First Fight Animation Studio Brings Images to Life

At First Fight, the animation studio in midtown Detroit, diversity is what brings the work to life. The studio was founded by two College for Creative Studies graduates, Guy Allen and Andre Foster, who couldn’t be more opposite. Allen is a family man who takes his vacations seriously, while Foster enjoys cigar bars and a strong Old-Fashioned.

Together, they’ve created a studio whose clients include Dave & Busters, Quicken Loans, Macy’s and, most recently, StockX, Detroit’s newest billion-dollar startup. Allen and Foster set off three years ago to create motion graphics and animation that would affect and last.

“We called our studio First Fight because we’re passionate about telling strong stories that utilize Detroit talent,” Foster says. “First Fight is a studio of experts who have very strong points of view (and) 20-plus years (of) experience with agencies and clients. We’ve worked together for more than 13 years and we’re more than friends and co-workers – we trust each other.”

The StockX team envisioned a way to explain their online resell process in an easy-to-digest way and charged First Fight with the task. The resulting “Now You Know” campaign was a success and allowed the guys a chance to expand their storytelling with even more projects. Allen says, “Occasionally we may fight on creative perspectives, but we both have the same goal and that’s to create work that leaves a mark.”