Chris Printup, founder of streetwear brand Born X Raised, dies at age 42

mr. Born June 6, 1981, in Venice, Los Angeles, to Butch Mudbone of the Seneca Nation and Cheryl Printup of the White Mountain Apache Tribe, Printup experienced poverty as a child, cycled in and out of juvenile detention and worked as a drug dealer, said him in the documentary. He eventually ended up in a supermax prison, he said, where he decided to start Born X Raised.

The label, Mr Printup said in the documentary – part of which took place on the set of a commercial shoot – was born out of a desire to “shine a light” on the Los Angeles of his childhood, especially Venice before it was refurbished. , which he described as the antithesis of Tinseltown. “I had an idea and a feeling and an emotion and I turned it into this,” he said, adding that he had never studied clothing design, or dreamed of attending fashion events in Europe. “There was no plan, there was no business model.”

In the episode, he described his life starting with the struggle of growing up poor and then watching his hometown change. He worked as a craftsman in the sheet metal workers’ union, Local 33, he said, adding that he started the brand as a “way to channel my frustration and anger.” In 2013, he and his partner began selling the line at Union, a clothing store in Los Angeles.

Shortly after starting the brand, Mr. Printup received a cancer diagnosis. He underwent chemotherapy and lost 100 pounds and his hair, he wrote in a post on the brand’s Instagram in December. He worked through the whole treatment.

“What I mean is that life is hard for everyone and I want everyone to know that if you feel discouraged or feel that life has given you too many disabilities – THAT’S OK. it will be fine, everything will get better,’ said Mr. Printup, adding that he had gone into remission.