How'd We Get Here?

WTF was born out of frustration. 

In October of 2020 I, (like so many others) found myself without a job for the first time in over 20 years due to Covid. My plan was always to retire from the company I was working for but instead, I found myself lost and afraid for my future. 

I was not alone and had plenty of time to commiserate with those in the same position. One person in particular was a very talent graphic designer who also was out of work. We would talk daily and many times our conversation would turn to the current state of affairs, politics and history. You see, this person was not originally from the US and would often say, "I didn't know that" when I spoke on historical matters. The idea of WTF was born out of these conversations. He would supply the art, I would supply the history. 

After a few weeks, I decided to go to school. The thought of working somewhere that I was not passionate about depressed me but I couldn't continue to do nothing and you can't build a business over night. I signed up to learn UX/UI, bought a laptop and was ready to learn! School taught me so many valuable lessons, the main one being that I didn't want to be in UX/UI so I left. All was not lost however. While I didn't love UX/UI, I did find my love for graphic design and started teaching myself everything I could. 

At the same time, my friend let me know that he would no longer be able to pursue WTF. Opportunities were coming to him at a fast pace and to ignore them would be financially careless. He agreed to continue as my mentor as I went on this journey alone. 

So here I was, quickly running out of money, but still very passionate about the idea of WTF. I started looking for work and even got a few offers but the thought of putting my dream on the back burner to help someone else fulfill theirs was not an option. I turned them down and stopped applying for work. I focused all of my attention on making WTF a reality and here I am. 

My hope is that each shirt designed will serve as a way to help keep history alive and educate those who desire it. May each design encourage you to dig deeper to understand the actions that got us to where we are today. 

This is WTF.

Back to blog