Before they became known as the branding geniuses responsible for naming teams like the Hartford Yard Goats and Richmond Flying Squirrels, Jason Klein and Casey White of branding firm Brandiose were two 20-year-olds working out of their college dorm room.
It was 2001 and a new arena football team in Albany, New York, needed a name, so Klein and White were tapped to come up with one. It was only the second assignment they’d ever received.
The team quickly got behind Klein and White’s concept, the Albany WarBirds. They filed for a trademark on Aug. 15 and set Sept. 12 as the day to unveil the name, logo and uniforms. Everything was all ready to go.
When terrorists attacked the World Trade Center and the Pentagon the day before the scheduled announcement, all parties involved agreed that the concept, which Klein described as a “weaponized airplane,” would have to go.
“I got a call the next day that basically said, ‘Hey, we gotta go back to the drawing board,’” Klein told SI.com Monday. “It wasn’t right, especially for a team from New York.”
“Everyone was on board” with the decision to start from scratch, Klein added.
“Empire” was the frontrunner for the new team name but they ran into a trademark issue, so they eventually settled on “Conquest.”
The Conquest played in Albany from 2002 to 2008. They nearly folded after the 2008 season, but were revived under the name Firebirds for one final season before eventually folding.
From Sports Illustrated.
Had to take a quick breather. So much @theclinkroom heat we’ve been posting we had to take a break for a day or two. Anyways, we are back at it with a true Clink 1.0 design, the Slumberjacks.
I really tried to capture the level of embroidery detail and I think it stands out in the swatch. The metallic silver axe head and then alternating stitching for the flannel effect. No back hit, no inner Clink tags. A true IYKYK.
This was purchased IN a Hat Club.
IMO, this one needs a Fresh Colorway. What y’all think?
I released Strike Pack last year. Produced by @thelostperception . I wanted to create a series with some of my favorite producers. Short, specific vibes, just celebrating the music. So the first in the series, i named each song based on snakes that reside in Arizona. I have always been fascinated by snakes, and just wanted to step outside the usual naming conventions for something different.
Go listen to the album on Apple Music, Spotify and any other digital music locations!
Shout out to @inkparkco for killing it with this one. I love this hat a crazy ton. I doubt there are many left at the clinkroom but if you aint got it—- you should have!
Day 12 of our way back machine (aka @pac0naut s room)
Does this NEED an introduction? One of the first Skull Chiefs and this solves a personal question I had regarding a missing link between the Skull version of this, @cbs_ink original Chief and who did what.
Ok, so the OG Chief was an encrypted. This is the first one I’ve seen of the Skull Chief that is ALSO Encrypted. This has the native print on the UV. I think I’ve seen one on the brim itself instead of the UV. No encrypted key back hit at all.
A few questions I still have:
1: who drew the skull version?
2: how many Encrypted Chief variations are there?
3: how many variations with the Native print?
I’ll take any and all answers.
This week’s CLINK CHECK!!
Another great week. So many dope joints! What do you think?
Every week we’ll be highlighting some of the best designs to hit Monday Morning Critz as well as other features that give credit to the dope designers doing crazy things at the Clink Room!
Remember, follow @bpmercenaries / @itsblazerock / @pac0naut and of course follow @theclinkroom
While youre at it? What do you think of these joints? Should they hit production? There were so many dope clink submissions on critz i had to push a few out of the episode.
#bpmercenaries #theclinkroom #clinkroomsubmission
Next up in Clink’s you won’t see much in the wild, we have Sludgebugs!
Now, for our end of the year @theclinkroom extravaganza, I posted the swatch to this. Now I have the hat in my possession to show with it. The one thing that stands out is the “flip” brim that curls up instead of down and to my knowledge is the only Clink to do so.
Now, Sludgebugs? Circa 2010/2011? Some sort of oil spill then? Company colors? Some sort of Petroleum company from Great Britain?
Let the conspiracy theories commence!
Also, looking at the brim, that might have some sludge on it. Looks like a job for our friends at @crown_kleen - let’s Kleen it up with our Clink cap care kit later this week!
Mother’s Day edition of our @theclinkroom - sorry for the tardiness.
Tonight we have Nocturnals from the Clink Room Night League. Truly a 1.0 before anyone really cared about what color your UV was. Everything on here is tonal black with the exception of the neon green.
Hat done by Aaron John Bird and his description is on his website. Screen shot for the last slide.
This is definitely one gem you probably won’t be finding around any time soon.
