Los Angeles streetwear icon and Born X Raized founder Chris “Spanto” Printup has passed away. he was 42 years old.

Bourne X Raised issued a printout of a statement to The Times saying, “Mr. Spandt was involved in a car accident on June 25th and died in Albuquerque on June 28th at 7:56 a.m. local time.” acknowledged his death.

“He has three children from his wife Anna, Marilyn, Carter and David, a younger sister, three brothers, a mother, a stepmother, a stepfather, a beloved grandparent, a born x raised family, a large family back home, and… He left behind the city, the Los Angeles he loved and defended, and an extensive network of true friends.”

Born X Raized was founded in 2013 and has become a cult favorite in Los Angeles, and its founder Spanto has become a local celebrity of choice. The brand’s collaborations with the Dodgers and Los Angeles Rams sold out in minutes, and their epic raiders, including Sadie Hawkins’ Winter Formal Dance, sparked FOMO, alongside stars like Danny Trejo and Miguel for The Times, Vogue, and New York.・Featured in The Times. Nadia Lee Cohen and Freddie Gibbs have been planning their fights for months.

“Spanto was about people,” one Angeleno wrote on Tuesday. Instagram. “He is doing everything in his power to help so many communities. – Walked in unity to raise funds for McDonald House Southern California.

A spant is also given We’re giving away a pair of Bourne X Raised Nike SB Dunks to the 2023 graduates of Venice High School.

A Venice Beach native of Apache and Seneca descent, Spant used his Indigenous background and devotion to Los Angeles to inspire his fashion designs and how they are promoted. He often modeled his work on friends, family members and people he admired, such as his mother and brothers. Born X Raized recently collaborated with Levi’s, and soon after being asked to design the collection, Spant took the opportunity to honor his late father Butch, who died in a car accident earlier this year.

“I grew up in Los Angeles in the ’80s and ’90s, when clothes were such a big statement,” Spant said. trend Early this month. “We wore our clothes like armor and a badge of valor. We continue to have that same energy when designing our collections.”

Spant was born on June 6, 1981 and grew up poor, the son of an artist and musician. His father was homeless and played blues on the boardwalk for a change of pace. His mother was an artist, musician and writer. but, 2022 Fuse InterviewThe designer said he was lucky to have grown up in poverty and that his childhood struggles shaped him.

“I grew up in a poor environment, so I have to have an identity,” he said. “Because we have no material things, we must have something that we can call our own.

“When you think of starving artists, what do you think of? My family was in constant flux. I grew up surrounded.”

Spant admitted to being in prison and selling drugs when he was younger. He worked out the idea for Born X Raized while incarcerated, but he said the project was born out of a heartbreak about the way he lived his life.

“We didn’t have a business model. We didn’t have investors. We didn’t have anything,” he told Fuse.

But the brand meant something to him. He had a vision and he wanted to shine a light on the culture of Los Angeles, the authentic Angeleno culture he was born and raised in.

“I came to LA and realized that there are a lot of people who are chasing their LA dream.

“We are actually against it,” he said. “I am very proud of Los Angeles as a culture and as a people, so I decided to shine a light on the community that built this place. It’s like a love letter to a city that no longer exists.”

When Spant was released from prison, he printed 36 T-shirts and sold them in the trunk of his car. With the money he earned from his sales, he printed more and more.

“It’s really like selling drugs,” he joked.

In July 2013, shortly after launching Born X Raized, Spant was diagnosed with end-stage T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia and was treated until 2017. Ms. Spandt said her chemotherapy and hospital bills cost her everything. He had no money, no car, no place to live, and was depressed. But he and his business partner Born X Raised creative director Alex 2 Tone have been working with the brand throughout Spant’s chemotherapy treatments. And by 2018, he was cancer-free.

“It may sound corny, but our company was the beacon of hope for all of this. I think he gave up.”

Spant became a beloved figure for his dedication to the Los Angeles and Venice Beach communities, but his transcendental partying and keen ability to capture the pulse of the culture through streetwear made him a legend.

“When I was 19 or 20, I was looking as fresh as I could and wearing my best clothes,” he told The Times in March 2022. It’s like, “Don’t come in here, brother.” I was like, ‘I’ll be back’. I’m going to start my own party for people like us. ”

“If I ever leave this earth, this person will live on forever. We made it for the people of Los Angeles.”

Times staff writer Julissa James contributed to this report.