What is up with this brand?



I first saw it pop up on cool young Asian guys at my gym (the Chinatown Y) a couple of years ago.

And then I noticed it just this week while I was at the Whitney for the Andy Warhol show.

Googling the brand gets you a whole HEAP of drama:

People are mad at the founder, Neek Lurk (pic above on left) for multiple reasons e.g. “garbage customer service” and failure to deliver product. Hashtags along the lines of “wheresmyhoodiebro,” reveal non-delivery to be the biggest problem.

(pic above on left) for multiple reasons e.g. “garbage customer service” and failure to deliver product. Hashtags along the lines of “wheresmyhoodiebro,” reveal non-delivery to be the biggest problem. The brand name, created by Neek as a joke refers to the “edgy culture of staying in.”

It made the brand blow up overnight, but without product and no way to make or ship thousands of orders, support quickly turned sour.

ASSC’s website currently shows every single item “SOLD OUT.”

The internet community has been writing the brand’s obit for a while but it refuses to die.

As of this November, hot new capsule collections with Honda (for street racing) and BT21 have launched.

The brand currently has over 2.1MM followers on Instagram.

Posts routinely get over 300K likes

Complaints about missing orders abound ….but fans are equally excited when they hear their orders are close to being shipped

And here’s Neek’s very Trumpian response to all the negative press:

“The internet is negative. If nobody is talking, nobody cares about the product. The more positive the talk is, the less impactful it is.

The more negative hate you get and harsh it is, the more people are looking.

Negative is positive.”

Scroll down for more on the background of the brand plus pics of some of the celebrities that helped create the hype.

Anti Social Social Club (or ASSC)

The streetwear brand was founded in 2015 by Neek Lurk (real name?).

(real name?). He was previously Stussy’s Social Marketing Manager and is a bit of an eccentric basing the brand on his melancholia, depression, porn addiction etc. etc.

The brand has collaborated with BAPE, Dover Street Market, Hello Kitty, and BT21.

Kanye West – Jan 2016.

Kanye put the brand on the map and also caused its problems when this photo of him heading to the gym brought 4 million views to the ASSC website in a single week, along with thousands of orders that could not be fulfilled since the brand was more of an insiders’ joke than a business.

Brooklyn Beckham, April 2017

Collaboration with BAPE, April 2018



WEBSITE AS OF 12/28

Bottom Line.

Proof positive that hype and influence can go a long way these days.

Keeping it going, however, requires something more. Not sure if Neek Lurk has it in him (or even the desire) to make this into a genuine business but fun while it lasts.

And, btw, I still LOVE the logo!!