2011 - Downtown Reading, PA

2011 - Downtown Reading, PA

2011 started with us in the abandoned warehouse — the 3600 square foot, dirt floor, no heat and no AC warehouse. At this point, I was staying there. But, I was able to hire another employee: my brother. At this point, I was so surprised at how well the brand was doing. So, as soon as there was enough money in the account, I bought a Toyota Tundra, and I got all my friends, and we decided to go on tour. 

Growing up, I watched alot of BMX and skate videos where the team would go on tour, and it was something I always wanted to do. So the second I had enough money even remotely to make something like that happen, I pulled the trigger. Fast forward to our first-ever northeast tour — with my friends P. Diesel, Pretty Ron, Dana; we toured six days of gyms in the northeast United States. Going on tour defined the brand. It enabled us to connect with people in an authentic and real way. We could finally hear people's stories, shake hands, take photos and just have fun with everyone. I didn't realize that this tour was going to shape the brand's future, but it did. 

While I was on tour, my brother was back at the warehouse taking care of things. His hiring gave me the support I needed: the brainpower, the manpower and the execution I needed to continue the visionary work behind Flag Nor Fail.

Towards the end of 2011, we moved into a new warehouse — a bigger and better one. Located in Womelsdorf, Pennsylvania, this 10,000 square foot facility was where things started taking off. Even though I had a house, I still slept here almost every night to keep up with the workload. I was laser-focused — crushing 18 hour days, showering at the local gym and sleeping at the Womelsdorf warehouse almost every night. When we weren't at the warehouse, we were travelling. We started getting international appearances and meetings, and the brand started getting worldwide renown.

 

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