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GABBY AGBONLAHOR may have a bit of time on his hands while pondering his next move in the world of football, but he’s certainly putting it to good use.
The former Aston Villa legend, who was released last Summer by the Birmingham club he gave 17-years of service, is co-owner of clothing label Six Figures.
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That means the 31-year-old free agent, who is still keeping match-fit by pounding the pavements and completing grueling gym sessions in his spare time, is also chairing fashion meetings with his business partners.
Gabby invited SunSport to his stunning West Midlands home to give us a peek at his line, which features stylish T-shirts, tracksuits, trucker hats and more.
First, we began by asking the local hero why he started Six Figures?
Gabby revealed: “We launched the brand about a year ago.
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“When we started it off, it was more about keeping my mind going.
“You get home from training and you have a lot of spare time. I thought I wanted to do something I was going to enjoy.
“We called it Six Figures because we wanted a name that was trendy.
“We hoped it would appeal to young people and I think it does.
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“I wanted to do something out of football and clothing is something I’ve always been interested in.
“When I was a kid, I loved going into town and buying a nice T-shirt for the weekend.
“I spoke to the co-owners, who were friends of mine before the venture, and we all said we should make clothes we like that we would wear ourselves.
“And from there it was born, really.”
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What makes Six Figures unique is its dad and kids’ matching collection.
From swimwear to tracksuits, you and your son can wear the same outfit.
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Gabby explained: “The age group for the clothes is 9-14 for youths, then for adults it’s from about 15 onwards.
“One of the aims was to be able to get similar clothing to what you’re son would wear.
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“So we do a dad and kids’ matching collection. I’ve enjoyed that a lot with my son wearing the same tracksuit when we travel.”
Like many fashion designers, Gabby has his own warehouse in the Midlands filled with products ready to ship.
He admitted he’s hands-on when it comes to the designs he puts out.
“I am heavily involved,” he revealed. “I like to sit down with the co-owners, have a debate over what we like.
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“I also like to relay what I like to wear, what my friends like to wear and try and create a T-shirt or tracksuit of that style.”
Gabby admitted that he’s always been a clothes horse, even before he started earning Premier League wages.
He said: “As a kid I wore Levis jeans. I liked Etienne Ozeki too.”
But when he hit the big league, Gabby soon reverted to more expensive designers.
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“I used to get a lot of banter from my friends because I always wore a lot of Dolce & Gabbana,” he told us.
“I had lots of clothes with their badge on and friends would joke with me and say I only wear clothes with that badge on’”.
Gabby’s past fashion likes have all had a hand in influencing his Six Figures range.
Whether it’s his tees, sweatshirts or trucker hats, you’ll see where the idea came from with the designs.
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“All the T-shirts, tracksuits and caps I wore… I thought why not put it all together with the perfect clothes I like and hope that everyone else does too?
“We definitely tried to create that with our brand.”
Another key aspect for Six Figures is its affordability, which makes the label available to everyone, no matter their earnings.
Gabby divulged: “We wanted to make the prices affordable for everybody, so people that like the stuff aren’t priced out.
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“Every T-shirt is under £30. We made tracksuits under £70, while swim shorts and sweatshirts are under £30. We hope that everyone can purchase something.”
Villa’s all-time leading Premier League goalscorer isn’t daft.
He’s fully aware that putting his name to a fashion brand would help shift clobber.
But while he’s hopeful to get the support from his fans, he’s also keen to make new ones along the way.
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“I’d be lying if I said it didn’t, it does help (being Gabby Agbonlahor),” he said.
“You’re going to get a lot of people that are close to Aston Villa, close to myself and if they see players wearing it, they’ll want to wear the same brand too.
“But we also wanted to make it a brand that anyone can wear, not just Aston Villa fans.
“It’s well-priced, comfortable and made from good material.
“We don’t want any complaints, we want people to enjoy the clothes and get a lot of years out of wearing them.
“We used the right material with all the clothes we’ve done and we’re happy with it.”
Gabby confessed that his teammates and football friends were surprised by his next career move.
“They didn’t think I wanted to do something like that, but it is something I always imagined myself doing.
