rolls royce
Brands spend a lot of time and effort presenting themselves to the world in a particular way. However, Rolls Royce is unlike any other. They rarely or ever have any type of advertisements out there, you don’t see a commercial for them on the TV, nor do you see advertisements in magazines for their cars. They appeal to a completely different type of consumer… the extremely wealthy one. But the truth is, people and culture can take these brands and their perceptions and twist them into something completely different. That's where my vision came in for this project.
I met a contact of Rolls Royce through a mutual friend and collegue at the Ferrari Showroom in New York and the idea for a project was born right there. The Rolls Royce rep was surprisingly chill and receptive to my work and ideas. Let me say now, Rolls Royce did not pay me for this project cause it really wasn’t a project, but that was perfect because it meant that I had complete and absolute creative freedom. I didn’t need to follow their rules or their brand book… and I took full advantage of it. They were simply just loaning me a car as they do to most of their high-profiled clients and friends. I’m fairly certain the car went the Editor-In-Chief for some massive magazine company after it left me.
Instead of capturing the expected, clean-cut, pristine images that you'd expect from a brand like Rolls Royce, I decided to go in a completely different direction. I wanted to capture something raw and gritty and completely off the book for Rolls. I wanted to showcase the streets perspective, where people and culture take brand ideas and throw them out the fucking window! I wanted to show how the real world influences and can even change a brand’s perception, whether they like it or not.
So, I reached out to some friends and we set out to create a collection of images that I call "Millennial Millionaires". I wanted to focus on skateboard, streetwear, and graffiti culture, showcasing the lifestyles of younger millionaires in 2023 who appear to have more reckless spending habits than ever before. I featured three skaters skitching off the Cullinan, another friend rocking matching Shattered AJ1's with the paint, and had Amuse126 throwing tags while standing on the roof (ignoring all the overspray falling back on the car).
One of the shots I was really stoked came out so well was Amuse getting a tattoo inside the Cullinan while eating some sushi. I remember brainstorming ideas and coming up with this and thinking just how dumb but realistic that sounds, and that’s the whole idea. These are shots that would never be shared by Rolls Royce, and that's exactly what makes this project so exciting to me.
In a world where luxury is often associated with stuffiness and rigidity, it's refreshing to see images around a brand like Rolls Royce that showcase the brand in a different light. As always, captured these images on my Canon R5 and edited in Adobe Lightroom Classic. It's worth mentioning that my photographer friends, Mason and Felix, played an integral role in bringing this project to fruition. They provided assistance in driving, setting up shots, and sourcing talent. I'd also like to give a shout-out to Amuse126 for the eye-catching graffiti and Harrison for his fantastic tattoo modeling, haha. Also a big thank you to the skaters, Cory, Hunter, and Yannick.
Follow me on IG to see more. Here is a LINK to the IG post from this.
