People of LABRUM: Peigh Asante
Issue seven of People of Labrum welcomes Peigh Asante.
Peigh is a multidisciplinary London based freelance creative visionary with Ghanian heritage, who brings a wide variety of artistic projects and advertising campaigns to life - working with clients such as Nike, Ru Paul’s Drag Race UK, Eastenders, Rap Game UK, BBC News and Netflix UK, the list just goes on and on.
Over and above being a freelance creative, Peigh is a co-founder of the inner-city swim collective Swim Dem Crew, alongside our previous People of Labrum guest, Nathaniel Cole. Together through Swim Dem Crew they build swimming communities within London. The focus is to empower people, make swimming more inclusive and to raise awareness about the benefits of swimming with both physical and mental health.
Trapfruits was a further addition to Peigh’s repertoire which he launched in 2020, with Baff Adae, after the pair noticed a gap in the market for Black fresh fruit vendors distributing fruit originating from their home countries. Through Trapfruits, they aim to change the narrative and make better access to fruits and nutritious eating, hoping for a healthier community in the process.
Now over to Foday and Peigh
FD: Can you tell everyone how we met?
PA: I first met Fods through the running community and collective Run Dem Crew.
FD: What does community mean to you and how does it reflect in your day-to-day life?
PA: For me, community is all about unity; it's about a group of people with similar tastes/interests and/or coming from similar spaces and lived experiences all coming together. Community shows up in my day-to-day life in a number of ways. I would consider my close friends my community, and also my swim club, Swim Dem Crew, as another community.
FD: Why did you start Swim Dem Crew?
PA: My personal journey into swimming was circumstantial, I taught myself to swim after incurring a running injury. It was then that I discovered Nathaniel and Emily were also swimming. The three of us decided to get together and swim collectively. From there, friends would ask to join us and the rest is history as they say. It all started from a love of swimming and wanting to get more of our friends in the water.
FD: What’s next for Swim Dem?
PA: Swim Dem started in 2013, which means next year we're 10! Crazy, I know! There's lots of stuff we want to do to celebrate this huge milestone, so watch this space!
FD: What were the influences that defined your career path - both as a freelance creative and as a business owner?
PA: My influences have always come from my peers, I look at what they are doing and get excited and motivated.
FD: What has been the biggest challenge for Trapfruits post-pandemic?
PA: We saw a dip in subscriptions and had to think on our feet, we quickly pivoted to doing shoot catering with Trapfruits, which has been going well for us.
FD: How do you navigate your freelance creative work? How do you choose what you want to be involved in?
PA: For me, it's all about choosing projects that align with my personal values.
FD: What do you enjoy doing in your free time?
PA: Watching Youtube, I'm so boring! Lol.
FD: What is it about LABRUM that makes it stand out from other brands?
PA: I think the unique thing about LABRUM is the storytelling, each collection is always rooted with an interesting story.
FD: What is your favourite LABRUM piece you own, and why?
PA: I love the black stamp tee!!! I love a graphic tee, and the new iteration of the stamp tee with just the outline is just perfect for me!
Thank you to Peigh for chatting to us! We are beyond grateful for his unconditional support and for being a great friend to the brand.
Explore and follow Peigh Asante's story as a freelance creative as well as a talented entrepreneur on Instagram, @peigh, and see behind the scenes of all his creative ventures, his thoughts and his daily joys. Make sure to visit his website too if you want to learn more on his journey with Trapfruits and Swim Dem Crew!
If you have any questions for the Labrum team, or anyone from our POL series, you can reach us at enquiries@labrumlondon.com and follow us on Instagram @labrumlondon