In the world of Airsofting over the last few years, something strange has been happening. We’ve seen the world of fashion around airsoft grow up and, well, everyone is into night vision goggles now.
In the process, brands that are around airsoft (several veteran-owned clothing companies also have a big presence on the skirmish field) have made the jump from cringe-inducing “MP5 silhouette on a t-shirt” to a few brands that you wouldn’t feel weird wearing out to the shops, or to the pub — remember pubs?
One of the companies that really nails “fashionable stuff I don’t feel like a dork wearing” is Afraid of the Dark, who bring a streetwear style (and a whole heap of NODS) for those who want something a little different.
As someone who skirmishes regularly in a t-shirt, they won me over almost immediately with their black tee with pink neon logo, which is comfortable, looks the business, and doesn’t make you stand out when you’re hiding out in a bush.
Airsoft x Streetwear
Where Afraid of the Dark nails it is the brand’s aesthetic. AOTD founder Nathan delivers some top notch visuals and some pretty suave clothing.
“The most important thing for AOTD as a business is that all our customers remain happy every time they purchase from us,” says Nathan. “As a one man business, it’s hard to keep up with the demand. 99% of our customers are so understanding and accept that delays happen. The drawback of being a one man op is that I take the negative emails / messages so personally, but always respond as professionally as possible!”
This desire to be as good as they can be underpins a lot of what makes AOTD so special. Another is the elements that AOTD has learnt from street wear: the art of a good merch drop, with limited edition items coming out at a certain time. The tempo on these drops is high, meaning there’s always something new you want to buy for your collection.
The company only came into existence last year, and Nathan attributes a lot of the success to buy in from the Airsoft community: “As cheesy as it sounds, the community is what I love. AOTD wouldn’t have blown up as fast as it has without the backing and approval from the community. The big companies hate me because we are the same, but different. I’ve got a passion for content and always strive to enhance my own skill set as a designer and as a business owner.”
Next up
AOTD’s next big step is the 2021 spring range. “I’d love to release a date for when that’s dropping but at the moment I’m more concerned with getting everyone’s current orders printed and posted,” says Nathan. “So far the range is shaping up to be our biggest ever drop featuring; windbreakers, tees, hoodies, baseball caps, loads new slaps, patches and a coffee table book.”
As the winter range moved from the neon soaked colours of the original range into a more muted Geronimo look, it was clear that AOTD has a few tricks up their sleeve as a business. You can see new products as they launch on AOTD’s Instagram.
On the field
AOTD keeps Nathan busy and he’s not on the field as much as he’d like, and says he gets a skirmish in “Maybe every few months just to get a social in with some pals.” He’s a Milsim fan, admitting: “Milsim is where my head is at, and will probably stay that way until I decide I’m too old to play dress up.”
He uses a HK416 Devgru variant, a Glock 17 and then various bits of kit. Most of the time you’ll see him playing at Worthing Airsoft, although he also co-runs Defiant Events, a Milsim outfit.
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