The Sketchy Boyz Watch Club (SBWC) is an international group of watch enthusiasts from the military, law enforcement, and first-responder professions. The group is active on its website and newsletter as well as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and X. I recently had the opportunity to chat with CJ, co-owner of SBWC, and we decided to trade interviews. He asked me about District Time, and I asked him about all things Sketchy. You can read my interview in the SBWC Field Journal, and CJ’s right here. Enjoy.
TTB: What is your origin story?
CJ: Like a lot of our members, and I am willing to bet a lot of people reading this in general, the road to the present isn’t a straight line. If you look at our membership, and even how we describe the club online, it’s former and current military professionals, law enforcement officers, first responders, and people on the civilian side of the world who are just as trained and disciplined in their chosen professions.
TTB: How did you get involved in SBWC?
CJ: I was invited. I think it stemmed from my time doing research about my next watch purchase. I joined the Christopher Ward group on Facebook. Oddly enough, there was another member asking people’s opinions on Squale.
I had just read a review about Squale on the SBWC website, so I pointed that member there as part of their own research. It’s either there or on Instagram; someone reached out and asked if I’d be interested in joining the group, if I knew about them, etc. That was pretty early on, not long after the club was formed.
TTB: What makes SBWC different from other online watch enthusiast groups?
CJ: I’d be remiss to say that there aren’t other collections of professionals out there, and I know that some of our members are also part of other groups, like RedBar.
What sets us apart is that there’s nobody else who does what we do the way we do it. We’ve found that intersection between a watch group where people show pictures of their watches and talk about movements, lume (we can all agree lume is very cool), bracelets, straps, all of which are important, and conversations absolutely do go there.
But we’re also a community that genuinely supports one another. We give people a place to land at the end of the day. If that’s knowing someone else may have gone through a day like yours, or just having a place to cut it up and be a guy for a bit.
I think that comes through in how we interact with our Instagram followers, the companies we choose to collaborate with, and the way we write our articles and reviews. We’re not unique in the sense that we’re the only website doing watch reviews. But we are a group with leadership who have deep ties in the industry, and we’re able to leverage those relationships for the benefit of the membership, and quite frankly, our readers.
Without being overly general, a lot of this has happened organically. We put up guardrails, but we’re also self-aware enough to know we don’t know everything.
The best way I can explain it is this: your mom made your favorite dish growing up. Everyone else has tried to make it, or has their own version of it, but it never tastes the same. Then one day she gives you the recipe so you can make it for your own family, and somehow, it still doesn’t taste the same.
TTB: You know I have to ask, is it true that sketchy dudes wear Breitling, as Watches of Espionage says?
CJ: That really has taken off, hasn’t it? It’s kind of fun lore, right? And yes, there are quite a few of us who own or have owned Breitlings, me included. You could say the same thing about Omega, really. The spy that everyone loves has worn one for quite a while. By those standards, I guess Sketchy Boyz only drive Aston Martins, too. But what our members are really looking for is something they can trust, day in and day out. The modern version of that, some would point to Tudor, and specifically the Tudor Pelagos.
Quick story. One of our founders, in a way, “invented” his own Pelagos. That watch has been through everything with him. You name it, chances are it was on his wrist. Over time and abuse, the lume on the bezel got knocked out. He gets asked frequently what model it is, because people haven’t seen one with a blacked-out bezel before. He could’ve sent it in and had it re-lumed, of course. But then the stories get covered up. It’s no different than polishing a watch or to stop wearing one because it picked up a scratch on the bracelet.
That was part of the foundation for us, and partly why we chose to work with a brand like CWC as our first big collaboration. You can see that both of those companies (Tudor and CWC) are steeped in tradition when it comes to military application. If you know your history, the same applies to Rolex. And I’m only naming a few here without giving your readers a full history lesson.
Since then, there have been several other watches that have shifted their focus toward the tool-watch arena. We’ve had more than one company we identified as being a good fit for our audience that wasn’t positioned that way originally. Then a new year’s catalog drops, and lo and behold, that watch, and maybe another, has been repositioned as a tool watch, with the outbound messaging changed to match.
So, the long way of answering your question: is there an unwritten rule that you must own a Breitling, or have owned one at some point? Yes, says me. But that doesn’t mean you can’t be involved in sketchy things while wearing a G-Shock, a Casio, a Seiko, a Rolex, and so on.
TTB: What are your criteria for admitting people to SBWC who are outside of the usual Sketchy Boyz trio of professions?
CJ: The Instagram account is open to anyone who wants to follow along. The Facebook group has a standard set of questions, mostly to let us know you’re a real person and that you’ll fit in. It’s the same basic idea that just about every other group uses.
