At the time Joker Brand began, there weren’t any clothing lines repping our culture other than what we considered old-school. We wanted our own to add a twist to fashion by putting our art on what we produced.
This year is our 30th Anniversary and a lot of brands out there are doing what we’ve been doing. When we were just starting to go to trade shows, they put us in the African-American area called “urban” because we didn’t fit in the surf and skate section; about 15 years later they came up with the label “streetwear.” We feel like we were one of the first brands being a reason for that.
We have always stuck to our roots, not really getting inspired by what others were doing. We grew up in a time when getting too inspired was called “biting…” You couldn’t copy, you had to be original. The only way you could see anything from anywhere was by getting on a plane and going there or by reading about it in a magazine. There was no YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, or any other social media or internet. I can’t believe that I lived before all that but it seems like yesterday. Times have changed.
We made connections by traveling and meeting people face-to-face through our hard work. Hard work pays off, don’t forget where you came from or how you got there, and don’t give up on your dreams.
-Estevan Oriol.
