This Is Not a T-Shirt

Back then, the prevailing media (television networks, newspapers, radio programming) controlled the flow of information. Nowadays, we are the media, and we can reach each other directly and intimately in a faster, smaller world.

This isn’t just a clothing company or an online magazine; it’s more than that. It’s a ‘lifestyle project.’”

Fifteen years later, and I now share my creations with millions of people across the planet. But as the brand grew, so much of that fundamental, personal code was lost. When you bestow your work on the world, you allow others to attach their own meanings to it and draw definitions around it.

What if there was an apparel brand that was so public and honest that you knew everything the people behind it loved and supported, and regardless of whether you agreed with them, you felt as if you could invite them over for dinner?

Branding is about making your customers comfortable, secure with buying your product. It’s about letting them know that you aren’t going anywhere. That they are buying something stable and unfading. They don’t want to take a risk. Everyone wants to be unique, but no one wants to be the only one asking themselves, “Will I get teased for wearing this... See more

I admired the serene brook that flowed in the Undefeated store on La Brea and the skate bowl inside Supreme’s new Fairfax location. These artistic touches were conversation pieces that had nothing to do with selling clothes and everything to do with relaying a message.

I’m a black T-shirt, Chucks, and Dickies guy because (a) it’s pragmatic and no-nonsense attire, and (b) it says everything about what’s mattered most to me in my life: California, skateboarding, and punk. When it comes to design, I don’t look high and I don’t look to my side. I prefer to look behind me.

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 owe this book to Jimmy and to everyone who’s loved and lived our brand along the way. As much as it is my story, it is inextricably theirs as well. We’re all in this together.