Happy nine year anniversary! Another year goes by as I run this brand full-time. One year closer to a decade. This year felt slower, mainly due to the economy, inflation, and tariffs, from what I've felt. We had similar month-over-month growth, product variety, and boothed 49 shows, with new ones in Belgium and Germany. We created a whole Europe team in Belgium, and they have been killing it for us this year. Even with the state of the economy, we found ways to grow around that and overcome new obstacles. So much has happened this year, so I'll have to break it up month by month again.
December - Vancouver/ Seattle/ Portland trip, Canada Post strike, FW24 collection
January - New Year's sale, Ben Gartin passed away, hats, license plate frames
February - USA ski trip, BC ski trip, Valentine's Day sale, crossbody bag
March - Stickers, shorts, flags, Riverside [Chattanooga, TN]
April - Tokyo/ Kyoto/ Osaka trip, shirts, Slammedenuff [Concord, NC]
May - Driven [Calgary, AB], Slammedenuff [Columbus, OH], Slammedenuff [Nashville, TN], Slammedenuff [Branson, MS]
June - Driven [Edmonton, AB], Low at the Levee [Cincinnati, Ohio], Slammedenuff [Atlanta, GA], Noble Grounds [Kerpen, Germany]
July - Shirts, MRU [Calgary, AB], Slammedenuff [Chicago, IL], Slammedenuff [Destin, FL]
August - Matsuri [Calgary, AB], Tunerspirit [Calgary, AB], The Kickback [McHenry, MD], Lake Society [Enspel, Germany]
September - USA tariffs, Saga collaboration, hoodies, candles, Violet pre-school, MRU [Red Deer, AB]
October - FW25 collection, Slammedenuff [Gatlinburg, TN], Slammedenuff [Conroe, TX], Slammedenuff [Daytona Beach, FL]
November - Necklaces, Black Friday sale
To start the year in December, we went to Vancouver, Seattle, and Portland for a small vacation with our cousins. We drove down the west coast to see some family and explore Oregon. This was our third vacation of the year, making it fly by faster than usual. Canada Post went on strike from mid-November to the end of December, so we couldn't ship out anything until Christmas Eve. All FW24, Black Friday, and Christmas orders were on hold, so we ended up filling a whole truck when they came to pick it up after the strike. In January, I found out my close friend Ben Gartin had passed away. He ran the North American side for Violent Clique and added me to the group back in 2016. My life and SSSC would not be what it is without Ben, so I thank him for changing my life forever. Without Violent's help, I don't know if SSSC would have even taken off the way it did, into what it is now. I'm happy he got to stay with us in our Gatlinburg cabin in 2022 and 2023. In February, we had some friends from Virginia come up for a ski trip. We took them around town and to the mountains here. More Americans need to come and see what Alberta and Canada have to offer. I then took a quick ski trip to British Columbia with my family. I always start to feel burnt out around this time of year, being inside all the time because of the cold weather and the lack of local car shows. We boothed at Riverside, Chattanooga, TN, for our first show of 2025 and released a small summer collection.
In April, my cousins and I took a 3-week trip to Japan. This was a once-in-a-lifetime trip that you'll always look back on. We went to Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe, and Sendai. We took in as much of their culture, food, and experiences as we could. I ended up meeting a Japan member at Shibuya crossing and getting lunch with Remi, the owner of Dasai from Australia- meet your internet friends! It really opens your eyes to how different the world is and the car culture that built the stance car scene that SSSC is heavily in. I was working on social media during upsidown time, so it was tricky to manage emails and talk to people when we were +14 hours ahead of North America. After an amazing 3 weeks, we came back home, got caught up on all the online orders, and prepped for our show season to start. We boothed our first local show in May with 20 booth cars and officially kicked off the show season with our Europe and USA staff back up and running at full force. After a whole summer of shows every other weekend, I started preparing for Gatlinburg to ensure everything arrived on time and ran smoothly. By the end of August, everything was ready for our biggest show of the year. In September, Violet started pre-school, which makes you think how fast time goes by these days. I remember packing orders in our old house with her napping next to me like it was yesterday.
