KIKS TYO

Kiks Tyo was launched in 2006 by hobby:tech. Prior to starting Kiks Tyo, hobby:tech was a partner in the Japanese creative collective and streetwear brand known as BROWNRATS (El. brown). In early 2006 he exited BROWNRATS to launch a clothing line of his own. The line would be based on one of his primary passions: sneakers.

By 2007 Kiks Tyo had opened its boutique store, the Kiks Tyo Head Shop, near Cat Street, the pedestrian strip that connects Tokyo's two youth fashion centers: Shibuya and Harajuku. The store initially offered Kiks Tyo's original clothing and accessories, Casio's line of G-Shock watches and a curation of collectable vintage sportswear, snapback caps and sneakers from brands like Nike, Air Jordan, Fila, Chalk Line, Cazal and Spike Lee's 40 Acres & A Mule - much of which was hard to find elsewhere in Japan at the time. At the same time Kiks Tyo opened its second retail store, html (hobby tasteful merchandise laboratory), in Ikebukuro, Tokyo. Kiks Tyo launched its first collection at these standalone stores in Tokyo and eventually via over 40 domestic boutique and specialty retailers throughout Japan and around the world.