Dirtbag Clothing is a
San Diego
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...
-based clothing company, founded in 1996. Dirtbag manufactures various styles of clothing including streetwear, rock-n-roll and urban clothing, hoodies, flex-fits, women's tee-shirts/babydolls, and accessories. The company's
business model
A business model describes how an organization creates, delivers, and captures value,''Business Model Generation'', Alexander Osterwalder, Yves Pigneur, Alan Smith, and 470 practitioners from 45 countries, self-published, 2010 in economic, social, ...
relies heavily on internet sales, social media, and marketing. Dirtbag was projected to reach $1.4 million in sales as of 2004.
History
Dirtbag Clothing was founded by partners Douglas Canning and John Alves during their final year as film majors at
San Francisco State University
San Francisco State University (commonly referred to as San Francisco State, SF State and SFSU) is a public research university in San Francisco. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers 118 different b ...
.
Instead of starting with a
catalog
Catalog or catalogue may refer to:
*Cataloging
**'emmy on the 'og
**in science and technology
***Library catalog, a catalog of books and other media
****Union catalog, a combined library catalog describing the collections of a number of libraries ...
like most clothing companies, Canning began with a website.
From there, he went to the websites of
independent record label
An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented ...
s to get email addresses for bands that would fit his demographic and offered a 40% discount on those willing to wear their merchandise.
In October 2008, Dirtbag re-launched its clothing site and added Jim Stroesser as CEO. Stroesser previously held senior executive positions at Nike, Oakley, Quiksilver, Pony and Converse. In November 2008, Dirtbag began offering a wide variety of t-shirts, hoodies, and headwear.
In 2009, the company started Dirtbag Music- a record label led by owner partners Doug Whitsit and Mark Evans. The label became an overnight success when their first act, Seasons After, launched into the top 40 with the hit: "Cry Little Sister". Dirtbag Music then briefly partnered with Warner Independent Label Group as one of their subsidiaries. Dirtbag Music ceases to exist, and Dirtbag Clothing is no longer affiliated with Mark Evans.
Revenues
Dirtbag Clothing had sales of approximately $1 million in 2002, half coming through online purchases.
As of 2004, Dirtbag's revenues were projected at $1.4 million.
Sponsors
Dirtbag Clothing sponsors include performers and
bands in the metal scene, including
Slipknot,
Fear Factory
Fear Factory is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1989. Throughout the band's career, they have released ten full-length albums and have evolved through a succession of sounds, all in their main style of industrial metal. ...
,
Jerry Cantrell
Jerry Fulton Cantrell Jr. (born March 18, 1966) is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. He is best known as the founder, lead guitarist, co-lead vocalist, and main songwriter of the rock band Alice in Chains. The band rose to internation ...
,
Drowning Pool
Drowning Pool is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Dallas, Texas, in 1996. The band was named after the 1975 film ''The Drowning Pool (film), The Drowning Pool''. Since its formation, the band has consisted of guitarist C.J. Pierce, ...
,
Shadows Fall
Shadows Fall is an American metalcore band from Boston, Massachusetts, formed in 1996. Although Shadows Fall has experienced several line-up changes, for most of its recording career, Shadows Fall has been composed of Jon Donais (lead guitar, b ...
,
Black Label Society
Black Label Society is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1998 by guitarist/singer Zakk Wylde. To date, the band has released eleven studio albums, two live albums, two compilation albums, one EP, and three vid ...
,
Brand New Sin,
Machine Head
A machine head (also referred to as a tuning machine, tuner, or gear head) is a geared apparatus for tuning stringed musical instruments by adjusting string tension. Machine heads are used on mandolins, guitars, double basses and others, and ar ...
,
Papa Roach
Papa Roach is an American rock band from Vacaville, California, formed in 1993. The original lineup consisted of lead vocalist Jacoby Shaddix, guitarist Jerry Horton, drummer Dave Buckner, bassist Will James, and trombonist Ben Luther.
After ...
and
Hinder
Hinder is an American rock band from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, formed in 2001 by lead singer Austin John Winkler, guitarist Joe "Blower" Garvey, and drummer Cody Hanson with bassist Mike Roden and guitarist Mark King joining in 2003, solidifying ...
.
References
{{Reflist
Clothing companies established in 1996
Clothing companies of the United States
Companies based in San Francisco