User:LongJohnDiddler/sandbox

Andrew Buenaflor
Andrew Buenaflor (born October 5, 1988) is an American fashion designer who uses the pseudonym "Neek Lurk." He is the founder of the American streetwear label AntiSocialSocialClub or ASSC.

Neek founded AntiSocialSocialClub in Downtown Los Angeles in the year 2015. He claims to have photoshopped the iconic slogan onto a tee. Once people saw it, there was an immediate demand.

Early life and career
Neek was born in Las Vegas, Nevada, on October 5, 1988. He spent his childhood in his hometown of Las Vegas, or as he calls it, "the worst city in the world."

Not much is known about Neek's early life. However, Neek claims that he spent most of his adolescent years locked in his computer room on his computer, going through shoe forums and chat rooms because the people he encountered online were kinder than the kids at his school.

This continued into high school as his classmates disliked him, and he could not get into house parties. This caused emotions of envy and isolation. This motivated the project he envisioned, which would later be birthed.

After he finished high school, Neek found employment at the Stüssy store in Las Vegas. He worked there until 2014 before moving to Los Angeles and creating the brand AntiSocialSocialClub.

After creating the brand, it took off very quickly. ASSC was one of the biggest up-and-coming streetwear brands in 2015. After that, Neek would take up a position at Stüssy as their social marketing manager while running his brand.

Influence and Meaning
Neek's art is emotionally driven. The simple text design holds meaning. The primary influence is all the negativity he's experienced in his life.

AntiSocialSocialClub serves as an outlet for his feelings. An example is the "I Miss You" cap. This is him expressing himself in his art, and it tells a story of a relationship torn over money, which made Neek feel unhappy.

Brand and collaborations
AntiSocialSocialClub gained traction after Kanye West was seen wearing a hoodie only three weeks after the brand's launch. This caused a surge of about 2 million visitors to their website in one single week.

Celebrities such as Kim Kardashian, Rita Ora, and Future would soon follow.

The brand's minimalist look and trendiness made collaborations simpler in design and business.

In the following years, the brand would collaborate with many companies, the most popular being collaborations with Honda, A Bathing Ape, and Korean pop group BTS.

In 2022 ASSC was acquired by Marquee Brands, the parent company of many lifestyle labels.

Contreversy
AntiSocialSocialClub has been under fire since 2015 because of its inability to ship orders on time. Neek was not ready for the company to gain such traction weeks after its release. Hashtags such as "wheresmyhoodiebro" were left in Neek's Instagram comments.

The quality of products from ASSC has been questioned. Even after being recognized as one of the most prominent streetwear labels, they printed products on Gildan.

Due to issues in production and shipping, people who sought the brand could buy replicas and still are today, putting the company in a difficult situation.

Exhibitons and Pop-up locations
AntiSocialSocialClub has had many Exhibitions and Pop-ups. However, these are their most popular and influential:


 * 2016, "SELF DOUBTS" Exhibition and Pop-up, Los Angeles, CA


 * 2016, ASSC x Mastermind Japan Capsule, Los Angeles, CA and Tokyo, Japan


 * 2017, Dover Street Market Exhibition and Pop-up, London, UK


 * 2017, ASSC x BAPE Collection Launch, Los Angeles CA; New York City, New York; Tokyo, Japan


 * 2018, ASSC x CDG Country-wide Pop-ups, Japan; Paris, France; Seoul, South Korea; HongKong; Bangkok, Thailand; Singapore