FUN UNDER XTREME KONDITIONS WITH FOUNDER TODD WELLER
8th September 2017



fuxk roxk

Fun under Xtreme konditions (FuXk Gear) is rocking it out on the road with its Fall 2017 Work Hard Play Hard blitz and tour. The FuXk Gear team is hitting the market hard to drive increased visibility and brand awareness.

FuXk is a next generation brand promoting Fun under Xtreme konditions. Currently, the brand is focused on clothing including rock shirts. Fun is at the core of the FuXk movement.

MetalTalk recently had a chance to catch up with FuXk co-founder Todd Weller to talk more about the group and their efforts.

MetalTalk: What is FuXk all about and how do you pronounce it?

Todd: "Let's nail the pronunciation first. It's exactly what most people think when they ask the question. The 'k' at the end is silent so it's pronounced 'FUX'. As far as what we are all about, we are a new brand, an edgy one for sure. But I also view us as a movement.

"The core value of our brand and movement is having fun. It sounds like a simple concept and it is – we want people to make sure they are having at least one ounce of fun every day, all the time. No matter how Xtreme (difficult) the konditions (situations) you are operating in."

Is FuXk a play on the 'F' word?

"Funny you should ask because originally that's how it started. My friend and co-founder, Phil from Philly', said that word with what sounded like an 'X'. I looked at him and said 'WTF did you say and how do you spell it'! And a brand was born.

"As I thought about it I realised it could be an interesting play on the word but I immediately knew that was too shallow. It had to mean something. I have an interesting creative side and within five minutes of thought, I came up with Fun under Xtreme konditions.

"After more reflection (and several drinks!) – it became clear that this was very relevant to my mode of being and the people I've associated with during my life. My wife has a saying she's used for over twenty years: 'Have fun Todd, you always do.' Damn right!

Your brand references, 'Work Hard Play Hard'. Why is that important?

"So, I've been a big partier all my life but I've also been a hard worker in school and in my various professional gigs. Another description I've gotten over the years is 'he plays hard but he works hard'. Some people haven't been exposed to my professional side - 'Professional Todd' as some call it.

"At FuXk Gear, we think having fun is important but it's also important to have balance, so 'playing hard' is important but it needs to be balanced with a 'work hard' mentality. For example, driving FuXk Gear is a lot of work and we are putting a lot of effort into it. But - while we are working hard on it we are also having fun. It's all about balance - Work Hard Play Hard. I must say my balance is slightly skewed to the Play Hard side.

Why is FuXk Gear focusing on the Heavy Metal market?

"Easy one and great one to talk about! First – I love music! It's an Xtreme source of fun for me and many others. In fact, I think it's hard not to have fun listening to music as some studies show that listening to music causes the brain to release dopamine, a chemical associated with pleasure and reward.

"Second – while I love all types of music – Heavy Metal and hard rock are my favorite type. I was born in the early 70s and the first record my dad got me was 'Kiss: The Originals' – the set of their first three albums. That was my first exposure to music and I still have it.

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"Other than Kiss I wasn't really exposed to other Metal/rock bands of that generation like Led Zeppelin, though I grew to appreciate them later. My real exposure beyond Kiss was with bands like Motley Crue, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Quiet Riot, Twisted Sister, Ratt, Poison, Metallica and the list goes on.

"So, I love music in general but I really love Heavy Metal and hard rock. The great thing about the rock crowd is that it spans a wide age range. Go to a Kiss concert, look around and you'll often see multiple generations of a family attending - sometimes three or four generations.

"This is a pic of my son back in 2012 at a Kiss show – no that's not the real Gene Simmons, just some man in the parking lot who looked a lot like him.

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"Importantly, as you know, Heavy Metal and hard rock is alive and well and there are lots of cool, new groups that are driving the next generation of rock music. I listen to Sirius XM Radio and bounce around between Octane, Hair Nation, Ozzy's Boneyard and the new Turbo station. My favorite DJ is Kayla Riley but please keep that a secret!"

Talk about your 'Work Hard Play Hard Blitz And Tour'. What's it's about and how's it going?

"Our 'Work Hard Play Hard Blitz And Tour' is all about amping up the visibility of our brand and our movement. It's all about increasing our exposure and getting more people behind our movement. In fact, I'm thinking of starting a FuXk Army but will have to check if Gene Simmons and Kiss have trademarked that! LOL!

"The Blitz portion of our effort is getting our shirts onto the bodies of industry influencers such as MetalTalk and TotalRock Radio! We're having some great initial success in this area, as we will be announcing soon.

"The FuXk Tour part of our effort is hitting numerous concerts and getting shirts to the bands as well as fans. We have a booth at OC Bikefest, a bike festival in Ocean City, Maryland, USA. What's cool about OC Bikefest is we are getting exposed to the motorcycle (i.e. biker crowd) which is a great crossover because they like rock music.

"What's even cooler about OC Bikefest is that Kix, Lynch Mob, Chevelle, Tonic, Lynyrd Skynrd and Molly Hatchet (RIP Dave Hlubek) are all scheduled to perform. We're also launching our new 'Ghost Rider' design in connection with that event.

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"We also have a Nothing More (great new hard rock band - check them out at www.nothingmore.net) show coming up and Guns N' Roses in October. Hitting these shows is also getting us a lot of cool pics and videos of concert footage and people sporting our FuXk Gear shirts.

"We're posting a lot of that cool content on the fuxkgear.com website and our social sites. We are active on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter so like us or follow us - @fuxkgear."

Head over to FuXk RoXk by clicking here.