Whether you like or loathe Revenge storm, this brand has significantly changed the landscape when it stormed the fashion sneakers industry in late 2016.
The Revenge X Storm was a rave of the moment pop footwear brand created by Ian Connor and Noah Stutz in 2016-2017 and crashed in 2018 – 2019. The crash was attributed to the fakes that originated and lots of allegations of sexual harassment against the brand owners.
It became an official sneaker dealing brand in the year 2017. After been registered as Revenge X Storm LLC in California, it started gaining significant attention and likes especially from influencers, who just seem to love street style and fashion.
Revenge storm is actually a relatively young brand, which stormed past the competition of small sneaker brands. This brand was born out of the keen interest of both owners, Noah Stutz and Ian Connor, who both loved the street style and that seems to be the message the brand is trying to resonate with the fashion industry.
Interestingly, Revenge X Storm was not intended to be a brand in the first instance, it was just a work of art born out of boredom says “Noah Stutz” the original founder of the brand, and his co-founder Ian Connor who said that the Revenge Storm shoes was just a remix of his favorite pair of Van sneakers.
Thus the main focus of the brand then was just for the shoes to be a part of people’s everyday wears that is for the norm to have it acceptable and liked not just as a “fashion trendy shoe” but as something, that even a novice would just enjoy wearing.
Although, Revenge Storm sneakers were highly criticized and dubbed rip-off because they looked exactly like the popular low-top Vans sneakers, what actually distinguished this brand from the low-top Vans was the lightning bolt used as the theme or icon for the brand.
So, throughout the years, Revenge Storm has used this theme to gain popularity from so many similar already established competitors such as the Old Skool Vans sneakers that have been on the trend.
The brand started gaining momentum amongst popular influencers on Instagram and other big social platforms around early 2017. It became overhyped that it was worn by models, rappers, artists, and even athletes.
This popularity was actually credited to Ian Connor, the fashion designer and social media influencer, who seems to have built a lot of connections and sweet spots with big influencers at that time.
After, a year and a half of trending, the Revenge Storm started to have many fakes, which struck the brand so hard that it crumbled. It was around the year 2019, that things began to go south for the brand.
Fake gurus multiplied everywhere in their quest to make dubious sales off from this brand, and as result this iconic brand, just lost its significance in the marketplace.
A lot of loyal customers started to freak out because they were buying the fake storms at a ridiculously high amount of money and this took the brand unawares and left them in a state of ineffectiveness for a while.
Nevertheless, Revenge Storm actually was not totally shut down completely, as little is still been heard about the brand. They were granted a rest trademark by the trademark body, which means that they are actually on the drawing board trying to put things right before coming back on track this 2021.
Who are the owners of the brand?
Noah Stutz and Ian Connor are believed to be the legitimate founder of the Revenge Storm brand, owning to the fact that “he loves drawing on his van shoes while still a teenager at 17”.
He came up with the lightning bolt icon (which made the sneakers stand out) which he made from leather, glued it on a pair of Converse sneakers and that was how the first pair of Revenge Storm sneakers came about.
Similarly, Ian Connor happened to be a very good friend to Noah Stutz, and being a popular fashion icon, Ian Connor promoted the brand to celebrities, artists, rappers, and athletes and to all other influencers in the fashion industry and in between.
Back in the day, Ian was a self-proclaimed “king of the youth” owning to the fact he was a social media icon that every young person just seems to like. He hailed from Atlanta, Georgia and after turning 18, he moved to New York and started amassing the social platforms with his persona and style.
It all started with a keen interest in fashion, skateboarding, modeling, and hip-hop. The fashionista took so many transitions from collaborating with influencers in different industries revolving around social media and he became a tremendous success in the hip-hop and fashion niche.
So, a lot of events, both good and controversial ones have happened with Ian Conner before the biggest part, which was the unveiling of their storm brand.
What Happened to the brand?
Illegal and fake Revenge X Storm sneaks got into the market
The downfall of the brand actually came about when the unauthorized mass production of Revenge Storm sneakers being sold in late 2019 was on the rise.
At that time, the Revenge X Storm was actually skyrocketing in terms of sales and popularity, amongst the small sneakers brands that have been in existence before the brand.
So its overnight popularity just got the whole sneaker industry by surprise and left the fake gurus with no other option than to counterfeit and make use of the open cheque in producing a look-alike version of the storm shoes.
A lot of fake storm sneakers stormed the market more than the original versions, and so illegal mass production from fake dealers became the trend at that time of the year- 2019.
The owner was accused of harassment
Although, some allegations about rape and sexual harassment, were all pointed at Ian Connor and it was believed that this was also part of the downfall of this indomitable brand.
But these accusations made were not actually the main cause, it was just brought up because at a point the brand was dubbed “rape vans” owning to the fact that Ian Conner was viewed as the founder.
