This month, we sat down with Josh Richmond — UC grad and co-founder of Dirty Lids — to kōrero about what it’s like launching a clothing brand while studying, learning on the fly, and keeping your head right in the middle of it all.

From humble beginnings reselling second-hand hats in Year 13 to dropping original designs, hosting festival stalls, and repping mental health through their latest collab — Dirty Lids is a passion project that turned into something pretty special.

We asked Josh to share the journey so far.

Tell us a bit about who you are, and what you do/role at Dirty Lids?
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"I’m Josh Richmond, I’m from Auckland, and I studied a Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting and Finance) at UC. I founded Dirty Lids with my mate Josh, and together we cover everything from designing hats to shipping orders. Personally, I focus on the marketing side of things, which includes everything from our email marketing to our website design and brand collaborations and placement."
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What inspired the creation of Dirty Lids, and did you face any challenges early on?

"Dirty Lids originally came from me and Josh finding second-hand vintage hats to resell during Year 13, and we realised we couldn’t keep up with the demand, so we decided to design our own hats which released in April 2022, these did quite well and we’ve sort of just carried on the momentum from there.

We’ve faced a lot of challenges on the way, a mentionable struggle was the hats themselves. We went through a long process of testing materials, and fine tuning the fit of our hats to make it something that we would wear ourselves. This was very time-consuming and expensive, but it was important to us, as our love for hats was the reason we started in the first place. We’ve also had to learn everything along the way, such as how to work with suppliers, and marketing a product effectively, but the learning we have done over time is one of the most rewarding parts for us."

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Running a business can be hectic—how do you find balance between hustle and health?
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It can certainly be hectic, when we have stands across multiple festivals at the same time, or a new drop is coming things get very busy, very quickly. Luckily, it is a passion project for us firstly, and a business second, so whilst things can get overwhelming, it is important to step back and realise why we are doing it.

Outside of this, I like to prioritize time for exercise and socialising, which are the two main things that help me keep my head screwed on and keep me grounded, even when life gets crazy. I’ve been fortunate enough to integrate Dirty Lids into part of my daily life to the point where things like our photo shoots come from social events, so it feels less like work.

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What was it like starting Dirty Lids while you were still studying at UC—and how did you juggle uni life with launching a business?
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"Running a business whilst studying full time definitely isn’t easy, especially in the early stages. For me, things like time blocking where I designated time to purely work on Dirty Lids or do Uni work helped a lot in staying on track in both aspects. In terms of juggling the social side of Uni life, it helped a lot for me to get my mates involved with Dirty Lids, constantly asking for their advice and input, which made it feel less like a mission and more like a shared journey. That way, I could keep the brand connected to my uni life while staying motivated through their support. Balancing the two wasn’t always perfect—some weeks Dirty Lids took priority, other times uni had to come first—but being genuinely passionate about Dirty Lids made the extra hours feel worth it."

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How do you hope something like this collab helps break the stigma around mental health, especially among young men?
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"Being able to collab with a group like Lads Without Labels is something I am very proud of. A lot of our customer base is young men, and students, so being in the position to provide a reminder to people to check in on their mates through our hats is a great opportunity. The hats provide an opportunity to support Lads Without Labels, whilst also providing a subtle reminder to keep mental health in the conversation, and further normalise the important conversations that we need to be having."
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What’s one piece of advice you’d give to someone who wants to support a mate going through a tough time?
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"I think one of the best things you can do is a mate is just listen. Providing an opportunity to your mates to talk and let their bottled up emotions out does wonders for their mental health. You don’t need to try and fix it all for them, but little things such as being there and checking in, inviting them out or flicking them a message can go a long way for a mate who might be going through a rough time."
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What are some habits you’ve got to help you stay all good up top?
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"Keeping active and socialising with the people I care about is something I prioritize to stay all good up top. I have found that no matter how busy life can feel, these things are important to stay grounded. Whether it be going to the gym, going for a run, or even just getting outside for a 20 minute walk exercise gives me time to take my mind off the things in life that are stressing me out. Spending time with my mates is also very important to me, even if it’s just a quick visit to the gym with a mate or a short round of tennis, it’s a good reminder that your mates are there for you, which can be massive at times."‍

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From time-blocking lectures around photo shoots to turning a passion for headwear into a business with real impact — Josh reminds us that looking after your mental health doesn’t have to come after the grind. It can be baked into the hustle.

The Lads Without Labels x Dirty Lids collab drop is now out — grab yours and flick your mate a message while you’re at it.

Until next time,
Ngā mihi nui,

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The Lads whānau