As long as people answer the questions honestly — and answer all of them — we’re usually good. I emphasize that part because it’s funny: we tell people they have to answer all the questions, they answer none of them, or only some of them, and then we get private messages asking why they weren’t let into the group.
I guess we should take that as a compliment. People want to see what’s behind the curtain.
TTB: When you submit a request to join the SBWC FB group, you have to list your grail. What’s yours?
CJ: That question is more or less there to make sure people don’t list Invicta as their grail.
If I’m answering honestly, it changes. I’ve got a couple in mind that I’ll probably keep to myself, but my definition of a grail watch isn’t really tied to a specific manufacturer. For me, it’s a watch I can hand down one day. One with all the scratches, all the stories, and the understanding that this was the watch I wore most often.
So that’s how I look at watches now. Will it be something I wear enough that it becomes synonymous with me? And will it last long enough that I can pass it on?
TTB: Do you often get your members together in person? Is that challenging given the far-flung nature of the club?
CJ: As the group has grown and members have gotten closer to one another, whether from having done similar jobs or just sharing the same general mindset, they’ve been able to get together here and there through travel, crossing through each other’s towns, and things like that. But as you can imagine, given the nature of a lot of our members’ jobs, getting everyone into one location at the same time can be a bit of a chore.
That said, there’s been more of a concerted effort lately to actually organize things outside of the club. The gathering we’re trying to put together around the District Time show will probably be the first time we’ve really put some effort into making sure people know well in advance, so they can plan accordingly, rather than just relying on local guys and hoping others can make it. It looks like we’ve got a pretty good number of people showing up, and we’ve got a few other things we’re going to try to do together while we’re there.
TTB: If you asked me to name a law enforcement watch, I would probably say “a black Casio G-Shock,” because I’ve known a few Special Agents who wouldn’t wear anything else. Tactical gear: G-Shock. Suit and tie: G-Shock. Now, obviously, this isn’t true of everyone because your members post a wide range of watches. Which brands tend to be the most popular in SBWC?
CJ: Ok, readers, if you haven’t read the interview I did with Loren, I asked him which of his planned exhibitors he was most excited to see this year, and his response was, “You’re asking me to pick my favorite child.” So, I think this might be him getting a little bit of payback for that question.
Joking aside, you do see trends for sure. But at the end of the day, it really comes down to what someone is most comfortable wearing and what they trust on a day-to-day basis. No club can, or should, dictate that to its members. That’s a personal decision.
Our members and people who follow us take our advice. But that’s exactly what it’s meant to be: advice. It’s based on what we’ve seen, what we’ve experienced, conversations we’ve had with other guys in the field, reviews we’ve done, and discussions with brand owners.
So yes, the G-Shock is probably the most reliable thing out there, and a trend you see constantly? Sure. Those things don’t die…or at least they’re very hard to kill. But the same can be said for Marathon, for example.
You’ll also have guys who say they don’t want to rely on a battery and worry about it quitting unexpectedly, so they’ll make their decisions based on that. Others will say they don’t want to wind a watch every day, or after it’s been sitting for a while, and that influences their choice.
There’s also the peer factor. Like anything else, if you’re part of a team and you see everyone around you wearing G-Shocks, you’re probably going to end up wearing one too, especially if you’re on the younger side/new to the team.
That said, we see that a lot of our members have the freedom to wear what they choose at work. And when we look at collaborations, we try to keep that in mind. Offering the best range of options and tools that will actually serve people well in the field when they need them.
TTB: I was pleased to see so many microbrands in the SBWC social media feeds. As one microbrand fan to another, what brands are the most interesting to you right now and why?
CJ: That’s a long list. Honestly, it’s nice to see that just because a watch doesn’t have a big name on the dial doesn’t mean it isn’t any good.
If you look at some of the reviews we’ve written, those are naturally pieces that caught our eye, or cases where brands approached us to see if there was interest. The latter is more common.
As I mentioned earlier, there are a lot of watchmakers, both large and small, paying attention to the tool-watch and military space. Some are simply refocusing because they used to play in this arena heavily. For others, it’s a whole new adventure.
A couple of independent companies that come to mind as we talk are Jack Mason and Nodus. Jack Mason has already gained respect and attention through offerings like the Strat-O-Timer, but last year, they released a watch specifically aimed at being a true tool watch. The adoption by both existing clients and new customers was almost immediate.
Nodus is another brand that has taken the time to listen to its client base and work with them collaboratively to design watches that fit real needs.
Others are growing into the space because of their own experiences wearing watches on the job. They’ll design a watch that fits their purpose but also take the time to make sure it can be enjoyed by a much broader community. Brands like Ares, Arena, and Brigade are just a few examples.
