In 1999, Marc White and three of his mates set up a team for nothing more than a laugh. Starting out in step 17 of English football, the very bottom of the football pyramid, Dorking Wanderers were just a bunch of mates with a vision that barely went beyond the pub trip after the game.
“There was no grand plan, nothing fancy,” White revals.
“The vision was just to have a good social network of friends playing football. It was simply something to do on a Saturday afternoon. When we started, you’d pay five quid, put the nets up yourself, and head to the pub afterwards.
“It was a Saturday league team with a Sunday league ethos.”
Now one of England’s most viral managers, Marc White began his journey on the pitch as a player for Dorking.
“I was a goal-scoring left-winger with more fat than pace to burn,” White laughs.
The early kits they selected, very much like the team, were improvised and cobbled together.
“It actually was just different ideas. At different times we went with different kits, we had an Inter Milan sort of look initially.”
But a team from the fashion capital of the world didn’t quite fit Dorking’s identity.
“Eventually, we settled on red and white because those are the colors of the local rugby club and the town itself. Once we became the biggest team in Dorking and started doing really well, it just made sense to adopt the town’s colors.”
After 25 years, 12 promotions, and only one relegation, Dorking Wanderers now compete in the National League South, just two promotions away from competing in League Two.
The club’s meteoric rise hasn’t been without its challenges, and White reveals the off-field struggles that came with climbing the leagues.
“We used council pitches for years. After six or seven years, the first thing we did was put a rope around the pitch. Then, over time, came floodlights, changing rooms, tea bars, and eventually a 200-seater stand.
“We’ve probably spent around £2 million in the last three years just to be able to play in the National League. The higher we go, the more it’s about money.”
Just like the facilities, the kits had to evolve to match the club’s progress.
“It’s gone from like the local landlord of the pub giving us 200 quid for a kit to having a five year sponsorship deal with Macron.
“Every single side of the club, we’re pretty much professional in every sense of the word.”
A lot of this remarkable ascent is captured in A Bunch of Amateurs, a fly-on-the-wall YouTube series documenting the everyday running of the club.
The series has become a viral sensation, racking up 400 million unique views last year, turning Marc White into a social media star, largely down to his lively touchline antics.
Two of their most viewed videos, each with over 2 million views, feature fans poking fun at White’s touchline outfits, and he’s always quick to fire back.
“When things like the ‘your wife’s jeans’ videos come out, it’s just everyday life for us, especially when you’re starting out in step 17.
“It might seem different to others, but that’s really where we came from as a club. It’s a bit of an ‘us and them’ thing, if you say something to us, we’ll say it right back. So yeah, it’s very much a non-league background.”
Despite the jokes, White can often be seen sporting snapbacks and designer jackets on the touchline, but he’s clear he’s never tried to come across as anything other than himself.
“You know, I don’t try my best to sort of look like f***ing suave and stuff.”
For White, his clothing choices are driven more by superstition than anything else.
“If we’ve won while I’m wearing something, I tend to stick with it. I had one coat for donkey’s years that brought us three promotions, I probably should have kept it, it was like a German foot soldier trench jacket or something.”
Much like White’s Prada jackets, non-league football is embracing fashion more than ever.
Dorking themselves recently teamed up with Fresh Ego Kid to create a limited-edition cap.
However, White identifies one potential future collaboration that he feels fits perfectly.
“I like ARNE and I think they share a similar demographic to ours, so it feels like a good fit,” he says.
But he also has a much more plausible option in mind, one that seems destined to happen.
“Christian Dior would be nice, to be fair.”