🧦 New Year, New Adventures, New Socks
Arvin Goods Take Back, Jason Day x Malbon, Eco Friendly Myths, Normski Photos, Hip Hop Set from DJ Oneloop, Socks and more Socks
'The Clean Up' is a weekly newsletter that mixes in some Arvin Goods news, products, as well as stories we saw during the week that are worth a share. From books to podcasts, sustainability to business news, we try to keep it interesting, and fun. If you are not a subscriber, sign up and join everyone who receives The Clean Up directly in their inbox every Sunday.
Arvin News
Welcome back and happy new year!
This week we were lucky enough to be included in a photoshoot with our friends over at Malbon Golf. Our socks were worn by PGA golfer Jason Day while shooting the new Malbon shoe campaign. This was all part of the company announcing the addition of Jason Day to their roster of ambassadors. On the surface, to the novice golf fan, this may not appear that big of a deal. But dig in, and this is an indicator of a possible sea change in the direction of golf, and golf apparel. Jason Day’s previous sponsor was a little brand called NIKE. Rumors are flying around that NIKE may be shutting down its golf business altogether. Mr. Day was one of many other big-name players tied to Nike, and Malbon just swooped up a very notable partner.
Malbon is not your run-of-the-mill “golf brand” You don’t walk down the street and see many 20 or 30-somethings rocking Titleist or TaylorMade sweaters away from the local course. You can however walk down those streets and catch men and women wearing Malbon clothes, and many of them may not even own any golf clubs. An “outsider” like Malbon grabbing a top athlete in a mainstream sport like this is huge. Change in these old-school brands and brand sponsorship models is a key element to change industry-wide, and brands like Arvin Goods being peripherally involved is exciting. We love to see it, and we are more than flattered to have been asked to provide comfort and cover-up for Jason Day’s feet for the photoshoot.
Hope you enjoy today’s Clean Up. We would love to hear from you. Comment here on substack hit us on social, or email us at info@arvingoods.com. Have a great week. Cheers,
Harry & Dustin (Team AG) ✌️🧦
Stories Of The Week…
Industry
Why Jason Day Switched from Nike to Malbon - HYPEBEAST
On Tuesday morning, former Nike athlete Jason Day announced he was leaving the brand to join Malbon Golf. For followers of Hypegolf, the LA-based Malbon needs no introduction, but there’s a good chance that at least half of Jason Day’s fans were opening Google en masse to learn more. It was a quick turnaround for Day, who’s in Hawaii this week for the PGA Tour’s season opener. Having just won a team tournament last month with Lydia Ko in the Swoosh’s form-fitting Dri-FIT gear, it was as if the Aussie had run to the nearest phone booth à la Superman, emerging with longer sleeves, roomier trousers and kiltie-adorned shoes. People constantly lament the lack of style on tour, but that’s about to change.
Day’s change of wardrobe wasn’t the only source of conversation though, as people began to wonder how an up-and-coming brand managed to poach one of golf’s most recognizable names away from a lucrative contract. Perhaps Malbon’s recent partnerships with Lexus and JBL provide a clue, perhaps Nike’s rumored exit from golf plays a part, but that’s all conjecture. 🧦🏌️
Environment
Your Eco-Friendly Lifestyle Is a Big Lie - Wired
Outside my flat there used to be a path that ran alongside the local reservoir. The narrow footway was a good place to spot herons and it was surrounded with brambles so thick that two people could barely walk side-by-side. After heavy rain the path would fill with mud and I’d have to delicately pick my way between vast puddles on my way to the shops. It was a little slice of nature right in Inner London.
A couple of months ago, workers in high-vis jackets arrived, tore down the brambles, leveled the muddy path, and replaced it with a tarmac dual-use path for pedestrians and cyclists. On my local Facebook group people lamented the loss of another pocket of urban nature. “Let’s pave over the whole entire world then shall we? Where next do you reckon? Mount Fuji?” bewailed one resident. Others pointed out that the new path made the reservoir much more accessible to people on foot or bike—sure the new path might feel less natural, they said, but if it gave people more options for walking and cycling then the whole area would benefit.🌿♼
Design
Memories of documenting the 90s hip-hop scene - i-D Vice
On the evening of 4 April 1988, a then-22-year-old Norman ‘Normski’ Anderson was backstage at London’s Brixton Academy, primed to take pictures with his compact camera. It was one of the biggest, most anticipated nights in the city’s hip-hop calendar, as powerhouse crew Cold Chillin’ – featuring Big Daddy Kane, Biz Markie, Roxanne Shante and MC Shan – had touched down in the UK’s capital. As they emerged from their dressing room, their tour manager saw him, and approached.
“Oh, who are you?” he asked Normski.
“I’m a photographer.”
“Oh yeah? What are you doing tomorrow? We got a gig somewhere else in England, do you want to come and take pictures?”
Without hesitation, he agreed. “He probably looked and thought: ‘There’s a motherfucking Black guy with a camera – you never see that shit,’” Normski says, remembering the moment. “I went home thinking: ‘I’m going on the tour bus, yeah!’ And then when I got on the tour bus, they all fell asleep – they got jet lag. Roxanne Shante is sitting there sucking her thumb, Biz Markie is asleep and I’m sitting opposite Big Daddy Kane, [he’s] fast asleep. I took a couple of snaps anyway.”
Now, over three decades later, those pictures he took – of the iconic rappers peacefully dozing with their heads against the tour bus windows, and Roxanne with her head on the table in front – are published in Normski’s debut monograph The Man with the Golden Shutter. Having first picked up a camera aged 12, immersing himself in London’s underground music scenes soon after and thousands of gigs and parties, the book is a deep dive into the broadcaster, DJ and photographer’s extensive picture archive between the mid-80s and early 90s. In that time, he was front-and-centre documenting with his camera, as hip-hop – then jungle, 2-step, and techno – burst from nascent, fringe music genres into the mainstream consciousness. 📸🔊
Entertainment
FULL VINYL | 90s 00s Hiphop set | DJ ONELOOP - The Moment
Another great set brought to you by The Moment. Start your week off with some head nodding. 🎧✌️