I’m so excited to do this, in-fact it’s crazy to find artists that incorporate everything art in one canvas & create a union that is so strong. I was back home a while ago & I met with the members of FreeBlvckX at the PopUpPMB event, their work speaks volume & call me an opportunist but I just had to get an exclusive.
First things first, tell us about yourselves, who is FreeBlvckX?
We are a Trio, members by the names of Sofrimento (Mento) Mavila, Ndumiso (Tonic) Zuma & Thato (Shokosha) Khuzwayo-April.
When did this movement start? and was it all 3 of you who started from the bottom?
We all started freeblvck in January this year (2015) & I like the fact that you said “movement” , we are a movement & not a clothing brand/ line. we are a movement promoting a free society in terms of freedom art expression, art as whole, fashion, music & photography.
Dope man, I spotted you guys in PMB, is that where you are based?
Yep, we are based in the city of Pietermaritzburg in KZN.
My city is totally full of talent, I’m so blessed to actually be doing this with you guys, please tell us more about the movement.
Haha we are blessed with the talent we have, well we are working on promoting brands from vintage to modern, from classic looks to post modern. FreeBlvckX actually define themselves as postmodernists living in the year 2050 in terms of style. Our ambition is to create a society that is free in terms of what to wear & when, we want to create new fashion boundaries & break those that have long been created about society, altogether with their rules on fashion.
Nice, so what you’re doing is escalating the whole art dimension & also finding & creating a space for freedom of expression in the process? really cool. I have seen through your pictures that your photography is on point, levels altogether, please tell us more about that.
Thank you, well photography is the only tool that FreeBlvckX uses to express their feelings & we have teamed up with the likes of of Mack Mnikathi, a young upcoming female photographer who is a witness to the beginning of our movement, there’s also the likes of Lelo Shezi, a founder of Mushroom Republic who is also behind the lenses.
Well let me just give credit to Mack & Lelo, they sure do know what they are doing. Now Guys, your style is so fresh, so street etiquette & raw, & obviously each of you has their own preferences, please tell us about your style & who inspires it.
FreeBlvckX’s style is unique, very unique actually- it varies in terms of each member’s character & personality. Tonic is more of the classic formal look, Shokosha is more of a quality guy with a twist of raw on his looks, & Mento is more of a risk taker in his style. FreeBlvck regard themselves as being “different but the same”.
Haha & for our readers this will all make sense when they open the FreeBlvckX gallery here in our blog, I love love love your style lads & all this clash of taste actually comes together so well. what other things are you involved in?
We also do clothing designing, triftshopping, retailing of fabric, & outfits – we have a Pop Up shop called FreeBlvckX.
Nowonder you guys are always out and about, who in the past have you guys worked with? any local brands?
Yes, we previously worked with brands such as PK Jeans, & currently we are working with Thandazani Khoza, a female designer of TK Clothing & also a photographer Lelo Shezi as we mentioned earlier, developing her portfolio.
I am very impressed, wow! having had met some of these people you’re talking about, I’m pretty certain that you guys are strong hustlers. What are your future plans?
Our future plan is to become one of the most greatest style influencers in South Africa through Photography. We are currently working on making our first cocktail drink & that’s due to come out soon.
A cocktail drink? haha I love the way you guys are so creative – I can already imagine the taste of that cocktail, so refreshing & full of twist.
Hahaha Thank you, yeah FreeBlvkX is all about creativity of breaking boundaries, so anything to just be different.
WOW man, thank you so much for inspiring all of us, looking forward to that cocktail drink LOL, but on a serious note, I’m proud to say I’m from PMB because of people like you, all the best for your business ventures, I’ll be watching your work.
Thank you for this opportunity, we hope this won’t be the last of interviews Haha 🙂
Not even, thank you guys!
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