Meet Murdertron - A Brand for Your Lifestyle!

                It’s tough to find quality apparel these days and if you are anything like me, sometimes you want something a little more interesting than the oh-so-typical chain store repeats. There’s nothing worse than walking into store after store finding the same-old clothing except maybe taking said clothing home to discover the seams are poorly sewn and the material is cheap. Few things excite me more than finding clothes that I love that are actually made with quality materials! So when I discovered Murdertron, my feet were swept from beneath me! Not only is their apparel unique, but all of the designs are carefully thought out and created on premises by the super slick Alex Blackburn and marketed by the ever-handy Chris McKee. Let’s be honest, who doesn’t love a company that has their supporter’s best interests in mind? Do yourself a favour, read on to learn more about this awesome company and then head over to their site http://shop.murdertron.com/ and find yourself some sick new duds! You won’t regret it! 

 It's hard to see but that's me in the centre sporting my favourite Murdertron shirt!!!

(Timeless Burnout- Blue)

Photo Credit: Robert Lee

• How did Murdertron originate? Who founded it and why?

Alex: “ I had always wanted to get a clothing line off the ground, and Murdertron started out with custom t-shirts that I was making. I'd been designing shirt ideas for a long time, and had finally started getting a few made. Doing one of kinds was expensive, and I was originally doing them for myself, but our friends starting showing interest in them. The real push to get my own company started up was when people started stopping me in the street and asking where I bought my shirt. The looks I got were pretty funny when I said I made it myself, but the reactions were all super positive.”

“While all of this was going on, I was working at a car dealership with a long time friend, Chris, who I'd been bouncing business ideas back and forth with during our shifts. He had some really solid ideas, and with all the back and forth realized we both had always wanted to start a company that represented all the stuff we love.”

Chris: “We both had a ton of different ideas, and going over them during our breaks at work we realized that we both had the same goal: Build a lifestyle company that was involved in all the scenes that we grew up with and were proud to be a part of. Everyone we knew was of course worried that we'd end up hating each other and it would all end terribly blah blah. We both had different aspects to bring to the table and we went back to school to polish up on our respective niches; I work more on the business and marketing side, and Alex is on the creative side. It's been over 3 years, and we've managed to not kill each other. Yet...”

• How did you come up with the name Murdertron?

Alex: “You probably think it's from the fact that we were born in the 80's and we are die hard fans of the Transformers franchise from Hasbro. Well you're wrong! Although we did grow up with Transformers, (and He-Man, Ninja Turtles and G.I. Joe) the name actually came from when I was making the transition from 7man paintball to Xball. When I was first learning about Xball people were saying things like: "The coaches and sidelines are controlling the players and telling them what to do and when to do it" and "the players are like robots" so this "new" paintball format brought up this image of robot players killing each other. We played with a few names but MURDERTRON seemed to be the best fit.”

• Does Murdertron have a mission or a vision for the future of the company?

Chris: “Our mission with Murdertron is to create quality and original gear that sets itself apart from everything else out there. We want it to show how much we put into it, and have our supporters be proud to wear it.”

“Our vision is to build not just another clothing brand, but to create an image that involves everything we stand for, and that represents our supporters. Whether your skater, a baller, a boarder, have a sweet car, or just want some standout streetwear, that's us. That's who we represent. “

Alex:”Exactly, and on that note another thing we really pride ourselves on, is just to keep in touch with our supporters. We want to know what they like, what they are up to. We just like to stay involved with the people who have taken the time and put in the money to support our brand. We really think that's important and we do go out of our way just to make single individuals feel noticed. Our mission is to continue doing that.”

• Tell us a little bit about some of the products that you have to offer. What are some hot-sellers?

Alex: “Pretty much everything has been embraced with open arms. We really take the time to go over every single item. Almost every single piece we have for sale has been touched by myself; I do the embroidery, I put in the tags, I silkscreen... not to mention I do the graphic design (or at least think up and sketch the concept of the design). That doesn't mean Chris won’t add his time and input on the production side, because he does do that too. We want to make clothes that are comfortable and not just another cookie-cutter rectangle shaped t-shirt; and we want to make designs that will stand out (the company name helps out with that)”

Chris: “Right now we carry: hats (beanies, fitted caps, and snapbacks), sweaters and hoodies, long sleeve tees, tees, sunglasses... we have a little bit of everything for both men and women... And yes the long awaiting men’s tanks will soon be out!”

• Do you have any exciting plans for future designs or products that you can share with us?

Chris: “We've got a ton of stuff in the works. As far as future designs and products, we can't say too much, but it's going to reflect how we've grown in the industry.”

Alex: “We have a huge list of ideas, for designs and different apparel but as Chris says we kind of have to keep them on the hush right now till we gather the time and resources to produce them. We can tell you that we are going to continue to put the time and effort into bringing you some sweet gear, and we are looking at doing a few collaboration pieces with some other companies, I can't tell you which right now, mostly because I just don't want to jinx it. But if you want to be some of the first in the know, the best thing to do is follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Just look up "murdertron". We're also looking at starting a blog. The blog's purpose will be to give everyone more of a personal insight on ourselves and our brand, what we're up to, what we like, and won’t necessarily be apparel orientated.”

 Is there anything else you'd like to add?

Chris: “First and foremost thank you Niki, for taking the time for this interview, and of course a massive thanks to everyone who's currently supporting us and helping spread the word! It’s your support that’s helping us grow.”

Alex: “Yeah and a big thank you to Nick Slowiak, the guys on Edmonton Impact Echo, they were all a big help in getting this brand off the ground. All the guys on Scrub Life, my teammates on Kamikaze, Random Heroes, Mirabel Impact, Shawn Monk, Girl Paintballer, Todd Ancich, Marc Beaudin, Dan Healey... PKFilms! (Check them out on YouTube and Vimeo) Some of the stores that carry our clothes here in Ottawa: Fall Down Gallery, Reap & Sew, Trackwerks. Our music groups: DefineD, Prehistoric, Homebased... I hope I didn't forget anyone, We really appreciate you guys lending a helping hand and giving us a chance to showcase our brand.”

“Also if you're are a store or know a store looking to carry Murdertron e-mail the info to chris@murdertron.com”

Alex and Chris, it has been an absolute pleasure to speak to you about your company and to hear about your vision for the future. I wish you all of the best as you continue to sow into the Murdertron brand. Thank you for creating unique apparel that stands out and feels great! I see only great things ahead for you! 

Signing off (to go shopping at murdertron.com),

The Paintball Wife