By Whitney Richardson
TE: A trend you hate or wish you would have started?
JM: A trend that I hate is Thrasher being uncool. Thrasher is literally the coolest brand doing it and everyone hates on them heavy for being a poser brand. fuck all of u Thrasher is sick.
If there’s anything I learned from engaging in my interview debut, through DMs but there’s still pride, it’s that Jonathan Melton of Ransom Clothing and a member of the booming youtube channel CUFBOYS knows there’s no reason to stride for the norm. Greatness comes from hard work, trust in the ones you love most and a personality that is no one else’s but your own. I messaged him for fifteen minutes and I already know there’s greatest coming from this young designer and entrepreneur. There’s no reign to a legend if there isn't an introductory.
TE: When did you start designing clothes?
JM: The first time I designed something was when I was a freshman. It was complete shit, but it was my first time dabbling with design.
TE: Who's your fashion inspiration?
JM: I have a massive variety of fashion inspiration. Tyler Grosso, Zac from FTP, Kevin Thatcher, and James Jebbia. but i also have a shitload of unlikely candidates. Kurt Cobain, Johnny Depp, Christofer Drew, Rivers Cuomo, and shoutout to Frankie Serka from Gunk. He's influenced me heavy and Gunk is doing big things... I could go on forever lol.
TE: One person you'd want to wear your clothing?
JM: One person I'd want to wear my clothing, 1000000% could never happen, but Kurt Cobain. if they could somehow find a way for Kurt to wear a Ransom shirt, I could then die happy.
TE: We looked back through your designs, what do you think has influenced these changes? From the hot pink ransom tee to the Ransom x Dickies and Devil button up.
JM: When Cameron, Landon and i first started the brand we kinda just made shit we thought would be cool, ya know. But after 2 drops, the pink logo tee and the Sopranos inspired tee, I just started doing whatever i wanted, and Ransom is just gonna start getting more and more weird :)
It wasn’t hard to tell that Jonathan is a man of many influences and passions. His fusion of Rock and Hip Hop influences melted and molded into Ransom Clothing, bringing his creativity to life. Then trickled into another one of his passions which he and his trendsetting peer and creator of CUFBOYS, Cameron Haller were able to venture out on, standing tall at over two hundred and forty thousand subscribers.
TE: We watched a few CUFBOYS videos, what's behind its creation and what would you like to see the channel become in the next three years?
JM: CUFBOYS IS THE GREATEST CHANNEL ON EARTH. I LOVE CAMERON AND LANDON. Whats behind it’s creation is the genius Cameron Haller. He made something out of nothing and I admire him so much for that. I wanna see him reach a million subs within the next 3 years.
TE: What kind of message do you want to send with the platform you've created?
JM: I want to send the message that you can wear whatever you want whenever you want.
Jonathan sets out to spread positivity and and advocates for expressing yourself and being open to any form of creativity. Music seems to be CUFBOYS' and Jonathan’s form of choice. Artists from XXXTENTACION to Kurt Cobain have been mentioned and featured on their popular Youtube channel, opening themselves and their audience to a variety of lyrical and musical influences. The group’s passions grew into Beitz Fest, a music festival in Southern Maryland featuring a number of local artists of multiple genres and creeds. Ransom Clothing cohosted the event spotlighting some of the budding talent of the area and the growing brand.
TE: With Beitzfest being a success and just recently being featured on No Jumper’s Streetwear Review, what’s next for you and similar forms of creative collaborations?
JM: Not entirely sure what’s next for Ransom as a brand. Always opportunities coming in, and I’m just going with the flow. It’s easier and much more enjoyable that way. Beitzfest was insane. shoutout to Billy and Checkmate. I love you. And being on the streetwear review was one thing, Adam wearing it in his vlog the next day was fucking sick. hahaha.
TE: Top 5 underrated artists from the DMV?
JM: Top 5 Underrated DMV artists:
-Landon Cube
-Savage Hands
-Dreemy LJ
-Joe Stewart
-Christopher Sean
The cup for hot DMV artists is running over with untapped, original talent.
TE: You rep Maryland pretty heavily. What importance do you think supporting the locals has on future creatives?
JM: supporting locals is very important. without supporting local artists, there will be no artistic scene, without an artistic scene, you’re fucked. I also love Maryland for being so boring. If MD wasnt such a boring shithole of a place, I wouldnt be so motivated to make it out.
It’s true, Maryland can be pretty boring nine times out of ten, but that one time that it’s not boring is usually do to people like Jonathan Melton and his trendsetting friends. All great creations have stemmed from need and Maryland has been overdue for quiet some time now. A new wave of rappers, stylists and influencers is nothing short of nurturing for the state. A visionary mindset is definitely necessary to push our area forward and make a mark in the industry. The Experience wants to showcase these visionaries, and we’re happy to have Jonathan as the first of many featured.
I closed off our virtual interview with a question we plan on asking all of our featured artists and influencers. You can probably see it coming.
TE: Finally, what do you do in your day to day life to "stop and smell the roses"?
JM: While stopping and smelling the roses, you can typically find me at band practice, skateboard with Cam and Landon (or doing some other dumb shit with them), and last but not least, hanging out with my beautiful girlfriend. Being with her takes all of my stress and pain away! LOVE U PAYTON :)
You gotta love the youth.
