Another Enemy in the Heights

Another Enemy's flagship store in Cleveland Heights is located at 13437 Cedar Road.

Call it “swag,” call it subculture, skater-wear, call it whatever you want. Another Enemy is a Cleveland Heights clothing brand that is gaining rave reviews across the nation, with notable celebrities donning the attire, rumors of bans from Cavaliers courtside seats, and more. It opened its flagship in Cleveland Heights just four months ago, at 13437 Cedar Road.

Another Enemy, launched in 2009 by owner Justin Lipsky, focuses on providing apparel to hard-to-reach core demographics and younger consumers. He said the brand was started as a response to the declining quality of graphics in the brands of the streetwear and skateboard clothing industry, including Hurley, Fox, Billabong and Volcom.

“Until recently, our business focus was on growing the brand through wholesale to streetwear and skateboard boutiques, and it is currently carried by more than 50 stores worldwide,” Lipsky said.

Another Enemy has been picked up by celebrities such as Chumlee from the History Channel’s reality TV show "Pawn Stars", singer Chris Brown, rapper Cory Gunz, and others. The men’s clothing line has appeared on the MTV news website, e-commerce sites such as Imfromcleveland.com and Eighty81.com.

It hasn’t been all sunshine and rainbows for Another Enemy, though. The brand is rumored to have been banned from Cleveland Cavaliers courtside seats. According to www.anotherenemy.com, "For one year after one of our friends switched teams, courtside ushers were known to pass out Cavs T-shirts in place of our logo tee.” Another Enemy created its own version of the classic Cavaliers logo, which Lebron James sometimes sported.

Another Enemy has worked with the Lebron James Family Foundation, founded in 2004 to teach children to be physically fit, academically focused and environmentally aware. The synergy has helped to raise the brand’s awareness, as well as create some good karma.

With its popularity growing, Another Enemy decided to set up shop locally. “In December of 2011, we launched our flagship store. Now, we have split our focus between running a retail location, an online store and wholesale growth,” said Lipsky. “Our store sells Another Enemy T-shirts, hats, sweatshirts, and accessories alongside other streetwear brands like Waters+Army, Benny Gold, Loser Machine, Heel Bruise, and Dark Seas.”

Playing to the brand's youth culture image, Lipsky said: “If anyone wants to challenge a staff member to Marvel vs. Capcom, we have the arcade version in store and are accepting challengers.”

Chris Hanson

Chris Hanson is a senior in the Urban Studies program at Cleveland State University and an intern at FutureHeights.

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Volume 5, Issue 6, Posted 12:18 PM, 05.30.2012