..."for pops"

They say that working at a refinery will take ten years off your life. I'm not entirely sure who calculated this  precise figure or how this conclusion was drawn, but I believe this statement is valid and moreover has two key components:

1) They start most off on a rotating shift. Essentially, you work from 5am to 5pm for four days, have a few days off, then work from 5pm to 5am, barring there's no overtime needed of course. Needless to say, this unnatural schedule takes a toll on the body and mind.

2) The firsthand exposure to a slew of carcinogens is higher than almost any other profession.

That being said, my father is one of the most happy-go-lucky people I know. My family lives less than a mile from the BP refinery that borders Carson and Wilmington, California. My father is a roughneck there.

He knew of the aforementioned "ten year life span reduction" and laughed it off. His day was filled with much more immediate dangers. It was not atypical for him to come home, smiling no less, with a story about how he had to jump and roll off of a moving train before it barrelled into another train or how he found himself knee deep in jet fuel. When a segment of the refinery exploded and caught on fire a few years ago, he along with his cohorts who were working at the time labored around the clock in torrential rain to get things as they should be.

I've never heard him complain...not even once.

Because of our proximity to the refinery and because of other light pollution, we have no stars in the night sky, only a crimson-brown wash. Driving home every night from college, I would see the lights from the refinery illuminate the horizon from the 405 south. Whenever I see refineries and palm trees, I know I'm home.

I couldn't begin to repay him if I tried, not that he would ever ask me to anyway. But for what it's worth, this one's for pops.

"For Pops" T-Shirt

...origins: what's in a name

Logos by crazy sick artist Gwil (Joshua Araujo)

http://yehoshuasgwil.wordpress.com/

http://www.sanpedrotattoo.com/

I first heard the term "warrior sperm" my first year in high school. It's an actual physiological phenomenon that occurs in nature. Look it up; it's pretty interesting. It was taught to me by what would become one of my most influential professors and mentors Mr. Bill Wolfenbarger or "Wolf." There was something about the name and occurrence that stuck with me, so I wrote a little narrative or origin story if you will...

The husband makes love to his wife, unaware of her recent unfaithfulness. As his sperm travel into her womb they are bewildered to encounter a cavalcade of foreign sperm, intruders. Surrounded and overwhelmed with necessity, the sperm "steps" forward. He begins to change. His way of thought, his attitude, his passion, his path in life, his mortality, everything. Purged by the flame and sired in clarity, he becomes the WarriorSperm. Equipped with this newfound sense of purpose, he finds himself in a desperate endeavor to protect and defend the sanctity of the female, slaying the intruders one by one. Slowly but surely, outnumbered and exhausted, time begins to overcome him. The fallen warrior perishes, laid to rest with the bittersweet satisfaction of knowing that he was a crucial element in something much greater than himself, irrevocably altering the world...and no one will know that he ever even existed. All in a day's work.

Years later, after I started printing the shirts, I gave Wolf a shirt from my very first batch. It wasn't very good but he liked it a lot. A year or two after that I sent him some new designs, but he died just a few days after I mailed them. I don't know if he ever saw them.

...but that's not quite the end of the story. So I'm in college at Cal State Long Beach, wearing my own design, thinking I'm cool. As class ends one day, this girl notices my shirt as we exit the lecture hall.

"Warrior...Sperm?" she arduously enunciated. "Ugh. That's nasty."

I proceeded to tell her the origin story and that my attempt was to be more noble than crass.

"Yeah. You're gonna be the next Quiksilver I'm sure," she sarcastically muttered as she walked away.

"What a bitch," I thought or maybe I said it. I can't remember.

In any case, although she pissed me off, she was right. It's a name that means something. It's an uncommon name. It's a name you won't forget. That strengthened my resolve. I bought a discontinued 1970's model silk screen press online and built a table from $30 of lumber from Home Depot. I bought some other supplies too and began making my own designs and printing from my garage.

The thousands of shirts I've made have all come from my hands. By virtue of the process and equipment, no two are alike. Each one has a distinct character.

That princess helped me realize that I didn't want to be the next Nike, or Billabong, or Quiksilver. I wanted to make something genuine, something rock 'n roll, something with heart. And I wanted them to tell a story.

So I make shirts for punks, gangsters, rude boys and girls, thugs, beach bums, fighters, lovers, hip hop heads, hooligans, hippies, and misfits...and it makes me happy.

photo courtesy of sexy beast Daniel Carpio

T-Shirt Shop!!!

...prints for sale!

Hey friends,
      If you'd like to contribute to my rent fund or my food habit, I'm selling some of my 13" x 13" "Come Back Soon" prints. The scan is cut off a bit here, but the prints came out really nice. The colors are really vibrant and the matte finish comliments the old school parchment look. Perfect for the inside of your bathroom or other fun places.
$20 or framed for $35. E-mail me.

T-Shirt Shop!

"...what better place than here...what better time than now..."

Hello friends,
You're looking at the very first t-shirt that I had the privilege of being a part of (sorry for the blurry pics). The year was 1997 so think Titanic and Good Will Hunting. Hanson's "MMM Bop" was all the rage but I think my favorite song from that year is "One Headlight" by the Wallflowers. I had won a contest in eighth grade when I was 13 years old and I think I've had the bug ever since.

...now fast forward a few years...In the summer of 2005 I started printing my designs with a great artist and great friend Richard Alconcel. We apprenticed at a Smoke Shop in Redondo Beach, California where we learned many valuable lessons. Our mentor Tony was very strict and stern but also very fair. He not only showed us the tricks of the trade, but he let us use his facility and equipment for free. In return, all we had to do was clean his shop and for every WarriorSperm shirt we printed we had to print three of his. Former military guy, when we made mistakes printing his shirts he made us purchase them at resale value. For every screen we made, when it was dry, we held it up to the sunlight to spot anomalies in the emulsion. For every one we missed, we did ten push ups. Needless to say, we learned a lot from him during that summer for which I am eternally grateful.

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