When we started Marvin almost five years ago, the idea was to build a platform for men and create a space where we could have conversations about things that matter to us. In all honesty, I didn’t think it would work out this time because this is my fourth magazine and all of them didn’t get where I wanted them to get. So, this was my last shot at this dream, this business idea that I had. Also, I am not getting any younger so time is not on not on my side – soon enough I will have to focus on my wife and kids and that world demands everything from you. I left the corporate world to pursue this dream, at the time, I had just lost my mother so this was the best time to put everything I could into this project; money, pain and time. The first two years were interesting for me because it was all mashed with a lot of excitement, discovery, disappointments and all that lead to personal and business growth. I parted ways with my then business partner and found offices in Rosebank and got to get involved in great campaigns with Vaseline, Versace, and Total.

I developed an interest in products and I remember I found a Cape Town supplier that made us the Marvin card holder and I was in love with it, until I lost it in an Uber. The same company in Cape Town from which I got a great leather travel bag which is practical and of long-lasting quality, that I’ve been using when I attend car media launches, very practical and it lasts longer as well. I was in love with the idea of having more than just a magazine, but rather, a Marvin lifestyle. I wanted to wear Marvin, let the brand be part of everyday living. Then I wanted to explore more products, and I started dreaming about underwear, skincare, jeans, golf tees, caps and even sneakers. Sourcing these products is something else because we at Marvin are always looking for a certain quality, we can’t give our people bad quality. That has been the difficult part, finding the right products. What Covid-19 did was force people to be online and we saw an increase in people consuming our content which was good for us. We decided that this is the best time to try out the store, we reached out to a few suppliers and they agreed to sell us some stock and that’s when the team from Compass Africa offered to build us an online store.

Building an online store is not as easy as one may think and it’s better when you get a bit of help as well, it makes the building easier and you get a lot of questions answered from those who know better. After building up the store we were good to go and we received our first order and the order was from a friend Seleboge Molefe aka DrLifesgud from the Hookup Dinner, I danced when that happened because someone believes in this vision that I have and they are willing to support me with their hard earned money. It’s validating, it’s reassuring that this does matter.

We would love to produce men’s skincare, underwear, casual wear and sneakers as well. We are also thinking about doing a pop-up barbershop so that we can have a space where you can learn about the skincare products. So the journey has begun and I can’t wait to see where this will take us.