Chris Printup, the founder of LA streetwear favourite Born x Raised, passed away on Wednesday morning following injuries sustained in a car accident, the brand confirmed in an Instagram post Wednesday.
Printup, affectionately known as Spanto, first conceived the idea for his brand when serving jail time in a maximum security prison.
After launching in 2013, the brand quickly became a cult favourite among the Los Angeles creative scene and began selling at the coveted streetwear store Union LA.
Soon after the brand launched, Printup was diagnosed with terminal cancer, but after undergoing four years of chemotherapy, he announced he was free of the disease in December 2022, in a post on his personal Instagram account.
Printup, who is of Native American descent, became a role model to many and was admired for his resilience in establishing Born x Raised after a tough start in life.”I spent a lot of time in and out of the system from an early age from central juvenile hall to many years spent in the county … I decided to create a clothing brand while the last time I was incarcerated,” he told his Instagram followers in December. “I cooked up bxr [Born x Raised] while I was in the hole at supermax.”
Over the last decade, Born x Raised became a coveted collaborator to brands across the fashion industry, releasing tie-ups with brands such as Levi’s, as well as penning a multi-season collaboration with Los Angeles Football Club. The brand was also set to release a highly-anticipated Nike collaboration featuring the sportswear giant’s iconic SB Dunk sneaker in July, which has now been postponed.
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