Thrills, which was acquired for $50 million this week, celebrated a decade in business last year. In an article for Ragtrader, Owners Tabitha McGregor, Brooke McGregor and Ryan Collins reflected on their ten biggest milestones.
It’s been one hell of a ride.
Ten years ago, we ditched our 9-5 grind to post up in the coastal paradise of Byron Bay.
With nothing but a mutual love of vintage motorcycles, we gave birth to our first business idea; importing bikes from the USA and Japan.
With our first shipment of bikes due to arrive in 2011, Brooke and Tabitha reverted to their fashion roots to work on a small t-shirt collection, and the rest is history.
Once launched, the t-shirts took Byron Bay and surrounds by storm, and almost 10 years on, Thrills has evolved into a culture-defining fashion label, fuelled by a passion for music, art and the way of life that encompasses the vintage Harley’s that are customised to this day.
What better way to celebrate this monumental milestone than by reflecting on the past decade.
Here are 10 of our most incredible Thrills moments:
1. Building our incredible team
As family-focused business owners, our greatest asset lies with the people who have grown Thrills to where it is today.
Our staff have been pivotal to our company’s success and fuelled our brand DNA; living and breathing the adventurous and creative spirit we’re known and loved for.
2. Weathering the pandemic
Over the past year, we have all experienced unprecedented change to life as we know it and, while times are both unsettling and challenging we’ve taken refuge in focusing on what’s important.
From the moment the pandemic escalated, we knew the correct choice for our brand was to retain our team and weather the storm together as a family.
With the overwhelming love and support from our loyal customers and extended family, we’ve been able to come out stronger than ever with a deepened appreciation for what we do.
3. Furthering our sustainability journey
As Thrills has grown as a company our understanding of the fashion industry and our social responsibility as a fashion label has evolved.
Sustainability has always been front-of-mind for the company since the beginning, and each collection is a reflection of our lasting contribution towards a better fashion industry.
In the last ten years, we’ve made significant advances: switching the majority of our denim styles to organic cotton, introducing hemp, launching an entirely unbleached collection with no dye or chemicals, all the while making significant changes at our headquarters and warehouse to reduce our impact.
This is just the beginning and we’re on a journey to using sustainable fabrics by the end of 2022.
4. Launching our retail stores
Our very first retail store was opened in 2015 on home turf in the main street of Byron Bay and remains a fundamental piece in the puzzle.
We quickly realised how irreplaceable the real-life, touch-and-feel experiences were for our customers and decided to expand; proudly opening seven stores spanning across the coast of Australia and Japan, with another one on the way.
Our stores are our backbone; a real-life representation of our brand and a gateway for customers to enter and get a feel for who we are and what we’re passionate about, from all over the globe.
5. Opening our first global retail store
On July 31, 2020, we celebrated our expansion into Asia with an exclusive launch party in our first global flagship store in Tokyo, Japan.
The expansion was long-awaited, stemming back to our roots as a vintage motorcycle import and customisation business.
6. Launching globally into the US
On February 15, 2021, we celebrated our expansion into the US with an exclusive launch party in Los Angeles, California.
It was certainly a night to remember (or not for many) and catapulted us into the big smoke.
Thrills is now available stateside in a multitude of retail stores and continues to grow.
7. Collaborating with creative leaders
In line with our passion for art, music and motorbikes, we’ve had the privilege of being able to work closely with creative leaders who have inspired us and driven alongside us on our journey.
In November 2019, we collaborated with the kings of honest Australian rock’n’roll, Bad//Dreems on an exclusive work shirt.
In July 2020 we teamed up with iconic photographer, Jim Saah on a commemorative capsule dedicated to the burgeoning punk and hardcore scene of the early 80s.
More recently in November 2020, we released exclusive t-shirts featuring images from well-loved Sydney photographer, James Adams.
8. Hosting a plethora of nights to remember (or forget)
Countless launch events, boozy festival kick-off parties, inspiring exhibitions and sold-out music tours.
We’ve built a faultless reputation when it comes to chaotic nights, and we plan to keep it that way (when it’s safe to, of course).
9. Growing in Byron Bay
The evolution of Byron Bay has been a whirlwind in and of itself; growing from a small and idyllic coastal town to a world-renowned destination and epicentre for now-global brands, Thrills included.
From humble beginnings in our sublet space in the Arts & Industrial Estate in 2011 to now a new purpose-built headquarters with a separate buzzing warehouse, our physical growth is a representation of our internal triumphs.
10. Continuing to import and customise motorcycles at our HQ
Our very first employee was Japanese mechanic Yuichiro Nakama who brought our vision to life and remains a valuable part of the family, continuing to customise Harley Davidson motorbikes at our Byron Bay HQ.