“It all started… A Friday or Saturday, I can't actually remember!

- Eiqu Miller

The FirstGrade name, and the monkey - started as a symbol and a name for a group of friends from Kølvrå - and have, to this day, developed into a recognized name within the clothing industry. The logo consists of 2 elements, a monkey and a crown. The monkey represents the first grade in the school; the childish mind, that you must remember to play and not take everything so seriously. The crown represents first class on an aircraft; compact, high quality and attention to detail.

How do you go about starting a business that sells clothes, and later merchandise, for some of the country's biggest stars? It was probably not entirely in the cards when Jesper Mortensen invited Eiqu Miller to his then tattoo shop "House of Ink Esbjerg" in 2015 to get a free tattoo.

At the time, Eiqu was a recognized influencer on YouTube, where he had around 70,000 followers. Eiqu was filming the first series for Splay's YouTube channel " The Challenge Roadtrip ", together with Stupidaagaard s - and that caught Jesper's interest.

When Eiqu had been tattooed, Jesper invited him for a cup of coffee on the other side of the street. It was to turn out that the 20 meters to the cafe came to be of great importance. “I have never experienced anything like this. It took us over half an hour to walk the 20 meters because there were so many fans who wanted to talk to Eiqu and take selfies with him,” says Jesper. And it was here that the seed for a collaboration between the two was sown. "Then he must have t-shirts. I want to make them for him," thought Jesper.

And then things went from strength to strength, and in March 2015 Eiqu and Jesper opened FirstGrade ApS, where they initially sold t-shirts with logos and monkey prints to Eiqu's many followers. Since then, it developed from merchandise to a real clothing brand that appeared in over 40 youth stores in Denmark, and today they sell both merchandise for other profiles, as well as clothes and accessories that they design themselves.

Many of the popular YouTubers in Denmark have large fan groups among children and young people. Therefore, FirstGrade only collaborates with Youtubers that we believe we can vouch for.

"We don't call ourselves FirstGrade/Første Klasse for nothing - it's a name we always strive to live up to - in all respects," Eiqu Miller.

High ceilings and lots of space in Jordrup

In 2018, FirstGrade moved into a renovated stable building in Jordrup, which is located 8 km outside Kolding. The building has been converted into a warehouse and office, and here they have approximately 250 m2 to romp around.

"Here we have plenty of space for everything we need, and we often have visits from YouTubers who come by to see their own merch and make videos for YouTube," Eiqu Miller.

In the summer, FirstGrade can be found at fairs and markets - and although FirstGrade has some thoroughly impressive reviews on Trustpilot , Jesper and Eiqu are big supporters of the real trustpilot, as they call it, when they are out to see the customers in the eyes. Here they get an insight into honest and inspiring views from the customers. “We love getting out and meeting our customers. Talk to them and get input and inspiration for the upcoming collections,” Eiqu Miller.

FirstGrade's mission

The most important thing for us is that our customers are satisfied with our products. We are Jews and we are honest, which is why we also stand up if we make mistakes. We make sure that the quality is in order. "Our mission is to produce clothes and accessories of such good quality that our customers come back to buy from FirstGrade again," Jesper Mortensen.

The men behind FirstGrade

Eiqu Miller , 29, lives in Fredericia and is a rapper on YouTube. Eiqu is a bit of an online oracle, so it is he who edits the website, banners, does marketing, social media and, together with Jesper, he is responsible for the contact with Youtubers.

Jesper Mortensen , 31 years old and former director of several tattoo studios. Jesper lives in Hejls, south of Kolding with his family. Jesper is responsible for purchasing collections, quality control and approval, communication with designers, sellers, stores, etc. In addition, he is also responsible for communication with Youtubers, organizing events.

Since there are only 2 permanent employees in FirstGrade, this means that both Eiqu and Jesper must have a finger on the pulse, and a finger in everything that goes on in the company. This means that they also help with customer service, pack packages and take care of all the other people involved.

In addition, there are a lot of good people who help keep the wheels turning:

Sebastian , who was previously our intern, but whom we couldn't do without, so he is now helping us to get more structure at the store.

Peter , who is not actually employed by FirstGrade, but whom we have named the world's best GLSman.

Brian and Alex , who are our skilled salespeople who communicate with the stores in Denmark.

Kewin and Sofie , our two fantastic and creative designers. Kewin designs our own clothing brand FirstGrade, and Sofie is a motif designer on our YouTube clothing.