Lowlife Margate

In the summer of 2025, I took on a shop unit in Margate with two friends, with the goal of creating a community-focused, unique space centred around a coffee bar, retail, and a barbershop.

The Lowlife name comes from our backgrounds in subcultures such as skateboarding, motorcycles, barbering, tattooing, art, and alternative music. These are communities often seen as “lowlife” or untoward, but which are actually diverse, inclusive, and taught us the importance of acceptance. We want to reclaim the term lowlife as a badge of honour and welcome all those who have felt othered.

The coffee bar is inspired by American dive bars in both vibe and layout. This allows us to chat with customers all day long and lets people engage with one another. We are a filter-only coffee bar, which means we focus on high-quality batch coffee supplied by a local roaster, as well as offering other refreshments and snacks. This approach allows us to focus on customer service and offer an affordable and consistent product. We believe coffee is a catalyst for what we are creating, not the main player.

Our apparel store has been growing since launch and, inspired by our collective backgrounds, includes hats, mugs, and clothing. So far, we have launched an official collaboration with Scalextric and shot a 7-Eleven-inspired collection in Japan, alongside a number of other releases. Our hope is to continue collaborating with like-minded brands to position our offering in the right spaces.

Our barbershop is a unisex, inclusive space with a high level of service. We are sponsored by Uppercut Deluxe, and our team has years of experience in the sector.

Altogether, the space is eclectic and unique, with one of our core rules being “nothing is perfect.” We host events, a kids’ chess club, art clubs, brand activations, and more, and we have an ever-changing gallery wall. The space is built for the community we serve and continues to evolve as we learn and grow.