We met John for the first time when we recruited him for our Speed Project relay team in 2022. It was vibes at first sight and we knew on day one that John was a unicorn human we'd be lucky to have at Bandit. You kind of have to meet him to understand, but the mans was born with the happy gene (the one golden retrievers have), the heart of a lion, and the effortless swagger of a born and bred Brooklynite (he is / I couldn't think of another animal reference here). John's probably reading this right now and turning beet-red. Sorry, bud! Anywho, fast forward a little over a year and the time finally came to bring John aboard—now working across experiences, creative production, product, and misc. marketing projects. If you see it, there's a good chance John touched it.
Alright, let's hear from him...
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I'm John. Im from NYC; Brooklyn to be exact. I left for University of Texas at Austin, stayed for a few years after college to make clothes, produce content, and sell shoes at The Loop, and now I’m back in Brooklyn for Bandit. I like to move my body — generally in all or nothing fashion so I run far, ski down, swim deep, climb high, bike long, and dance hard. Personally, I’ve always really loved clothing and the ways they can illicit emotions or be a conduit for storytelling. Moral of the story, working within earshot of Ardith on any given day, especially the morning after a runway show is a true blessing.
When it comes to running, we’ll see whats next. I can’t be for certain, but I want to race something this year. Racing helps with vulnerability, or learning how to be uncomfortable, or just being a savage every once in a while — all three are probably for the best.
Time to dream...
Dream race: Poor interview answer, and I’m not trying to be quirky or whatever but I honestly don’t think I have one. Im proud of all the races I’ve run, and excited for all the races to come.
Dream post-race meal: Some post race sushi at Uchi in Austin, TX.
Dream running partner (dead or alive): Yvon Chinourd or Jon Krakeur. I like mountains and people who perfect their craft.
Dream cultural experience: A summer of training in Iten, Kenya. Or maybe a big climb in the Himalayas or Andes — both fascinating cultural places with extreme conditions. Being to a place that requires a strong spirit to endure something physical.
Dream Running Achievement: If I won the NYC marathon, we would riot.
Dream creator to work with: Wes Anderson would crush a script of an introverted runner kid with reluctant hard nosed parents from a small West Texas town (pop. 1000) training for the New York City Marathon. A film with that guy.
Dream collaboration for Bandit: I leaned all over the place for this one. Bandit // New York Yankees final answer, I’d lose it. Would throw a release party in the stadium, get Derek Jeter to come it’d be awesome. Bandit // Cartier would be crazy too — imagine a digital GPS Cartier bust down ? Saving for all my clothing collabs for the real thing lol.
