Our New Tees Have Come In

Hello Otters,

It’s finally here! Our new fall tee shirts have arrived and I am truly excited about this collection as it represents several ideas that have been running through my head for months. I wanted to give you the story behind the designs so you can get an idea of what I was thinking about. Maybe add it to the story you tell when someone says, “Hey, cool shirt!” (I hope I am not the only one who tells a story every time I get a compliment. ;-)

Koi and Dragon Tees

In 2002, I lived in San Francisco in a cute apartment on Nob Hill. The apartment wasn’t on the top of Nob Hill, but just down a block from Grace Cathedral if you know the area at all. I hated it at the time. But I was in relationship hell and my work life was on a slippery slide to Crapville.

Anyway, my apartment was just up the street from Chinatown and it was so cool to walk the streets during the day. If you get past the tourist area, you find a completely different world within the decorated gates of this section of town. Many weekends I would walk for hours from my apartment through Chinatown and down to the waterfront. I was thrilled anytime I could peer into the community centers to see what was going on and every weekend there was always something going on.

One day I watched this kid drawing tattoo-like images of koi and dragons and I just really fell in love with his imagery. So I wanted to create my own versions of these designs. Now everyone is doing tattoo tees, but I hope you can appreciate the colors and the softness of my designs.

I looked up the significance of the Dragon and Koi in Chinese culture and here is what I found:

Dragons- Dragons are deeply rooted in Chinese culture. So much so that the Chinese often consider themselves descendants of dragons according to About.com. It even went on to say that the Chinese Emperors think that they are real dragons. They sleep on dragon beds, wear dragon robes and sit on dragon thrones.

Koi- A.K.A. the Chinese carp, has several symbolic values within Chinese culture. It is a symbol of strength and perseverance. The scales and whiskers of the koi even resemble that of a dragon making it another powerful symbol.

Otter Tramp Stamp Tee

I have to give credit to Mike for this design. He hears me talk about so many ideas and most of the time he rolls his eyes, but one day he said, “Make a t-shirt with a tramp stamp on the lower back and make it look like a tattoo, but actually call out ‘tramp stamp’ within the design.” The he giggled to himself so I knew I had to explore this idea.

Now I do consider myself naïve a bit because I did not know what a tramp stamp was. And sure enough we both have one. If you were like me and didn’t know, a tramp stamp is a tattoo placed above your butt on your lower back. Mine of course, is an Ohm symbol waking the great Kundalindi that rests at the base of your spine. His is a tribal design with the two Greek drama faces because he is an actor. I don’t think either one is very trampy, but I will say this- I took my little cousin to get a tattoo and they definitely stamped her before she went to Panama City for spring break to get “BUCK WILD”. It’s a pretty tattoo, but I am sure the only time it sees the light of day is when she is own the prowl. Come to think of it…never mind. I won’t go there.

Disco Sex Goddess

So many people have asked me why I call my underwear line, Disco Sex and I have to say that the whole Disco Sex idea comes from a long time ago when I was much younger. I feel so old saying this, but it does seem like such a long time ago. When I was 19, I was never a drinker because it just wasn’t around so night clubs seemed like a waste of time. They weren’t something I was dying to get into. But one night a couple of friends of mine, Charles and Bobette, took me out on the town and snuck me into a few bars and then to a big club called Backstreet.

Those were the days of Real McCoy and “Runaway” and “Another Night” and even Gloria Estefan with a remake of “Turn the Beat Around”. OMG! I was in heaven. Charles pushed us up on the stage and we performed like we were hanging with Downtown Julie Brown on Club MTV. (If you are in your 30’s, you’ll know what I am talking about.) I can’t tell you how long we were there, but by the time we left I was tore up from the floor up. I looked like I was ridden hard and put up wet. And I loved every minute of it.

The euphoria I felt that night has gone unsurpassed by anything else. People say sex is better, but that night at Backstreet I experienced Disco Sex! And I must say, I have been chasing that first high ever since. I tried to duplicate it a few weeks after my “first time” and the Atlanta PD caught me and my fake-ID-carrying-ass and put me in handcuffs. They took a picture of me to put on the wall in the entrance and told me not to come back until I was legal. I was mortified. So I went back the night I turned 21. It was a Tuesday night and apparently we turned into a techno culture so I wasn’t feeling it anymore, but at least I tried.

If you have also tasted a bit of the Disco Sex, let me know. Obviously this had a big impact on me. So much so I created the Disco Sex Goddess as a diva icon to rule the dance floor, like a Greek goddess. (I am listening to “Another Night” on you Tube as I type.)

The Otter Royal Crest

Ever since I started Otter in 2005, I have wanted to have our own coat of arms and finally I came up with it. I know the little otter seems to be hiding out up at the top, but that was on purpose. His supporter is a big scary lion and no one is going to mess with a lion. Plus the lion reminds me of the lions in Trafalgar Square in London. They are so massive and just look so regal. I just had to have a big lion guarding my heart and yours.

Otter Diving

This design is very Polynesian to me as in the Polynesian section of “It’s a Small World” at Disney World way. I think it captures the serenity of diving down deep and finding a place of solitude amongst the water and yourself.

Playboy Internationale and Dirty Martini

It’s my own take on James Bond. If I were a secret agent, I would always be in a tuxedo sipping on a martini like an international playboy. It would probably be a sour apple martini, but nonetheless I would be fabulous and I would always get the prize. Is there a 008? If not, I would like to take that spot.

Cock Capital

I have to give props to my good friend Brandon for giving me this idea. I was in my office one day and I get an email from him saying there were more cocks in Gainesville, Georgia than anywhere in the world. I died. I would never expect the word cock to come out of his mouth so this was shocking. Well he backed it up with an article to prove that Gainesville is known as the Cock Capital of the world. See I don’t make this shit up. People think Georgia is this ass-backwards place but it isn’t. Well, there is a Butts county in Georgia, but I’ll touch that one later.


So there you have it- the actual ideas or thoughts behind the new collection of Otter tees. It isn’t a scientific formulation on how we come up with our ideas. They just evolve. I hope you like them and I hope you wear yours with pride knowing the story behind them. If you come up with your own story, let me know (Joshua@otterfashion.com) because I want to know about it. Every shirt we have has a story. If you want to know about others, just ask me. This is my world. I am happy to share.

Take care Otters and I will catch up with you soon.

Joshua