This Is Not a T-Shirt

Even in streetwear, young brands opt to sell directly to their kids through their online stores. They fail to appreciate, though, how a store’s stocking of your brand acts as a cosign of your product to out-of-reach locales.

“Right. As I grow, the company grows. And as the company grows, I grow. Doesn’t that make the work more authentically me than ever?”

The secret: knowing when and where to position yourself when the pendulum swings your way and the moment hits. You can’t control the cosmos, but you can study and get in position for its curveballs. This is an education culled from time and experience and patience—those very things that neither money nor Instagram followers nor power can buy. Time.... See more

I remember watching “Gapgate” unfold. It bummed me out. Gap shouldn’t have ceded to vocal Facebook groups. It should have remained in control of its brand, even if it had to fake it. Gap should have dictated what Gap was, even if that meant being defined by amateur design. I understand that companies on Gap’s level are beholden to shareholders and ... See more

My idea of streetwear is that it was born of the streets and is meant for the people. I want to reach as many of them as possible and connect them in the process. That means selling to accessible stores on their level, making quality, time-tested product that holds value, and keeping it at a place where they can get to it.

It’s so incredibly important to get out in front of your strengths and to govern how, when, and where to use them.

I didn’t find my voice represented anywhere. My interests, my art, my style. Everyone was using this new buttery American Apparel T-shirt as their base, but I grew up on the rough and starchy AAA swap meet tees.

I concluded that above all, what matters most is the opinion of my family—my wife and children. As long as they’re stoked on me, everyone else can screw themselves. They aren’t proudest of me when I lock in an epic collaboration, or meet a celebrity, or score big sales with a new product. They want me to be happy with my work. To bring that joy hom... See more

To them, it was a simple equation. Statistically, declining brands—like ours at the time—are risky bets. They assumed they could predict the future of our business with Excel sheets. What they failed to quantify was our heart and avarice and how underdogs favor harsh climates.