We had a chance to sit down for a conversation with Zach King, the co-founder of premium headwear brand RESID3NCY to talk about the streetwear industry and what it’s like to launch a brand during a pandemic.
Let’s start at the beginning, Zach, when did you first launch RESID3NCY?
We launched in 2019. Talk about timing. We managed to get in one trade show event prior to the pandemic hitting. It’s been a struggle but hopefully it’s all behind us and we can all move forward.
Where is the company based?
I like to say we’re RESID3NCY without a residence, ha ha… but that’s just because we’re exclusively online right now with platforms such as thedrop.com and looking to open a brick and mortar in the near future. I’m from Tampa and went to college in Gainesville. We also have strong ties to Las Vegas and San Diego. All over the map really.
Let’s talk about the name RESID3NCY. What’s the meaning behind it?
When we were trying to come up with a name we knew we didn’t want to be associated with a sports team like other headwear brands. We have strong ties to Vegas and we’re big fans of the song Vegas Residency by Rick Ross so if you’ve heard it, you get the connection. It was a natural fit for us.
Tell me a little about your personal background in streetwear.
Streetwear was just a side hustle for me. My background really is in the restaurant business, then pharmaceutical sales and and other corporate jobs until I got back into the restaurant game with my current location Cubanidad 1885 here in Vegas. I used to own a spot in the Vegas Mall called Chicken Now. That’s where I met my partners Angelo Iseppi and Andrew Rivas. They liked the RESID3NCY concept and we went with it.
Is there anything that differentiates your hats from other brands?
Our signature item is our curved brim cap. It’s unique in the way it fits. It just fits better than other hats. You can dress it up or dress it down. Plus no other hat companies are focusing on cities. Most focus on sports teams. We’re taking a more organic approach and connecting with the communities. Something important to note is we don’t just want to connect with these communities, we want to give back and we’ve already started. In fact, we have connections and current conversations with The Trevor Project among other initiatives.
I see you are representing many of the most prominent cities. What are some others in the works?
Funny story behind that. My Mom actually worked for the Census so we searched for the biggest demographics to give us the best opportunities. At the time there were the big 3 markets, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York. Las Vegas also gave us a unique opportunity with some of the Raiders wearing our stuff.
Speaking of the Raiders, Something to hang your hat on (pun intended) is the growing list of celebrities and athletes that are embracing your brand.
Yes, that’s something special and it’s not really something that can be bought. Erik Harris was the first followed by Darren Waller and Maxx Crosby. Since then the list has grown to include names like George Kittle, Danny Shelton, Trevon Moehrig, Jonathan Abram, Keisean Nixon, Trent Williams, Deebo Samuel, Taylor Barry, Bill Tuiloma, Michael Brockers, Nick Kwiatkoski, Jeff Heath, Davin Leavitt, Cole Martin, Keiwan Ratlif, Jonathon Odom, Gervon Dexter and Derek Carr. I hope I didn’t leave anybody out.
Wow.That’s an impressive name drop! Any brands that inspired you back in the day?
Oh yes. I guess you could call me a self-proclaimed brand whore. First impressions were everything and if you didn’t look fly you weren’t shit. I rocked Karl Kani, Tommy Hilfiger, Polo. I was also a huge Jordan head. As I matured a bit, I got into Armani, Versace..higher end brands. Today I try to just keep it simple with a clean Nike fitted tee and one of our hats of course.
When’s your next release going to drop?
We see a huge opportunity with college cities. We did a Gainesville hat and players past and present are embracing the hat. We’re going to feature other big time schools like Alabama, Kentucky and of course we’ll show some love for UNLV. I also got some connections on the Mavs and the Cowboys so Dallas is on our radar for sure. Oh and keep an eye out for our Pride Hats that we’re creating for the LGBTQ2+ community. Pure equality fire coming soon!
Now that we’ve had a look behind the scenes, let’s check out some of the RESID3NCY collection.