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“When I told them, they said ‘why not? If it’s something you like and you enjoy your clothes, go do it.’
“They were great and players who I played with in the past, they all wore it and were very supportive.
“Fabian Delph, Ashley Young, Emile Heskey, Stylian Petrov – the majority of the Villa players were given clothes.
“They all got it for free, but they were good, to be fair. They all promoted it on social media.”
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Which is where Gabby revealed he does most of his research.
Six Figures has begun to generate a buzz on Instagram and has over 5,000 followers on its account.
Gabby said: “I think the main thing is we like to interact on social media with our fans.
“We want to listen to what the public say they want to wear. And a lot of the time we put out an Instagram post which people can vote on to say if they like an outfit or not.
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“If they do, then we’ll try and make it for them.”
And it’s not just footballers who have endorsed the clothing line. Rapper Giggs was spotted wearing a Six Figures T-shirt on a recent tour.
Gabby confirmed that he had reached out to more music stars to get the label’s name out there.
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And while he’s keen to stress he hasn’t thought of Six Figures as a retirement plan, he believes footballers do have to think about what they’re going to do when they hang up their boots.
“You have to,” Gabby told SunSport. “You need to set something up because you never know what day your football career could finish.
“You have to have something, just to keep your mind going. If you go from playing football for 15 years to just sitting there, you’re going to start thinking what am I doing now?”
With fashion always changing, and being a designer now meaning he has to keep ahead of the trends, Gabby is planning on expanding the Six Figures collection with an Autumn and Winter range that includes jackets and coats.
“Playing football, for me, that was a childhood dream,” he said.
“You’re going out there, you’re getting paid good money to go and do something you enjoy.
“But I think there’s similarities in this too. I’m having fun making my own clothing brand, making clothes that I like and other people like too.”
Currently considering his options, Gabby recently showed he still has a lot to offer, scoring in Stilyan Petrov’s charity match, A Match for Cancer.
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He revealed that he had offers from other Championship clubs over the Summer, but out of loyalty to his old club he turned them down.
“I’ve had a lot of conversations with my agent.
“It’s been a hard one for me, from being at Villa for so long to then possibly being at a club that would mean I’d have to play against Villa.
“I had a couple of options from the Championship, but after being at Villa for so long it’s not something I would want to do.
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“I would want to play abroad, but I’ve also got to think about what’s best for family.
“I have young kids, a lot of family in the area, so I can’t… I’ve been around my family for 31 years, to then going abroad alone, because I wouldn’t want to move the kids from school… it’s a big decision.
“I can’t rule it out, but England is definitely off the books. If I do continue to play on, it would have to be abroad.”
Since Villa and Gabby parted company, Steve Bruce’s team have endured a slow start to this season’s Championship campaign.
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But their former striker is backing his old boss to get it right and lead Villa back into the Premier League.
“From working with Steve Bruce, who is definitely one of the best managers I’ve worked under, as well as knowing the coaching staff there, I think they’re doing a good job.
“They’ve got good players there to get promoted and they brought in some good players into the squad to strengthen it up.
“I still think they will get promoted, and you’ve got to look at it as a Championship season not just the first few games.
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“I’m still confident Villa will go up.”
Taking a step away from playing has had Gabby look at football in a different light.
But he does miss the camaraderie of lining up alongside his teammates.
“It’s been quite weird,” he admitted.
“When you’re in the game, you’re in it with everyone. Yet, when you stop playing, you’re out of it and you see if from a fans point of view. I do miss it though.
“I’ve got some really close friends at the club, so going from playing with them everyday to not seeing them everyday and having banter with them is tough.
“But I will go to a few games and see them and support them at some point this season.”
For now, Gabby insists it’s about staying in shape and keeping Six Figures ticking over.
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“I go to a local gym in Solihull with a couple of friends, I do the treadmill, bike, then the pool,” he said.
“I also do a lot of road runs too. It’s different because you want to play football.
“But I think you want to keep fit for your health anyway. You have to motivate yourself to go on a run.”
If Gabby applies the same motivation to training as he does with Six Figures, he’s sure to score off the pitch too.
To see Six Figures’ latest range, visit their website. You can also follow them on Instagram.
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