Low heads.com The website seems to be very old and I haven’t found anything online saying it’s bad but just curious if it’s as legit as it seems

What are some social media brands or apps that present clothing like lowheads, and reliable

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Since r/kayaking is growing and there are a lot of new kayakers buying boats, I thought I would put together a PSA about low head dams. Especially, since a family friend of mine was recently part of a rescue team for a kayaker that drowned in a low head dam that was marked.

Why should you care? Low head dams are effectively "drowning machines". If you are paddling a river that is new to you without maps or information, they can be hard to spot before you get sucked in. In nearly all but three states, low head dams often are not required to be well marked. I have found in my adventures lots of hard to spot low head dams on rivers. The most hazardous of these are low head dams built for old mills that are in disrepair and with debris under them that create highly hazardous conditions. So, something that looks like a "1 foot drop" can kill you instantly. In areas where weather is unpredictable, a low head dam can go from safe, to a drowning machine with little warning. Even if you have swam on a low head dam for years, you should stop immediately, as river conditions change, so too does the power of the low head dam to kill you.

Regardless of weather, low head dams look very innocuous, but can and will kill you. Low head dams will suck you over the head, and then can trap you in the danger zone - in a hydraulic - in the back flow. Even worse, if approaching from down river, once you go over the "boil" the hydraulic will suck you in fast into the dam. Even a power boat is susceptible to being sunk, because a low head dam under certain conditions will trap air in the back flow, thereby reducing the buoyancy of your boat and your PFD. The latter part is key, even if you have a PFD on, a low head dam can and will drown you if you get sucked in especially when a river is running fast - conditions kayakers may be tempted to be in some rivers.

Here is a great link about information about low head dams and why they are dangerous.

http://www.safedam.com/low-head-dams.html

Note toward the bottom of the page is the listing of drownings. Note there are several instances of kayakers being killed on low head dams.

and from Boat Safe.

http://www.boatsafe.com/nauticalknowhow/lowhead.htm

Here are some videos demonstrating the danger.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGUTqPwBuHg

Here is a video that goes into more detail about the hydrology of low head dams.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsYgODmmiAM

Paddle safe out there!

Edit: If you have maps of river hazards for you location it would be useful to post them.

TLDR at the bottom, it's a long rant.

It's crazy how many times I've stumbled on a cool brand that I've never heard of before only to find out that one of their pieces goes for $800. Immediate turn off. Most of these brands are startups, the reason I can tell is because they're below 50-100k followers on social media and I've never heard any of them brought up in conversation.

Generally speaking, Luxury brands are worn as a flex. Sure we have the growing art market that call fashion "Art" and use it to express themselves but it's still a niche market. Disclaimer: I personally consider fashion art & dip my funds into designer every once in awhile.

Anyway: Imo even if you've been in the game for a year or two if your customer base is small you're still a startup. The prices on your clothes don't matter, your lineup doesn't matter - your customer base is what you need to be growing. This mentality goes hand in hand with what I said earlier about social media because it can suggest the size of a company's customer base. Especially in Fashion, where vanity is the market - social media platforms are integral to the growth of the business in this day and age. Virtually every major Fashion house uses social media to promote their business in 2022.

Yes, some people grow their following - tease an upcoming piece and end up charging maybe 300-600 for a puffer. Alright, people are going to buy that - I don't know how many - but the marketing was good. Sometimes, the pieces even sell out. Well done.

With this in mind, seeing a brand with less than 10k followers charging $800 for a hoodie just fucks me up because it makes me wonder, how many sales does this brand have to be charging $800 for a hoodie? How many people are buying this hoodie? If no one's heard of the brand, especially if it's fresh out the gate - who do you expect to be buying your shit for $800? It's not a flex, so the price does not accomodate to that market."Flex" pieces tend to be more successful, the price and the popularity of the piece are what make these pieces successful. Just look at the growth of VETEMENTS, or Balenciaga's most basic pieces. Expensive, simple, and still a flex. Price and popularity are what make these sell.

So with the brands that have a small customer base, it's expensive just to be expensive. Price alone can be a flex, sure, but this piece will not be remembered. It won't succeed like the simplest Balenciaga logo tee and your brand is not getting popular anytime soon unless you're a Fashion/marketing wunderkind or have the connections to propel your business in the right direction.

"What about the cost of making the garment and the profit margin?" If you're a startup and your profit margin is WAY above the cost of garment creation you aren't making it out I'm sorry. Simple as that.

Even with your average major Luxury Fashion House, your average Joe would look at one piece and say "Honestly, I'd rather spend that money on a new car/a house/food/travel/furniture/hobbies etc." But sometimes, the fact that it's Balenciaga or LV is a tipping point just enough for some that they'll cop it. If no one's heard of your brand, that tipping point doesn't exist. One look at the price: "I'd rather spend that on LV."

Regarding those high rollers that consider themselves cool for wearing underground "designer:" this will again be a very tight niche you're accomodating. Just like guys who think they're "cool" for liking underground music - most times what they like just doesn't get popular. Not a problem for them, but the brand/artist they're into needs to get popular to succeed or make a living. One in a million times, an underground artist will pop off - but that's because of how good they at their job or recognition on social media or networking etc - how many people relate to or want to express themselves with the art they've created. Popularity is integral to the success of an artist/designer/musician. It sucks, but it's true.

You can rely on that one in a million chance OR:

Start off a business with marketing at its core. Save up to pay for marketing staff if you have to, social media experts. Freelancers. Take inspiration from popular artistic Fashion Houses to accomodate an artistic niche. Aim to price the clothing at an affordable price while still meeting your profit goals. If your pieces are good, you will sell more - even if your prices are lower and as a result you make more*.* When you sell more, your customer base grows. Build your network. If you really want to sell high: When your customer base grows, you open a Luxury/Avant-Garde branch. Get on popular sites like lowheads, or slam-jam like Matthew did with Alyx (now he's the creative director of Givenchy). Grow your following, get your clothes on popular figures/artists/influencers.

Unknown startup brands that price their creations at around $1000 just aren't doing it right and I'm cringing at it like a pseudo Tumblr poet thinking they're as impactful as Charles Bukowski. Being impactful depends on having an audience. It doesn't matter how many "Unique" Pieces you make your sales will tank because of your price decisions. Determination alone is not the key to success.

TL;DR

With less than 50k followers on social media, pricing your pieces in the same range as major Fashion Houses will only be detrimental to your growth as a business. Don't be surprised if your business tanks.

Im seeing people find small instagram type clothing brands and i want some of my own. Where can I do that?

I forgot the episode but I remember in one of the Ask Danny’s he mentions this website he found that has some cool ass clothes for cheap. Does anyone remember what it was? I’m broke as fuck and need that site so bad😭