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Riding the wave of an unprecedented 24-0 winning streak, the Golden State Warriors are solid gold. In the flurry of the championship chaos, and in the midst of Steph Curry ascension to the best player in the NBA throne, anything that features those bright cobalt and sunshiny yellow colors — that indicate we are all winners—has been appearing left and right. There is one brand, however, that has always repped the Bay, but especially the Warriors hella hard —
tony.psd.
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Courtesy of Tony Robles
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Tony and Gemmalyn with the Warriors Dance Team
“Our fanbase is mostly Warriors fans,” San Jose-raised Robles explains about his brand, for which he designs a variety of Dubs-themed T-shirts. “Reason being, we are always at home games.” Season ticket holders since 2006, Tony and his wife Gemmalyn parlayed their hardcore Warriors fandom into creating items other fans would want to buy. “I would draw these poster board sized sign illustrations of the players in some sort of fun mash up,” he specifies. “It helped me generate a following with the help of
goldenstateofmind.com (a fan blog I contribute to and post my drawings on as lead designer). The illustrations were pretty effective [in] getting the attention of fans, the players themselves, and local and national TV.”
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This following was naturally on board when Tony began designing shirts under the same name he would use to save his Photoshop designs under (tony.psd, Photoshop document). Attending so many games, he picked up on all the lingo he would later use in his designs.
“The term “Dubs” before it became the popular term it is today, was a casual nickname fans said prior to tip off at home games or get togethers,” he cites as an example. “I don’t know who invented it, it just happened.” Other inspirations come from less obvious sources. The popular “
You can't splash with us” shirt pays homage to the cult classic “Mean Girls,” where the ever-snobby queen of The Plastics declares “You cant sit with us.” “Considering our numbers along the three-point line,” Robles states, “this has been a fan favorite design.”
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From those first inspirations that morphed into tangible products, things have continued to flourish for tony.psd. The brand has a growing roster of
Giants,
49ers,
Raiders,
Sharks, and of course
Warriors shirts. One season, Tony custom created “Dubs All Day” tshirts for the Warriors Dance Team. Players such as Klay Thompson have been photographed with his shirts, and according to Robles, “I’ve only heard, and based on a handful of orders going directly to the Warriors Home Office, a lot of the staff wears my gear. To me that’s cool!”
So what's the next for this Bay Area repper? While surely he will always pay homage to the greatest basketball team in the NBA (this is now fact on top of opinion), the world of
Hip Hop beckons. “As much as I love Warriors inspired designs, I’m doing a lot more Hip Hop themed designs,” Robles admits. “Both Bay Area and 90s. It’s a mixture of wordplay, Hip Hop quotables and a nod to the Bay Area. It’s an exciting time for me, because I have so many ideas I want to get out.”
Bay Area rap, as most other rap, glorifies the hustle. Creating something out of nothing. Staking your claim.Tony Robles lets this sentiment fuel the fire of his creativity. “There [are] go getters and hustlers all over the Bay Area—tip your hat to all of em’!” Seeing childhood friends or kids from the block on a creative mind state, and making that a career and business to support their families, [is] not only inspiring to me, but it’s good for The City. Shout out to the fam! Cukui, Breezy Excursion & SJ Headliners!”