It seems everyone has a Levi’s® story, and the Levi’s® Archives has found a virtual way to capture them. We’re highlighting some of our favorite anecdotes from the Tell Us Your Levi’s® Story site — this one comes from Down Under.
For some, living in Levi’s® is a lifestyle. For others, living in Levi’s® is a life-saving decision.
Australian native Mick Read recently reached out after viewing a news segment that triggered a life-or-death Levi’s® memory. In October of 1984, Mick was just a 10-year-old boy living in Australia with his mom and dog, Rex. One spring day, Mick took Rex into the woods to play a game of hide-and-seek. As he was squatting among bamboo plants, he heard some rustling. Thinking that Rex had found him, he’d stayed put until he felt a movement against his backside.
“I felt something strike me from behind…I turned around to see what it was and discovered it was a Dugite snake, a highly venomous snake native to Australia,” Mick recalled. After running home in shock, his mom was able to see that the snake had indeed struck Mick but managed to miss skin. Instead, she discovered two bite marks punctured into the patch of Mick’s Levi’s® 501® jeans.
“The patch has been an essential feature of the earliest Levi’s ® jeans, the 501®, since they were first manufactured in the 1870s,” said Levi Strauss & Co. Historian Tracey Panek. The patch, featuring the Two Horse Trademark, symbolizes the quality and strength of our riveted denim products— and turned out to be a life-or-death feature for Mick.
“I would have died from that snake bite, so I really owe my life to Levi’s,” Mick said. “Levi’s for life!”
Visit our Tell Us Your Levi’s® site to hear more from Mick and share your own story with us – we may feature it here on our blog!
