Working Title
From Four Pins to Throwing Fits, we chronicle what makes Lawrence and James so key to the menswear scene.
I could write this article in a comical, humorous manner, but I believe that would be missing the point of what makes this duo so important to those who follow their endeavours closely. These two gentlemen are the voices that got me interested in fashion - with their first show ‘Fashion Bros’ they made fashion fun, digestible and easily accessible to those who were fans of the wider Complex Media portfolio. In the long-run, the death of Fashion Bros is arguably one of Complex’s biggest mistakes.
One of the major negatives from Fashion Bros’ premature cancellation was the demise of Four Pins, Lawrence and James’ fashion blog whilst at Complex, which ran from 2012-16. There seemed to be a golden run of articles, particular highlights including the Moy vs Shinola saga, ‘The Art of the Roast’, and ‘The Four Pins Guide to…’ series. This endeavour came to an abrupt stop in 2016 - whether this was down to Complex, or the writers themselves moving on to greener pastures, it is not for me to say - after all, it didn’t matter much to a 15 year old Brit. But what did matter was the fact that my source of entertainment was gone, and I was a husk of my former self. Click-bait articles on Highsnobiety and the like could not fulfill me, and for years I floated from publication to publication, rudderless, pining for what once was.
Fast-forward 3 years. It’s early 2019. Four Pins is now a meme account, albeit a great one, and Complex is not the same as it was back in those halcyon days of the mid 2010’s. How I remained clueless that Schlossman and Harris had created a podcast under the watchful eye of Barstool Sports, Failing Upwards, and it had been running since 2017, is still a mystery to me. As soon as I heard (thank you Mister Mort) the metaphorical junkie’s spoon was reheated - I was hooked, and the pod provided a fitting soundtrack to the rest of my year. Early in my relationship with Failing Upwards, I was invited to join the community discord, to chat with fellow fans of the podcast, Chuck, Producer Jay, and James + Lawrence themselves. This allowed them to connect with the fan-base and listen to constructive criticism, which had a positive impact on the podcast, most notably from seasons 8-10.
However, in early December of 2019, it all came crashing down. The Barstool contract was coming to a close, and there was talk of going independent, yet it was just that: talk. It was spoken into reality after an editing error left in half an hour of the boys badmouthing Barstool and exposing a whole host of close secrets. For confidentiality I will not delve into these facts, as they are also irrelevant at this point. It was a beautiful mess, and in retrospect, I doubt Schlossman or Harris would have wanted to end Failing Upwards in any other way.
They destroyed the Fila Disruptor's reputation, brought Blundstones into the mainstream, contributed to the resurgence of the Birkenstock within popular culture, and stressed the importance of a Gucci loafer on a daily basis. However, most importantly, the wider Schlossman/Harris universe ended up spawning this blog, which started life as a simple idea - what if we were to create a homage to Four Pins ?
This Thursday, they launch their latest endeavour - Throwing Fits - essentially Failing Upwards in all but title. Whilst the name change will take some getting used to, I will stick with it. The fact they are now supported by the fans via Patreon means that the content created will no longer be shackled down by Barstool, and that for me is reason enough to continue listening. So, after all that, Failing Upwards is dead, long live Throwing Fits.
And Long Live JTTB.