In an attempt to correct this stereotype, Revenge Storm was founded by Noah Stutz and not Ian Connor, in this way the horrible name was somehow lifted.
Anyways, the accusations actually held little or no significant ground to the downfall of the brand. But it is good to note that “every original version of a product actually has a fake of its kind” so that was what really happened to the Revenge X Storm brand- a lot of fakes.
Lessons to learn from this brand
Find people you can trust
The owners actually found out that they were screwed up by people who pretended to be helping out with the spread of the brand.
It was discovered that a lot of fake shops were running alongside the original brand at that time. And they sold at an exuberant price when compared to the original Revenge Storm. All this was a result of greed.
All these were linked to the fact that Revenge Storm had already gained popularity and likes online, especially amongst the wealthy and so these fake gurus actually leveraged upon the green pastures just to make unimaginable sales.
This first lesson made it clear that the people associated with one’s brand matter a lot, so it is wise to limit the amount of content or valuable information that one share about one’s brand.
Revenge X Storm actually did not fail to understand the impact of this catastrophe caused by the treacherous acts of these fake gurus, so they were very strategic at producing their sneaker brands.
As seen in some of their tweets where comments like “version 2 is ready and designed and made… just waiting to get everything perfect on our end so that we don’t let the same shit happen”
And this very act showed that the brand although really saddened, was gaining the little momentum they had to get the brand back on the ground and even to the status quo. And this actually reveals the goal of the brand.
The goal and new plan seem like the only perfect to do, to gain back the trust and like of their loyal customers.
Protect your brand with everything
However, another lesson one can deduce from the brand’s experience, is that the brand has realized the importance of protecting the brand from any unusual or slightest assault.
As seen on February 19, 2020, when they filed a lawsuit against a “Dopetrade” trading fake storms. This has actually being a success in taming the fake gurus and an example for any who is caught defaulting against the storms brand.
Another lesson we can learn from the owners of this brand was not to over saturate the brand with hot new releases at that time. Because, the factories from the fake gurus kept on producing these shoes, sold them at a cheaper rate, and made away with all the profits.
Thus, it helped in tracing the illegal dealers of this indispensable brand making it easier for them to at least still make sales in the midst of all the drama.
So, Revenge Storm is actually passing through a “quiescence stage” in the life of the brand, and with all the lessons learned and corrections made, it is believed that the brand would come back with full force and storm the sneaker industries once again.
What Is The Way Forward For Revenge X Storm?
After years of trial and strategic planning, it seems to be that the original founder Noah Stutz, is now the current driving force of the future Revenge X Storm brand as his co-founder Ian Connor, left the brand for his own personal Sicko brand, his very own second streetwear label termed ‘born from pain’.
The Revenge Storm brand is actually hoping to storm back the fashion trend in this present 2021, although after been proposed to come back in the summer of 2020.
It never did, so a lot of expectations are brought forward as Revenge Storm has designed what seems to be an undercover and a new model for this future brand.
Noah Stutz, who is consistently representing the brand, said that “Revenge X Storm is actually returning for the best and what seems to be a delay is just a process halted for the perfect release of each new undercover models”
Though, the owner said that a lot would not be said for now about the Revenge Storm brand so that the fake gurus would be left unaware about what’s popping up on their side.
But the impression being made on the fans is that Revenge Storm would be back for good, and back to stay for years to come!
Anyways, the brand has been granted the rest trademarks from the trademark body, so it is all undercover till they storm the industry again as never before with newer models of sneakers.
Conclusion
So, this is it!
We have come to the end of today’s blog post, which was all about the Revenge X Storm sneaker brand. The history of the brand, how it came about, who is the brain behind the brand, where it sprang up from when it actually became officiated as a sneaker brand, and the year it did.
Also, some of the possible reasons why these brand became inactive for a while in the fashion industry was mentioned. Plus other details about the owners were also discussed.
However, you were able to discover why these brands became overtly popular in a short period of been in operation, despite the competition from other popular and classy brands like the all-time Van sneakers.
Also, you became aware of what to check out for whenever you are buying these storm sneakers. And importantly, you learned about the brand focus, which is how to just love these pair of storms and make it part of your everyday wear in looking fashionable and casual.
So, rocking these storm shoes portrays that street-style look. So do it intentionally as though you are a celebrity (ha ha!)
Just a few words to drop though, Revenge SStorm brand will be storming both the sneaker world and the entire fashion industry soon, so watch out for it!
Comment down below on any contribution or update you have about the storm brand.
Resources:
https://legitcheck.app/guides/real-vs-fake-revenge-x-storm/
https://swisscheeseee.co/blogs/guides/legit-check-guide-revenge-x-storm
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