How often have you thought to yourself; “this sucks, it could be heaps better if done another way?” For Travis Bothner and his partner Ying, a unique series of events led to them making the changes they wanted to see. The two are the power couple behind Vancouver-based rising MTB apparel star, NF. And while Travis has spearheaded numerous startups over the last 20 years, he has a different relationship with this one.
Together, Travis and Ying have worked in the apparel industry for more than 30 years. Their experience covers a wide range and between them they possess many of the components necessary to build an apparel brand.In 2018 they did just that.
It wasn’t long however, before they were thrown a series of curveballs. Between 2012 and 2017, their manufacturing company was developing up to one million units per year for other clothing brands. At the time, they had the manufacturing completed in China, Ying’s homeland. Her understanding of the language, practices, people and their combined knowledge of product development, materials and design, gave them an upper hand on many of their competitors. Business was booming.
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