Hello. Please introduce yourself.

Hi. My name is Travis Ockenden. Born and raised in a small city in Canada called Lloydminster bordering Alberta/Saskatchewan. I just turned 32 and I run a smaller clothing company called Vandal X Klothing or VxK for short. In the past 5 years of running VxK I have had the pleasure of working with 100 plus female models and many different musicians from all over the world.

How are you doing today?

Today I am great. Life is good I have some new shirts coming out very soon with a brand new look for VxK.

Your clothing has what some consider a dark theme, but how would you classify your clothing?

My clothing is a lot like me kind of skitzo :). What I really mean is if I had to compare it to anything it would be music. I listen to a lot of different styles for music…music such as Black Metal, Dark Metal, Punk, Industrial, Hardcore and Rap. I have no real art skills my self as far as designs go so I started with slogans but lately I have found some amazing artists who I decided to go with some of their work.

What was your inspiration when starting Vandal X Klothing?

My inspiration first came way back when I used to do all age music shows. I've always been into art in some form or another. I tried to run a record label and the first run of shirts had Vandal X Records. But I realized it was too hard to run a label at the time and I didn't know much about it. Also I wasn't sure how many musicians or bands I could sponsor having Vandal X Records on the shirts, would it be some kind of conflict with the label they were signed to? After the music shows died I just hit the clothing hard. It all started with one white t shirt with black fabric paint.

Where do you continue to get inspiration from?

Inspiration comes from all over. My mind is a deep place and there are no real boundaries. I'm always inspired by other people who take nothing and make something of it, being the richest person in the world to the smallest company. I came from nothing and now I'm something. What inspires me is when I walk down the street I see someone wearing one of my shirts, getting a email with new photos, or a store showing interest in carrying my product.

What was the toughest part about starting VxK?

Starting VxK was easy, the easiest thing I have ever done. Making it into a real company is the hard part. If you truly have no real idea on how to get started and YOU want to make an honest shot at it, that's the hard part. For example, I had these shirt ideas, but when I wanted to get them professionally printed I had no idea how to do that. I had to ask around, a band that played for me they directed me to the silk screener. You don't just tell them print my idea they need the proper file formats, they also have a minimum of shirts they print example 12, and the logo/slogan size have to stay the same size but you can get it done on hoodies and t shirts. What looks good on a guy’s shirt won't look good on a girls shirt images or slogans have to be re sized to fit the shirt properly.

Another hard part is the fashion aspect. Most people think when you run a clothing company you put out a few shirts and your good to go. I don't work with one style of shirt. I have short sleeve shirts, long sleeve, baseball, tank tops, hoodies, shorts, sweat pants, and underwear. Another hard part is proper promotion, non flakey models, good photographers, proper bands/ musicians to work with....

Where do you see VxK in 5 years?

The past 5 years were a big learning experience. The next 5 years will be spent properly working out sponsorships with bands, professional photo shoots with female and male models, and whole new range of clothing.

Favorite super power?

M ind control. I have all the ideas I just need other people to put them into effect.

You have the opportunity to write a headline on a newspaper that will be seen across the world…what do you say?

People fear what they don't know, and they hate what they fear.

Chuck Norris or Bruce Lee?

Jackie Chan

You’re doing what you love, but what is the most taxing thing about your day?

The most taxing thing about my day is trying to balance my family life, work, and VxK.

What is your most favorite thing about your day?

Coming home to my family and seeing my daughter smile when I walk through the door.

You have an open forum to give advice to anyone starting their own business… what’s your advice/pointers/tips/insider secrets?

First off it all starts with one idea. Find a good graphic designer, a good web designer, a proper place to print t shirts. Be prepared to invest a lot of time and a good amount of money. A run of shirts can cost close to $1,000. That should be enough to get started. If you aren’t willing to put a lot of time into it, it’s not worth trying to make something of it. No matter how original you think you are, subconsciously we borrow from others. Never directly rip another person off or karma will kick your ass. Don’t put down others there is someone out there who is better than you, you just haven’t met them yet. Have a good sense of humor about things. Be prepared to be ripped off by people who call you a friend. In 5 years I have just begun to make it so give it some time. A very important thing to remember is give credit where credit is due. No one likes to be left out or forgotten.

I would like to say thank you for this opportunity.

Thank you Travis.

You can check out the Vandal X Klothing website at Vandal X Klothing.

And their Myspace at www.myspace.com/vxk.

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