About three years ago, Scott Fisher was a senior at Stockton College (now University) when he began thinking about creating and marketing his own line of clothing.
“I was always interested in street fashion and wearing something different than everyone else,” Fisher said.
Then, working out of a small South Jersey barn, Fisher began to implement his thoughts and the vision began to take shape. He designed and produced custom tees by hand for the local community, and they were well-received. Scott sold enough of them to put his profits back into the enterprise. And with that, Amphibia Apparel was born.
His website, www.amphibiaapparel.com features an entire collection of tees, sweatshirts, hats, outerwear, womens’ apparel and more.
“At first it was strictly grass roots, and we slowly began to expand,” said Fisher, a 24-year-old Ocean City resident. From there, according to his website, Amphibia began “creating anything that manifested in our minds and selling it to whomever was stoked.”
The number slowly increased and keeps growing. The public is embracing not only the threads, but his slogan, “Learn to Adapt.” Fisher, a longtime advocate for the homeless and worker at Covenant House in Atlantic City, said the words come from his experiences. “In an ever-changing world, to persevere through the challenges we all face, we must learn to adapt.” In addition to producing clothing that is fashionable, functional, high quality and produced by hand, Scott said he “hopes to inspire and touch as many lives as we can along the way.”
Fisher, an avid surfer and lover of the sea, describes his line as “surf fashion meets street fashion and a combination of both.” He has received orders from Hawaii, California, Colorado, Florida, and numerous other far-flung locations. Locally, a small portion of his offerings can be found at Surfers Supplies, 3101 Asbury Avenue, and Scott is speaking to other businesses in town about carrying his creations.
“Scott is a super nice guy and I really respect how ambitious he is,” Surfers Supplies owner Greg Beck said. “His ‘Learn to Adapt’ message is something I can really get behind. It’s not just a slogan, that’s Scott’s mantra.”
Fisher said the name Amphibia came to mind early in the process and his logo soon followed. With his brand identity set, the ideas for pieces to sell soon began to flow.
The latest example is his “Translated Thoughts” collection which takes his clothing to a new level artistically. “That is what art really is,” he said. “An expression of thoughts translated into something tangible.”
This philosophy is reflected in his unique “Breakthrough” pieces – tees and hoodies that incorporate unique color combinations with handcrafted logo accents sewn directly into the fabric.
Scott puts his own personal touch on every piece he sells. Fisher envisions designs and incorporates different techniques he has learned to finish off each piece. These include sewing, screen printing, vinyl cutting, embroidery and heat pressing. Talk about learning to adapt.
In addition to his work with Amphibia, and charitable causes, Scott is a fulltime graduate student. He is currently pursuing a Master of Education in School Counseling at Wilmington University. But his dream is to keep growing Amphibia. In addition to his own marketing efforts, Scott outfitted up-and-coming skateboard and snowboard athlete Kyle Walsh with his gear.
“I want to keep expanding, get more eyes on (the products),” he said. “But I never want to get away from our grass roots beginnings or to give up artistic control.”
