At Island Boys Collective, No Boy Is An Island

Co-founder Izzraimy on doing everything with nothing

How?

7 years ago, my brother (@izzadely) and I ran Singapore’s first men’s fashion YouTube channel. I also started and stopped 3 blogs, 3 clothing brands. We always wanted to build a production collective.

We started Island Boys last year, while working at a shoe cleaning store. At 5pm on the day we started, we were approached to shoot a music video for Fariz Jabba. It published in Malaysia, got a million hits.

You make Island Boys better because…

I shot for .Wav(y) the way I party; I danced, moshed. Broke my camera, lights. I once threw my camera into the crowd, it got passed around for five minutes; I used that footage. I enjoy the 99% process over the 1% “done.”

Clients, I don’t like to work for you. I want to work with you; assure you what will, won’t work.

“Collective.”

I have conversations online, offline often with people who don’t know me. Tell them how much I love their work. With Shafeeq (@kidmeddling), we met on Twitter, at an event. Now, we’re a team of 7; and a wing of freelancers who I assign jobs where they fit best.

We don’t disagree much. We have different skill sets, have faith we can do good work.

Island Boys are the Singapore youth culture’s biggest influencers.

When we started, we heard bad things. We’d hear from other people how we fucked up client meetings. Our name in KL is not all good; we’re unintentionally taking some of their production jobs. Some think we’re fake, we copy. We don’t deny who we’re inspired by, what presets we use.

We’re surprised to hear good things.

When we used to be approached for work, we asked: Why us? Now, we ask: Why not us?

Brands collaborate to…

Tap into different markets. That’s why brands approach us to shoot videos.

Do youths value originality?

It’s the era of sharing, reposting. It’s different from plagiarism. However, we’re egotistical. We like to claim ownership of what we think we started. Everything is inspired. Being inspired does not mean less-than.

What’s next for Island Boys?

I’d like for someone to be the next “us.”

We’ve an ongoing discussion registering as a “company.” We’d feel tied down, but it’s reassuring.

Thoughts

While writing, I was reminded of an interview with Oprah where she quoted from Maya Angelou’s poem, Our Grandmothers: “I come as one, but I stand as ten thousand.”

Chatting with Izzraimy this afternoon felt like chatting with Singapore’s youth 2019; indicative of Island Boys Collective’s hold on new thought: music, fashion, what’s-new obsessed, desperate to work in fun, addicted to visual overkill.

Which assures me that in 2020, we’ll be looking back on the past decade of youth through Island Boys Collective’s lenses: slightly broken, but crazy fun.