Why We Started
In May 2023 I got laid off. Tech wasn’t kind that year. Job searching felt like shouting into the void. Application after application, rejection after rejection. At first I thought it was just bad luck, but as the months went on it started to wear me down. I’d spent my career in tech and suddenly I wasn’t sure I wanted to go back. The longer it went, the more I found myself thinking about other things – what I actually wanted to do, what kind of life I wanted to build.
Then in late September Scott came out to visit California. We spent a week catching up, talking about everything from work to family to what was next. Somewhere in those conversations we started asking bigger questions – what do we want to build? What could we see ourselves doing in ten or twenty years? We had talked for a while about starting something. I think those Covid years, seeing people launch new ventures during lockdown, gave us that desire to do something for ourselves. It planted that seed that maybe we could build something too, even if we didn’t yet know what that was.
It was one of those slow-burning ideas that came out of nowhere. We were talking about clothes, the same way we always had, about brands we liked, how nothing ever fits right and how hard it is to find something with the right shape and feel. That conversation kept looping back until one of us said, half-jokingly, why don’t we just make our own? Clothes that fit us properly, designed how we’d actually wear them.
At first it sounded ridiculous. Two guys, living on opposite sides of the world, deciding to start a clothing brand. But the thought didn’t go away. It stuck in that corner of your mind that you can’t ignore. We started sketching ideas, researching blanks, figuring out how to even get something made. But then we paused. This is a crowded space. Everyone wants to start a brand. The barrier to entry might be low, but the competition is ruthless.
One thing kept coming up though. For all the great British clothing brands out there, none of them are Welsh. Not really. And that felt like a gap worth filling. Wales has its own identity, its own voice, but it rarely gets a seat at that table. We saw an opportunity to change that, to build something from the ground up that represented who we are, and where we’re from.
We truly believe we can build a Welsh brand that belongs up there with the great names in British streetwear and fashion.Something people can be proud of, wherever they’re from. The phrase “why not us” became something we kept coming back to. We were chatting one night about the brands we admire, the ones we’ve always followed, and it just came out: why not us? Why can’t we be the ones to build the brand that puts Wales on the map? That question became the fuel. Every time doubt crept in, we’d circle back to it. Why not us.
What the Name Maybon Means
The name came a little later. We went through a handful of placeholder names early on while we were researching manufacturers and exploring designs, but none of them stuck. We wanted something that meant something.
We landed on Maybon, a stylized version of the Welsh word Mabon. In Welsh mythology, Mabon means “divine son”. We added the “y” for easier pronunciation – a small detail, but one that made it feel right. It’s a subtle nod to our roots, something that connects us to where we’re from, but still easy for anyone to say and remember.
What’s Next
From that trip in late 2023 to our first release in 2025, it’s been a blur of learning. Late nights, trial and error, moments of excitement, and plenty of mistakes. But every small win feels like validation that we’re heading in the right direction.
This blog marks the start of something new for us, a way to document the journey properly. We’ll be posting monthly entries covering our wins, our losses, what we’re learning along the way, and what’s coming next. Sneak peeks, reflections, release updates, the ups and downs of running a brand across two continents – all of it.
A way to journal our journey, honestly and unfiltered.
Ben