Illustrator John Speed has collaborated with some of the world’s top clothing brands - here’s how he did it…

“I learned very quickly that, once you do something, it’s cool and it’s great for your CV and your client list, but, like, you just gotta keep moving”

— Rebel Yuth

Having his works used across fashion brands like Adidas Originals, Caterpillar, Puma and Osprey, documented in i-D Magazine, Highsnobiety, Notion, Clunk and GQ, illustrator Rebel Yuth (@rebelyuth) has already hit heights that many artists might not think achievable.

But John Speed, the man behind the art, will tell you it absolutely is, but persistence (and a good Sharpie pen) is key.

With a degree in illustration and a keen interest in streetwear, John decided to put his two passions together. But that’s easier said than done.

“I just started bothering people,” he says. “I just started emailing and I would try and find out where these people, these creative directors, or the artists would be. I would be cheeky. If there was a press event in London, I would message the PR companies and be, like, ‘Can I come along?’.

And then I’d get chatting to them. And I would just kind of build up a repertoire with people and relationships and go from there.

“A lot of it was blagging as well - you know, it’s all smoke and mirrors. And once it’s built up and you’ve got a strong enough client list, you sort of throw the weight over when you ask for bigger jobs.”

Hold up, hold up. It’s not as easy as all that, is it? One doesn’t simply call up an international fashion house like Adidas and say ‘Here’s some art, buddy’. Well… actually.

“I was doing loads of social-media graphics to kind of get them [Adidas Originals] to take notice of me,” says John. “And then after a while, they sent me some free shoes and they put them on their gifting list. And we did this really quick, graphic feature that they used for when they brought out their sandals, and it’s for socks and slides.

“And it was like a graphic of, you know, old Italian mobsters, Adidas tracksuit with the socks and slides on by the pool. It was like a little cartoon, funny sketch, they put up on their social media and stuff. And that was all pretty fun.

“But again, just getting the foot in the door kind of thing.”

Now living in Snodland, by way of Horsham, John’s portfolio of clients ranges from painfully cool fitness brand Satisfy Running, through to designing merchandise for Jay-Z and Beyonce’s On the Run tour.

“When I first started, I would just draw constantly, put it on social media,” explains John. “I would tag brands if there was a new release, or I would draw my interpretation of what I thought the lookbook could look like from an illustrator point of view.

“And then they would repost it, and then it would be solid on their Instagram. Eventually other brands started emailing me and being, like, ‘Oh, we love what you do. We’ve seen you before’.”

John says he’s keen not to be pigeonholed in one illustrative style and has taught himself Photoshop and is working in paint and other mediums. But while not being put into a certain type of box creatively, it’s also important not to get too hung up on rejection, or even success.

“I was featured on Highsnobiety, which is like a big-deal platform for menswear stuff, with a camping brand called Polar,” he says. “And then I remember getting all this adoration and all the comments are really positive. And then 24 hours later, like no one cares. It’s something else the next day. I learned very quickly that, once you do something, it’s cool and it’s great for your CV and your client list, but like you just gotta keep moving. Just keep moving, do as much as possible.”

An outdoorsy guy whose dream would be to live in a cabin in the woods just drawing, John has also had his artwork featured on a number of garments, including Uskees tote bags, Stylecreep, Unfair Athletics, Cheap Monday x Selfridges, Osprey and Schott NYC. But one of his most recent projects has seen his work appear on caps and T-shirts for Satisfy Running.

“They’re like a huge cult sort of menswear running brand based in Paris,” says John. “I had just started getting into running for my head and stuff. I read an interview with this guy and he was, like, ‘Yeah, I don’t really care about social media or fashion, I just run for this brand called Satisfy… take mushrooms and listen to death metal and run in the desert’. I thought ‘This guy gets it’.

“He can’t deal with the modern world and I drew an illustration of him and then the creative director of Satisfy reached out to me. I’d started getting more and more interested in hiking and nature, drawing folklore kind of stuff and nature in a lot of what I do. And the brief was just perfect for it.

“It was based on the idea of Stonehenge and the winter solstice. They sent me the pieces I worked on, the T-shirt and the cap. And it just never gets old, that feeling of wearing something you’ve designed. And even more so crazy. Like I’ve been out before, in different towns and cities, and I’ve seen people wear graphics of mine from different collaborations and it’s just a very weird feeling.”

John commits that his favourite style is with Sharpie fine lines and, regardless of where a project or brief might end up, so any of his ideas start as a doodle on a scrap of paper with a pen.

“I just fill books with ideas and draw my own fonts and styles,” he says. “It kind of just cuts out the homework when I get a new brief in. Because I’ve got books and pages ripped off I can just go back to and look at and go ‘OK, that’s like a starting point’.

“I’ve always been the same, I try not to take myself too seriously. And my art, it’s just something I’ve always been drawn to. Even when I was at school, it’s the only thing I was really good at. Like my maths was just full of doodles. It’s just kind of the only thing I was ever going to want to do properly. And I don’t see it as work, even when sometimes it is work.”

INFO: www.rebelyuth.com