In the five years leading up to Neo Hyphen, I was working in a high-pressure agency, feeling unfulfilled and wanting so much more out of life. I spent a good chunk of my 20s going to a job where my creativity was often scrutinised, placed inside a box, with little reward or recognition. All I wanted was to break the mould, to live outside of reform, and to have creative freedom without turning to others for recognition when it came to my designs.
At the time, I was cycling and training heavily for triathlon, and I felt most alive when I was out on the road with my team. I guess, because people knew I was a designer, I was approached by a few cycling and triathlon team owners to help develop their team cycling kit designs. I didn’t realise at the time that designing custom cycling apparel would become my biggest love, and that’s when it hit me. I had found my calling: I wanted to create my own cycling apparel company that would embody my desire to break the mould, stand out, and never have to seek the approval of others. And I wanted the same for the customers, the kind of people who embrace their authenticity, step out of their comfort zone, and just be themselves.
So, I found my calling, and from that moment on, I would disappear during my lunch hour to a local coffee shop to brainstorm how the hell I was going to make my dream a reality. My biggest break (blessing and a curse) came when I suffered burnout during Covid-19 and unexpectedly quit my agency job with no plan ahead. What I did have was time, and that was when I started building Neo Hyphen.
Neo Hyphen started on a blank piece of paper in my parents' living room. I had no idea what I was doing, but I knew how to design brand identities, and that became the foundation of Neo Hyphen. I spent days brainstorming names, and eventually, after a ton of trial and error, I settled on ‘Neo-’ to represent new beginnings, community and collaboration. The final name, Neo Hyphen, was registered with the CIPC, marking a scary but exciting moment.
I remember overthinking whether Neo Hyphen should be a (PTY) Ltd or a sole proprietorship, but I just knew I wanted the brand to be bigger than me. I wanted its legacy to outlive me, and that’s why I registered Neo Hyphen as a (PTY) ltd. From there, I began reaching out to local and international manufacturers. It was a process of elimination, rejection, and negotiation, but eventually, I found the right partner. That’s when Cherry, Neo Hyphen's manufacturer and sales agent, became a key player in the story.
While the ‘All-seeing Eye’ jersey samples were being developed, I began working on the online store, a world that was completely foreign to me. My approach was simple: eat the elephant one bite at a time. I had no idea how much was involved in setting up an e-commerce site until I was in the thick of it. From designing the site (with my usual OCD) to choosing the right payment gateways, shipping suppliers, and working out cost prices and selling prices (maths lit level of understanding), it was overwhelming. But after months of hard work, in March, 2021, our first batch of ‘All-seeing Eye’ jerseys arrived. We checked them 1000 times over, packaged them by hand and launched the store.
The response was incredible. The ‘All-seeing Eye’ jersey was a massive hit and customers couldn’t get enough. But I knew I had to keep the momentum going. I wasn’t content with just one jersey design, so I launched two more, Le Croissant and Phantom. The Le Croissant kit was particularly special to me. It was a true reflection of how we, as a brand, saw our customers. No ride is ever complete without a good coffee and a fresh croissant at the end and we wanted to capture that essence in a design. Le Croissant became one of our most loved and distinctive pieces. In fact, even though we’ve taken a bit of a sabbatical, people have been reaching out to get their hands on a Le Croissant jersey because they saw it a few years ago and couldn’t get it out of their minds. That’s an achievement in itself.
Fast forward to late 2022 and Neo Hyphen received a DM from a guy named Ricky Hill. He mentioned knowing me from school and said he thought Neo Hyphen was pretty sweet. After a few messages and some coffee rides, Ricky and I got married three years later. He also became the COO of Neo Hyphen and the ultimate guardian of the Stoke. Ricky’s unique background, commercial aviation, karting from the age of three and even being a Lead Driving Instructor for Jaguar Land Rover South Africa, made him the perfect fit for Neo Hyphen. He embodies the same passion for pushing limits and doing things his way, just like the brand we are building.
With the online store back, our classic kits returning, and the community that built Neo Hyphen stronger than ever, what started in a living room is now on the road, and the ride is only just beginning. Ricky and I have big dreams for Neo Hyphen’s future, and while we know the road ahead won’t always be smooth, we’re excited for what’s to come.
This isn’t just cycling apparel. This is Neo Hyphen and we're built to stand out.