How this one company completely got me
It is funny how there’s just certain brands that keep you coming back over and over again, and they manage to convince you to buy more and more of their stuff. In my case, there’s one brand that got me completely hooked. The Scandinavian travel gear company Db Journey.
It all started out in 2018 in Vienna. Amidst the old town and in between eating Schnitzel and visiting Schönbrunn palace, I had stumbled across a shop with Surfskates. 17-year-old me had surfed once but was amazed at the longboard with the special trucks and found an affordable one (which to this day is in my garage back home). However, after further exploring Vienna with the board for a few days, I figured out that I needed something I could attach the board to to get it home. A backpack with straps.
Going back to the skate shop, there was only one backpack that had straps to carry a skateboard. It was boxy, black with some white details and bourbon accents. On one side it said, “less human, more being” and it even provided space for a laptop. And so I walked out of the store with my first Db backpack.
Five years ago, the company was called Douchebags and the backpack I just purchased was actually called the Backpack. It was part of a collaboration with Influencer Jay Alvarez and the moment I walked out of the store I was completely oblivious to all of this.
Only when a few weeks later, a friend of mine pointed out the brand, and its history, my affection for their products began.
Dbjourney, as the company is called now, makes premium modern travel gear. The company started out when free skier and YouTuber Jon Olson met a Norwegian engineer called Truls Brataas. Bonding over the idea to enhance travel gear and started designing a skiing, which took on the name of the company: the douchebag.
After developing the ski bag, they started designing more travel gear, backpacks, check-in luggage and so on and now Db’s collection ranges from everyday backpacks to high — end 4-wheeled luggage’s with everything in between.
After getting my first backpack, I soon got one of their technical backpacks, the explorer, which was followed by their camera cube and another backpack, this time with hip and shoulder-straps. A few months later, I also got their 90l roller luggage and the ski bag. So within 1.5 years, I had gone from not knowing the brand to owning 6 of their products, some with very similar use cases. In the coming years, I added more of their products, sometimes new ones like their split duffel called „the roamer“, accessories like a passport cover or a a t-shirt and a hoodie, or even replacing some of the products I already had with new ones, like my original Jay Alvarez backpack with a new one in a grey color called “Gneiss”.
But why? One of the reasons I keep coming back to the “Db well” so to sayis because their products are great and offer innovative solutions. A feature I enjoyed very much ever since getting my camera cube is Db’s hookup system. It allows hooking up smaller bags to bigger bags, which is super convenient while traveling or if I need more space inside the backpack. Another aspect of the system is that it keeps you in the “Db Ecosystem”. Another reason that keeps me with Db is that their products just work for me. I have never had any issues with them.
However, probably the most important reason for why I keep coming back to Db is their marketing.
Stepping back once again, here are some things I’m passionate about. American Football, Video and Photo creation, and skiing. Comparing that to the Niche’s that Db actively markets towards: Creatives, Skiing and Wintersports, and athletes. And even though American Football is not a niche Db actively does market towards, there’s a ton of a gear that needs to be lugged around, so my choice for that was Db gear as well. Db’s marketing goes beyond their social media presence and Newsletter, though. Going as far as the first touchpoint I had with the brand, they worked with influencers, creatives, and athletes to create special limited editions, and these are the last reason I keep coming back to Db.
Db is incredible at choosing creatives to work with, whether it is Benjamin Ortega, Marcelo, or their latest collaboration, Chris Burkard. Whenever one of these collaborations drops, it is extremely neatly tied to a product description that outlines a very particular niche, providing a great excuse to get another extremely similar backpack.
And that’s just what I did. About two weeks ago, I ordered a bag from their latest collection, a collaboration with Chris Burkard. And hopefully, it will be as great as all the previous ones were.
Stay safe
Raffael