What resonates, and what seems to be the common thread, is the time and energy put into the thinking of, “while I was doing my job, this is what I experienced.” Bezels popping off or getting jammed up, crowns coming loose, legibility issues — you name it. People have lived through these problems in real situations, and now many are designing watches specifically because of those observations and real-world experiences, not to satisfy the latest trend being established far away from the reality of the watch wearer.
TTB: Like many watch collectors, I’ve owned quite a few tool watches, but honestly, it’s for the aesthetic. I don’t use even a tenth of their capacity, and I doubt many other owners do either. That said, I think I’m safe to assume that your members are far more likely use their tool watches as intended. What qualities are most important to someone buying a watch for actual field use?
CJ: At the risk of sounding redundant, there’s a baseline question of survival. Has it held up based on prior use? What are people saying about it? What does the maker claim it will do? More importantly, what does the person wearing it actually need it to do?
Then there’s how it feels on the wrist. Can you pick it up, throw it on, and not think about it again for the rest of the day? Does it work when you’re wearing gloves? Does it slide under a sleeve or not? Does it stand too tall, or does it disappear? There’s a whole list of things our guys look at. There are brands that do all of that well, and sometimes, even solve problems you didn’t know you had.
All that said, our members aren’t any different from other watch nerds. They love watches. They chase drops like everyone else. They want to be first, they want to talk about it, and they want to post the wrist shot. So the club’s role is to give them feedback, when asked, through reviews, conversations, and collaborations, so they can decide on what serves them best in their profession.
And that’s not to say we don’t have members who love a good dress watch, an obscure piece nobody’s ever heard of, or the vintage piece stumbled on at a flea market that the seller didn’t know what they had. Sometimes you just want to wear something different than a big, bulky G-Shock at the end of the day.
TTB: What does your collection look like these days? What’s your current favorite?
CJ: My collection ebbs and flows, like everyone else’s. I’ve got a few sentimental favorites.
I’m a bit of a Tornek-Rayville nerd. I had been trying to get my hands on those watches since the first time I saw one years ago, and over the last few years, I’ve been lucky enough to do that. My BlackJack, and more recently my TR-660, are two of my favorites.
But I will brag here for a second, our collaboration watches are second to none. By now, I think most people reading this have seen our collaboration with Christopher Ward. It is stunning in a suit, it’s stunning out in the field, it’s stunning on a bracelet, it’s stunning on a strap. The lume is ridiculous. It just came together really, really well.
Our first large collaboration with CWC — their SBS watch — is another one. The history is there, they did a great job incorporating our logo, and again, it’s just a very good-looking watch.
We’ve got other collaborations as well. One that’s about to land right now with Elliot Brown, which we’re very excited to finally get into the hands of the membership, and a couple of others we’re working on behind the scenes, which will be firsts for those respective companies.
Outside of my own personal acquisitions, the Sketchy Boyz Watch Club collaborations are something I’m incredibly proud of. And honestly, I could tell you a story about every other watch in my case, and why it’s still there. Watches I no longer wear get put back in their boxes like I’m going to sell them, but for some reason, I don’t. They’re mine, and it feels like I’d be giving something up.
So that’s kind of the rotation. The ones in my caddy are what I wear most often. The junior varsity team lives back in their respective boxes…maybe they’ll make the big leagues again someday.
TTB: SBWC has a podcast, website, social media pages, and several collaboration products. I see over 6,000 members on the Facebook group and over 18,000 followers on Instagram. Clearly, you have tapped into a large and enthusiastic audience. What’s next? What can SBWC offer its members in the future?
CJ: That’s really the goal, isn’t it? Like any other group or business, you’re always trying to figure out what’s next. There’s that old saying that if you sit still, time (pun intended) will pass you by.
The good news is we’ve got the watch industry on our side. It’s constantly changing, which keeps us on our toes. From a team standpoint, we’ve sat down and put together a roadmap of what this looks like now versus where we want it to go, and how we can better serve our members and followers.
You can already see some of that happening. The podcast, for example, has been reincarnated. Originally done by Rico, we’re bringing it back in a way that makes more sense for us. Less on a rigid schedule, more when the right opportunity presents itself. And we have added a new member to the team who will help step into this role and expand our coverage and presence in this space.
There are other things we’re looking at as well. But one thing I’ve learned over time is that if you tip your hand too early, you either never do it, or pieces of it get grabbed along the way, and your big announcement ends up diluted, or pirated, for lack of a better term. So we’ll keep what we’ve got planned quiet. Launch it when it’s ready. Then hit it very directly.
That’s not too different from how this group came together in the first place. We stepped into a very noisy space, with a lot of people dipping their toes in the same water, launched, and quickly became the largest group of this type.
Not to be cliché, but keep an eye on us. You never know. Someday soon, there may be people launching their own versions of this and saying, “If I can do half of what Sketchy Boyz has done, I’ll consider myself successful,”…but they won’t have the recipe.
