How Motorino has grown from passion project to buzzing North Bondi business

Bondi Journal
Oct 28
6 min read

It was Eastern Suburbs Rugby Union Club where they first became mates, and a shared interest in motorbikes that led to the launch of a social club for the Bondi community in 2014, followed by – quite organically – their men’s clothing label, Motorino in 2016.

Founded by Bondi born and bred Clarrie Moore and Jack Grant, a Waratahs player who’s originally from Orange, the brand has gone from strength to strength since those early days.

The pair opened their first store or ‘Club House’ on Gould Street just over a year ago, and have already moved into a new shop on Campbell Parade, as they’ve outgrown their original space.

Motorino has also expanded to a core team of six, who are supported by a trusted network of freelancers and creatives, and they’re releasing more collections than ever before.

So, what’s in the works for summer? We caught up with Clarrie and Jack to find out, plus chatted about the inspiration behind the brand, their roles within the business, favourite collections to date, and perfect Bondi day.

How did Motorino first come about?

Clarrie: It was pretty much when we got our motorbike licenses – Jack and I got them at around the same time and we started hooning around together, then it grew and a bunch of boys from the rugby club and around the area who had just got their licenses would cruise around Bondi too.

We thought it was a bit of a vibe and were like “maybe we should make some t-shirts?” So we made some matching t-shirts that had a traditional bikey-esque energy to them, but with a Bondi spin.

Jack: The whole patch t-shirt was a bit of a laugh. We weren’t riding Harleys, it was more little motorbikes and we had no idea what we were doing, like going around doing jumps and stuff, so it was all a bit tongue-in-cheek.

Clarrie: But the t-shirts looked cool and it was cool, and that's when it kind of started. It was the early days of Instagram and people weren't printing on tees locally so much.

"There was something a bit special about having your own custom t-shirt, and I think the energy we had around it and the playfulness made it cool. It just worked."

How did you both meet?

Jack: I’m from Orange and moved up here pretty much straight after school to play at Eastern Suburbs, met Clarrie and we've just been mates ever since. So I guess rugby sort of brought us together initially.

What’s it been like working together, and how do you split the responsibilities?

Clarrie: It's been good, and it helps that we’re mates as well. I think a lot of people put a bad spin on that sometimes, but if you're going to run a small business and you're going to do it properly, you have to work with someone you know you can rely on and trust.

Then from a roles standpoint, Jack's a bit more on the garment production side of things, but we're both really hands-on with our garment stuff as well, because it's such a big part of us and we're still learning so much.

Every collection and every year we're making more new things and adding more details, so we’re constantly learning, evolving and upskilling.

"We share a lot of the other workload. Jack’s good on the photography side of things and a bit more design focused, and I drive social media. But naturally, as small business owners, we're across it all."

Jack: As the business grows, more roles pop up and then we decide which is best for us at the time. This happens on an almost daily basis and we’ll go: “right I’ll do this or that” and vice versa.

I've been playing rugby professionally for the last six years and working on Motorino along with that, and Clarrie has been full time at Motorino for the last year-and-a-half, which has made a massive difference to the growth of the brand.

What’s your favourite piece or collection to date, and why?

Jack: The Waratahs collaboration will probably always be the most memorable one for me.

"I'd sort of planted the seed about a collab when I first got to the club. The brand was a lot smaller at the time, then as it grew and I’d been with the Waratahs for about four years, the club ended up coming to me to see if we were still keen, and we got all the players involved in the shoot."

Clarrie: I love them all, and love their different levels of creativity. We put a lot of thought and creative direction into the garments, from the brand building and messaging to the shoots, and they've really resonated with our audience, which is cool to see. We're now really carving out our own identity and language.

How often do you release new products or collections?

Clarrie: We drop a lot more often than we have in the past, we put big collections together maybe five, six times a year and then plonk little ones in and around that.

We've had a lot of demand so have been making and designing more than ever, and then just when you think you might catch up you sell out and then you're back to the drawing board asking yourself like: “do we have enough time to make more tees this spring?”

Why did you choose Bondi for your first store?

Clarrie: The soul of Motorino started in North Bondi, and we wanted to keep that OG soul of it alive. Anyone that’s grown up around the area knows Bondi has a true character and the people that live here aren't all glitz and glam.

And even though online is still our biggest platform for sales, the store's been massive since we opened it – it’s showed us that people want to experience the clothes and that authenticity and realness of the brand.

While you’re still based in Bondi, you’ve recently moved. What inspired that?

Clarrie: We’d simply outgrown our Gould Street space. We needed somewhere that felt more elevated and allowed us to properly separate the shop and the office.

Staying in Bondi was a non-negotiable – it’s where our flag flies and it’s at the heart of Motorino. We spent months looking around, and when this space popped up, we knew straight away it was the one. We moved fast, got the deal done within a few days, and it lined up perfectly with a huge summer ahead.

"North Bondi just feels right. It’s down the road from some of our favourite spots like Rocker and surrounded by true Bondi institutions. It’s the perfect base for what’s next – a space that keeps us rooted in the community while giving us room to grow and push the brand onto the international stage."

What’s the perfect Bondi day look like to you?

Clarrie: It starts at sunrise, I’d head out to North Bondi and there’s no one around, but it's head height tubes. There’s lefts going all day and the banks are perfect.

I’m out there for a few hours, then cross the road to Pocket for a coffee, and make my way down to Depot for a big breakfast feed. After that it’s up to the Diggers for some golf, where I get a hole in one.

"Then it's a couple of drinks at the Diggers, a sunset marg at Rocker – it’s always been our closest restaurant and bar for content – then down to South Bondi, followed by a pitstop at Bonditony's for a marg, and then I’d cruise home."

What's next for Motorino?

Clarrie: We’ve got a pretty big summer planned with the new shop, it’s had a beautiful fit out and has really forced us to level up in many ways, so it's an exciting step we've taken. We can't wait to soak up everything this summer has to offer.

Jack and I have grinded at this for a good five or six years and for it to really start taking shape and moulding into something that we’re both super proud of is cool. The future looks good because we can really see where we’re heading.