Being our fifth year attending Slammedenuff Sevierville (renamed from Gatlinburg), we had everything ready and done well in advance. We booked the 25-person cabin in Gatlinburg and created two exclusive show designs with a new shirt and hoody. We then packed a bunch of boxes with all the small goods and accessories to be sent down. 350 shirts and 150 hoodies were printed and ready to go for the show. We then took 4 check-in suitcases and brought in some extra merch that arrived at the last minute. Our cabin had members from Florida, Minnesota, Tennessee, Mississippi, Texas, and Canada. This year, we set up a 30x10 booth, our largest setup ever. We were right at the front doors, and the tent looked insane. All the flags, backwalls, and tablecloths matched perfectly. We sold out of our Gatlinburg exclusive design on the first day. We had 6 staff members running around at the booth, talking to people, getting sizes, working the card machine, taking in cash, or grabbing an item from the back. It was nice talking to vendors and brands we've collaborated with over the years, and seeing new and old friends from last year for quick chats or photos. On Sunday, we went to the convention centre early and found out the show had been cancelled due to the takeover on Saturday night. This hurt in a lot of ways as we lost a full day of sales, and it killed the vibe for the rest of the trip. A few bad apples are all it takes to ruin something for everyone else. We ended up going to downtown Gatlinburg and Dollywood to enjoy the time we still had here. I don't think we will ever be back to Tennessee without the show being here. It was fun while it lasted, and I'm glad we got to enjoy 5 years of it. There was nothing like it when it was good. Gatlinburg was something I looked forward to every year in October. We then finally returned home to Calgary after 8 hours of flying. Rest in peace, Slammedenuff Gatlinburg, you will be missed.
After Gatlinburg, we returned home and had Violet's fourth and Everly's second birthday parties. October is always the busiest month for us with Gatlinburg, 3 birthdays, and Halloween. We then heard news that the USA was removing the "de minimis act." This refers to the U.S. exemption that allowed shipments valued at $800 or less to enter the country duty- and tax-free. Now, all orders going into the USA have a 30-40% duty tax on them that the customer has to pay before I can receive the order and ship it. I've been trying to find out ways to work around this, but it's been hard to cover the extra cost and explain why this is happening. Hopefully it ends soon, but who knows these days. Every day seems to have groundbreaking news worldwide. Our USA staff finished the year with shows in Texas and Daytona Beach. In November, we had our annual Black Friday sale. 30% off site-wide for our biggest sale of the year.
Overall, 2025 was another steady year. It felt more like a catch-up than recent years, as I thought many things in life slowed down a little due to the impact of the economy, rising costs, inflation, tariffs, and taxes. That and the postal strikes were the main hurdles this year, but we're still here. We watched Violet and Everly grow another year. We had consistent online orders and purchase invoices for the shopping mall location. We met our new and old staff and closest supporters in Gatlinburg and cherished what will probably be the last time we visit the Smoky Mountains. Various new and unique accessories were sold this year, including crossbody bags, bandanas, and watches. Making new products you never thought we would make is half the fun of being in this industry. Thousands of orders, 2 retail locations, 26 countries, 49 shows, and countless friends worldwide. I have no idea what's in store for 2026, but let's make it happen. Hard to believe it will be 10 years of SSSC next year. Never would I have thought this would take off, let alone still be going strong a decade later. Thank you for sticking with me these past 9 years. I remember packing orders in my parents' basement and selling the same design 9 years later. I started this as a kid with an idea, and now I'm an adult with two kids. Every one of you has made a difference in our lives; I would not be where I am without all of you and your continued support. Thank you for letting me live a movie of a life. From our family to yours, thank you. 2016- forever.
- Brandon Yuen