Corteiz RTW founder Clint Ogbenna better known as Clint 419 took to X recently where he provided some back story on how he launched the brand in 2017. Clint explained that he resold a pair of Air Jordan 1 and Off-White by Virgil Abloh sneakers from The 10 capsule for $1,000 and invested the money in XRP, a crypto currency. Eight weeks later, he cashed out, and spent a portion of his earnings on the first Corteiz samples. “flipped these kicks for a rack, burned thru the bread, put what I had left into XRP,” he explained. “8 weeks of sleepless nights watchin the market, spent that & what I had left made the first corteiz samples & bought a flight to LA to shoot the first lookbook.”
While all of The 10 shoes were notoriously difficult to cop, Clint explained that he gained an inside track by attending multiple workshops hosted in London by Nike and Abloh prior to The 10 offiial launch dates. Those who were able to land a spot in a workshop were afforded the chance to purchase one pair of The 10 months in advance of the official launch day. “Virgil n Nike did workshops in london a few months prior,” wrote. “I applied for all 16 workshops cos I was curious. Got into 3. & each workshop u attended gave u the chance to buy one pair of the TEN months early.”
Clint wrote that he had only one regret about the flip that change his life’s course: “Wish I got to tell Virgil that.”
Though Abloh’s untimely death in November 2021 meant Clint was unable to share his story, he experienced a full-circle moment when when Nike approached him for a collaboration, leading to a partnership on three Air Max 95 silhouettes.
