Anthony Smith grew up playing arcade games at corner stores in his childhood neighbourhood. Today he’s turned that nostalgia into a clothing label business with a strong local following and a growing international market.
“2Bop was inspired by my love of the arcade gaming culture and its graphics, styles and attitudes. The name was derived from the slang ‘two bop’ which was the old twenty-cent piece you used to play the games at corner shops,” he explains.
The business started small in 2004 as a side project with Smith making t-shirts and selling them to friends. Since then it’s developed into a range of clothing items and accessories that are sold in local retail outlets, 2Bop’s online store and in Germany and Scandanavia.
Smith brought Bradley Abrahams into the business and together they run a tight ship. “It takes capital to expand and market the range so we each wear a number of different caps,” he explains.
The pair entered and won an enterprise development competition run by advertising agency The Jupiter Drawing Room, and with their R150 000 winnings were able to set up an in-house product-shot studio and attend a trade show in Berlin.
Although the brand is inspired by arcade gaming culture, it has a broad appeal across the skate, hip-hop, street culture and high-end consumer. “I think we’ve hit on an aesthetic that resonates with people,” Smith explains. – Juliet Pitman
Vital stats
Players: Bradley Abrahams and Anthony Smith
Company: 2Bop
Launched: 2004
Contact:+27 (0)72 390 6780