
“Some designs may come back one day, but we don’t have any plans for that right now,” Cary said.
Cary said Overthrow hopes to continue putting out bigger lines each season and keep having fun with the brand.
