Inked & Awkward founder with tattoo art mural

The Story

I Got Tired of Waiting.
So I Just Did It.

The Name

I am very tattooed. I have a lot of tattoos. And I'm very, very, very awkward. I am a very socially awkward dude.

So the name Inked & Awkward is without a doubt, absolutely perfect for me and my brand.

The Why

I talked about starting a clothing company for years. Kept making excuses. Finally said screw it—I'm not waiting on anyone else.

You can be awkward. You can be weird. You can be shy. But you can wear something bold at the same time that makes you feel comfortable and/or more confident.

The Style

Every design is American traditional tattoo style. Bold lines. Bright colors. Classic imagery. The kind of stuff you see in flash sheets on tattoo shop walls.

I don't design myself—I collaborate with actual tattoo artists who get paid and credited for every piece they create.

What I Refuse to Sell

✕

No Plastic Prints

I don't like when shirts have that sticky, plastic-y feel on the back or the front of them. Every shirt is screen printed for soft prints that breathe.

✕

No Shrinking

I also don't like when shirts shrink an insane amount just after one wash and dry. Our blanks are pre-shrunk. True to size, always.

✕

No Fading

And worst case scenario, the design starts fading off almost immediately. Screen printing lasts. Period.

✕

No Flimsy Blanks

6 oz+ heavyweight cotton. Thick, broken-in feel from day one. Not that thin mall garbage that falls apart after three washes.

The Artists

Every design comes from a real artist. They get paid and credited.

I don't design this stuff myself. Every piece you see started as a conversation with a tattoo artist who actually knows what they're doing.

Most of the collection comes from my personal tattoo artist—the same person who's been putting ink in my skin for years. The rest? A mix of collaborators I've found along the way who understand traditional flash and aren't afraid to get weird with it.

When you buy a shirt, you're supporting real artists. Not AI. Not stock art. Real people making real stuff.

The Design Philosophy

You'll never see a shirt within my company that only has a design on the front. I personally just don't like shirts that only have the front design.

I feel like the main large design should be on the back of the shirt, then something small that mimics the design in some sort of way on the front left side of the shirt.

Every single shirt follows this rule. No exceptions.

Back

Main design

+
Front

Small matching piece

Ready to Join the Weirdos?

Check out the collection. Pick something bold.

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