Episode 4: 2000-2010 REBOOT

As we enter the new millennium, I call it the Reboot, Antonio Ansaldi is now an established brand in urban wear, continuing to grow and expand. We continue the conversation here with Antonio as he details his near-death-experience that transpired into a lifestyle change for him, and an end to our collaboration with The Source magazine. Enter Hollywood – a shift from print to the big screen as Antonio Ansaldi Inc. is called to clad the villains in its first major motion picture – Shaft, with Samuel L. Jackson. Major film contracts followed to feature our designs in the movies Exit Wounds, starring Steven Seagal and DMX, Paramount Pictures Save the Last Dance and Warner Brothers biker movie Torque with Ice Cube, all boosting the brand. As growth continued, an opportunity came to sell the company, but 9/11 had other plans. The brand persisted with the custom leather studio, the opening of a retail location in Boston and an overseas manufacturer supplying the demand for wholesale. New work contracts, expansion and more clients continued, but as the decade went on, the saturation of the hip hop apparel market spurred some changes; a time to regroup, rethink, relocate, and plan for a new direction.