Today we’d like to introduce you to Cody Montgomery.
Cody, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Totally Blown began at the Danger Shack on my family’s tree farm in Iowa. I was living in the woods off the grid in a historic chicken coup when a mouse chewed up one of my t-shirts and put all of these random little holes in it. I found the shirt and at first was bummed but then was like “hey this is actually pretty cool” and started thinking about ways to make more. One day it clicked, quite literally, and I found myself out behind the shack blasting holes in my clothes with my brother’s old single-shot shotgun. Once I came up with the name and fine-tuned the process I took the idea back out west and founded the brand in Joshua Tree, Ca nearly 10 years ago now. Since, Totally Blown has been blowing up on runways, in Vogue, Japan, Europe, Urban Outfitters, Selfridges, Amiri, and more. We’ve now produced literally thousands and thousands of pieces using our unique distressing process, along with our signature hand-dyed casual unisex apparel made from natural textiles. We do a lot of tees, hoodies, sweatshirts, dresses, pants, and stuff like that, and we even offer private label distressing for other brands which we have also done a ton of.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Well, the desert dirt road to the shooting range is super bumpy, so the easy answer here is no. But some of the other challenges along the way have been figuring out how to scale the shotgun-distressing process. There’s no handbook there, so basically trial and error and lot of destroyed t-shirts later, I’ve come up with a process that is pretty simple, safe, and reliable. Other challenges have been just sticking by our mission to help end gun violence which obviously has a lot of obstacles and sadly brutally continues to this day. The good news is that gun violence is being discussed and taken more seriously than ever and the implementation of some common sense gun laws, particularly in California, has made it much more difficult to get ammo and guns now than when I started which is great, but there is obviously still a lot of greed and fear that still stands in the way of actually ending the crisis and addressing the mental health issues involved. To sum up what could be a long list of other struggles ranging from Covid to recession to the classic high winds of the desert, I’m now a proud father which is amazing. I think, when it comes down to it, life can be as big a struggle as you want to make it, or as great a joy. One of the lessons I continue to learn through my process of making Totally Blown is to let go, see what you get, and relish the surprise.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Basically, I’m the owner and creative force behind Totally Blown so I wear a lot of different hats, but what I enjoy the most about the brand is our super unique approach to fashion that revolves primarily around the shotgun distressing process and helping to raise awareness and funds to end gun violence. No one else is doing this, and certainly not a decade ago when we got started. We also offer organic clothing, locally made products, recycled clothing and fabrics, sustainable dyes, and only use natural fiber clothing to top it off. The uniqueness of our product has always been paramount. In fact, because of the chaos of the shotgun distressing and hand dyeing processes we use, no two pieces of clothing are ever the same and that is what keeps the process fun and exciting for me as a designer and maker.
What would you say has been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
Keep going. Don’t chase trends. Figure out what it is you really love to do and that sets you apart and then just keep refining it, expanding it, and making it better. Be patient. Be resilient. Say yes and say no.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.totallyblown.us
- Instagram: @totally__blown
- Facebook: facebook.com/totallyblown
Image Credits
Cody Montgomery
Brooke Richards
