
2016
Established
Retro House began with me selling sneakers out of the backseat of my 2007 Kia Rio.
My favorite memory from my time selling sneakers was the day the Yeezy 350 "Pirate Black" was released. I had gone around to everyone in my first-period class and asked if I could use their laptops.
I had three desks lined up with 12-15 computers across every inch of surface available, all sitting on Adidas's queue. I was laser-focused on each, hoping for one of them to go through.
I never got those sneakers, but it was still neat to see everyone come together like that.

2017
Pivot to Clothing Brand
As word of Retro House spread, I had people who would approach me that wanted to support what I was doing but weren't interested in sneaker culture. For this reason, I decided to have some T-shirts made.
In doing so, I completely fell in love with the process; seeing an idea go from being locked in my head to something I could physically hold was deeply fulfilling. Not to mention, seeing people wear the clothes I made, and the designs I drew, gave me such a special feeling. So, I decided to start strictly making clothes.

2017
Website Launched
I still remember how excited I was when it finally came time to launch our first website. After months of selling t-shirts out of my trunk, I would finally have a space to sell my products and showcase my brand.
My excitement quickly plateaued when I realized how big of an undertaking doing it myself would be.

2018
Original Instagram Account Hacked
Instagram has always been one of our primary channels for staying in touch with our supporters. So, you can imagine the terror I felt when I got a notification saying that I had been logged out of the Retro House account.
We never got that account back, but there was some good to come out of the whole fiasco. We got our preferred Instagram handle of @retrohouse and I learned an invaluable lesson in the importance of making sure I have recovery emails set up.

2018
Printing Press
One day, I received a call from my screen printer at the time; He wanted to give me a heads-up that he was about to stop printing. After my initial freakout, he told me that he just so happened to have a buddy who was selling a screen printing press and needed it gone as soon as possible.
I haggled him down to a price I was comfortable with, and he told me to come pick it up. I called my football buddy for some extra muscle, but there was still a massive obstacle in my way. At the time, I was driving a 2-door BMW convertible, not ideal for moving large pieces of equipment, but that was not going to stop us now.
When we arrived at the destination (an apartment complex) and I put the top down on the convertible, I looked over at my buddy, saying with a laugh, "It's basically a truck now!”.
We loaded the equipment up, and I paid the man his money. I never really understood what I was buying, I just knew it was a good deal. So imagine my surprise when I realized I could put the top back up, but we were already there.
So we started our hour-long drive back home. My friend was pinned against his seat by a flash dryer, and the wind hitting our face at 70+ MPH, was definitely some illegal stuff. However, the only thing on our faces was a smile from a job well done.
The following 6 months of my life were spent sitting in front of YouTube, trying to learn how to screen print, and more importantly, how to do so in a 1-bedroom studio apartment (it was really more like an attic). It was by no means a graceful process by any stretch of the imagination. Eventually, things started to get easier, and my prints continued to improve. Before I knew it, I was making my own streetwear.

2018
Photoshoots
Reuniting with my childhood friend Caleb was a blessing for me at the time; he was also a blessing to Retro House. Growing up, he was always the group photographer and luckily that never changed.
One day, he mentioned he could take some pictures of my shirts and we've been going on adventures ever since. I'm so blessed to have him in my life and genuinely consider him my best friend.
One of my favorite shoots, or at least the most eventful was with Riley at Clifty Falls in Ohio. The National Park was the recommendation of a coworker because of its signature natural waterfalls and we were very excited to see our first waterfall.
Some could say I was a little too excited because I got a ticket for almost rear-ending someone in front of a cop. Luckily Riley was a good sport about everything and we made it there in one piece.
Upon arrival, we stopped by the Welcome Center to get a map, take a few rounds of warmup pictures, and make our way towards one of the site's largest waterfalls.
As we approach the viewing platform, I start to feel raindrops. Caleb and I look at each other realizing we are carrying around a bunch of expensive equipment and we are with a model who probably isn't huge on getting drenched before taking pictures.
After 10-15 minutes of scouring in the rain, we finally found a gazebo to protect us from the elements. Riley and our bags were soaked, but our camera was dry and our hopes were high. We ended up getting some great pictures that day and we had a blast doing it!

2020
CLE Photoshoot
I met Hazelkorn and his manager, Q through a massive "share-for-share chain that was going around on Snapchat at the time. At the time, Hazelkorn was an up-and-coming model, and seeing that we both worked in the fashion industry, building a relationship seemed like a no-brainer.
As time passed, I often told him that Retro House would come down and do a photoshoot with him one day. It always seemed like a pipe dream until Caleb and I started our 6-hour drive to Cleveland, Ohio.
Meeting Hazelkorn and keeping my word from so long ago was one of the most surreal feelings ive ever felt. I remain eternally grateful to have been given that opportunity.

2025
End of Hiatus/ New Logo
After FW22, I decided to step back from Retro House for a little while. In that time, I matured a lot; I met the most perfect woman in the world, we bought a house together, and I even started another business.
But, no matter how happy I was, there was always this little voice in the back of my head, "You need to be doing Retro House". So, I came back as a more mature person and leader and even gave our branding a bit of a face-lift.