Born x Raised

Born x Raised was founded in 2013 in Los Angeles by Spanto (Chris Printup) and 2Tone (Alex 'Tone' Erdmann), both lifelong residents of the Venice neighbourhood, as a streetwear label rooted explicitly in West Los Angeles street-life vocabulary and the Venice Beach skate, surf, and Latino youth-culture traditions of the 1980s-2000s. The brand's foundational thesis was specific and culturally placebound: produce graphic tees, hoodies, and headwear that read as artefacts of Venice-specific neighbourhood identity rather than as generic streetwear export. The Born x Raised vocabulary settled around several recurring elements: the iconic LA cursive logo, the Born x Raised arch on hoodies and tees, the Venice-specific 'Tales of Cali' graphics, the recurring use of LA Dodgers and LA Lakers colour codes (royal blue, yellow, white), and a long-running collaboration program with adidas, Dodgers MLB, Nike Skateboarding, and the LA-anchored Mister Cartoon. Spanto died in February 2023; his brother Aaron Printup and partner 2Tone have continued the brand under his vision. The brand is independent and held by the Printup family and 2Tone. Born x Raised operates a flagship in Los Angeles (the Born x Raised shop in Venice, on Lincoln Boulevard, near the original Venice high-school grounds), plus international wholesale through Undefeated, Dover Street Market, the major LA streetwear-specific retailers, and an extensive Japanese stockist network. Few US streetwear brands have built such a culturally specific neighbourhood-anchored vocabulary while remaining economically viable.