#32 - Richard Davies - Abandon Ship Glasgow

Richard Davies is an entrepreneur and artist. He is known for Abandon Ship Apparel company and Abandon Ship bars.

It was fantastic to be back recording in real life in a studio which allowed for the intimacy this podcast deserved.

Abandon Ship Apparel was founded in 2011 in a bedroom in Glasgow with £300, a web domain and a passion for making art. Within 3 years, Abandon Ship Apparel saw itself in high street windows grossing over £1.2 million in annual sales revenue through channels such as ASOS, Topman and Foot Asylum.

In 2015, Abandon Ship Apparel entered liquidation and Richard used his own money to buy back the rights to the brand he had spent almost 5 years growing from the ground up to rebuild.

Fast forward 6 years, Richard, and a team he is proud of, have expanded the apparel brand beyond t-shirts. He has opened the Abandon Ship bars in Dundee and Glasgow which have become WILDLY popular especially for it's unmissable facade and insane artwork (I have visited weekly!). 

Abandon Ship in Covent Garden, London is opening in a month’s time as part of the plan to expand the bar across 10 locations in the UK.

Richard speaks candidly about:

- His upbringing and his rebellion against traditional education

- A life changing moment that changed his mental model and direction

- The highlights and lowlights of owning a rapidly growing apparel brand

- Stories from travelling to tradeshows across the world (including closing a £10,000+ of apparel deal after partying all night)

- The long-lasting effects of liquidation on the psyche of an entrepreneur

- The inspiration and methodology behind the renowned Abandon Ship Bar ceiling artwork

- His definition of healthy and toxic masculinity

- His reflection on his first 35 years on earth that he defines as “his training years”

Thanks, Rich, for stopping by and looking forward to round 2!