You know, for as long as I can remember, I was pretty much a ‘graphic tee’ guy. Over the years I’ve had quite the extensive collection of t-shirts, running the gamut of everything from band shirts to funny novelty tees to Ecko-style wannabe thugwear (it was a phase) to crazy graphic tees that I just thought looked cool. The main thing about the shirts in my closet was that every ‘piece’ I added to my carefully curated cacophony of cool clothes had to, at least loosely, represent who I was as a person.
In my mind anyone at school or elsewhere that bothered to follow what I was wearing each day could get some insight into my thoughts, likes, ideals, and desires. They could see things about me on my shirts that could normally never be known to a stranger. My t-shirts were the world’s window into my soul, and I would not stand for just putting some polo shirt with horizontal stripes on my upper half, because that said nothing about me.
(Before: Baggie shirts. Baggie pants. No style below the waist, I assure you.)
My staunch belief in this led me to become a bit of shirt snob, if I'm being honest. The type that would look gift horses in the mouth, so to speak. I received gifts of clothing from time to time that I would turn my nose up at. (Sincere apologies to all my relatives that experienced this.) And the craziest thing is that these clothes that I was so down on were actually quite classy, and really could have updated my look. My relatives were trying to do my personal style a favor. However, I was just addicted to the ‘scrub’ look that sweet graphic tees were producing at the time (Which was mostly okay. It was the era of grunge, after all.), and I would scoff at the idea of wearing anything else.
Meanwhile, when it came to the bottoms that I would pair my tees with, what I came up with was far from inspiring. For most of my life I just didn’t care about fashion below the waist. It was always just so easy to slap on a pair of jeans or cargo shorts with just about anything on top. Why was this the case? Well, I think it was mostly because I felt that I was saying something with my shirt that I could not with my shorts or pants. I could just let my torso represent me and who I was, so beyond that nothing really mattered. I was content to live the lie that people would just focus on the cool t-shirt I would have perfectly selected for the occasion, and be more connected with the real me as a result. ....Right?
(Now: Refreshed. Revitalized. Always bringing the positive vibes!)
As it turns out, I was delusional. I was content living inside the fantasy that my shirts were the only things that mattered, when this couldn’t be further from the truth. Well, my friends, I have now seen the light! Some time ago I recognized a simple, yet universal, truth that men around the world need to realize: If you truly want to express yourself, you have to do it with your whole outfit! Bottoms included.
As we approach 2020, it seems that men around the world, whether white or blue collar, are realizing that we can be fashionable too. We don’t have to be those graphic tee guys anymore, and we can step our style game up by taking simple steps with regards to the way we purchase and wear our clothes. Our eyes are opening to a brand new, exciting, nigh-boundless, topsy-turvy world where we can express ourselves with our shorts or trousers.
This is why Rock Atoll was created. While we will be diversifying our offerings in the future, we started out with the idea that men's shorts don’t have to be boring, monotone items. Rock Atoll wants to flip the script and allow men to show the world their fun side with their shorts. If you know you’re a bit different on the inside, or just someone who is as bold as you wanna be, Rock Atoll is working to provide you with clothing that will let people know that in new ways.
I mean, how many people are going to show up to BBQs this year in shorts covered in sharks, or pineapples, or toucans, or dragons, or just a bright and vibrant pattern? Not many yet, but this is a style that we feel can, should, and will take off and become part of mainstream men's fashion. In the meantime, you can be the trendsetter and the conversation starter. You can express yourself in a new way. You can greet the world each day with feelings of fun and confidence. That’s what Rock Atoll is all about.
Put on. Tune in. Stand out.
- Travis from the Rock Atoll Crew 😎
