When Dee Murphy and partner Andres Izquieta set out to start up their own clothing line in the Spring of 2002, they didn’t do so with a simple million dollar clothing line in mind. Too be honest, a million dollars doesn’t come close, as the two entrepreneurs instead hatched their beast as a billion dollar idea, nothing short of an entire lifestyle.
When Dee Murphy and partner Andres Izquieta set out to start up their own clothing line in the Spring of 2002, they didn’t do so with a simple million dollar clothing line in mind. Too be perfectly honest, a million dollars doesn’t come close, as the two entrepreneurs instead hatched their beast as a billion dollar idea unable to be defined as anything short of an entire lifestyle. As the past few years and a wave of popularity have shown, Five Four Clothing has grown to have a mind of its own, a mind many have been apt to capture. Perhaps that why the product has been seen on some of the most unlikely names possible, from world-class Olympians to rockers like Papa Roach and Hip hop stars like Lil Wayne. Even Deal or No Deal host Howie Mandel has been spotted recently sporting Five Four on Good Morning America and the Today Show.With an ultra diverse approach, Murphy and Izquieta brought together a product that seemingly appeals to any “every man,” a line that offers a style not encampsulated in and secluded by segregatory marketing techniques or prudish people pandering. Begun with just a few products, Five Four started small, but in a big way.
“When we launched the brand, we’d walk around Vegas and all the shows,” explained Dee. “I’d travel like crazy, door-to-door, New York, Atlanta, Miami, so many cities, thinking we would be the biggest brand in the world, when all I had were four t-shirts, a hoodie and a trucker hat. For some reason, customers just believed in our passion and were willing to give us a shot. To this day, we have all these customers who say ‘we were never buying your stuff in the early days because it looked good, we were buying it because you guys were trying to make it happen and we believed in you guys.’ And now it’s a different picture. The product sells itself.”
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Through hell and high water, hard work and sacrifice, the two minds took a tempting idea and turned it into a full-blown triumph. Now a company selling a multitude of products to millions of people in nearly every location possible, including skate shops, streetwear outlets, hip hop shops and all sorts of high end stores. Whether it be a T-shirt for Howie Mandel or women’s line set to launch in the Spring, Five Four is standing tall, ready to tackle any potential notion that they might conjure. “We pride ourselves for being a true lifestyle brand,” proudly lauded Murphy. “We’re launching accessories next year, from wallets to belts to Blackberry holders and luggage. If you’re going to sell a lifestyle, Five Four encompasses all those things. We used to joke that we wanted it to be such a ubiquitous part of our culture that you could find a Five Four hair salon or a Five Four cereal. When you find out what we’re about, you start to realize that there’s a piece for everybody.”
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