We were lucky to catch up with Joey Wiz recently and have shared our conversation below.

Joey , appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

As a kid, I was a skateboarding and involved in the punk/hardcore/metal scene in Milwaukee. It was a loud, loose, vibrant, and eye-opening time. That scene developed my core style of music, my closest friends, and our fashion. As I grew up, I always enjoyed keeping that punk ethos in my style. However, it didn’t translate well to when I wanted to represent my home town and home state. At the time, most state or local pride gear was generic stuff you’d get at the airport – nothing remotely like I or my friends would wear. So, we started making our own.

We started printing our own shirts and selling at local street festivals. At these events, people would come up to us telling us how much they were waiting for something like this. People started getting tattoos of our design. That’s when we knew that we had tapped into something special. People felt the same way we did and were finally able to express it.

Over time, we added more designs and more types of clothing/accessories. Eventually, we built our our website and social media accounts. It was very grassroots and very DIY. Slowly, but surely, it started to grow and we were able to expand into other markets.

Even though its been a long (but fun!) journey, I still get excited seeing people rockin’ our gear and representing their skull state proudly. I feel a strong sense of connection with our customers and it brings me much joy. We all have something in common and that’s incredibly special.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

United Skulls America creates state-pride gear for the hardcore folks out there. All designs used a stylized skull to represent each state in the USA. Currently, the website offer each state in white on a comfy, soft black t-shirt. All designs can be customized for other products in a wide-range of colors and limitless quantities. All you have to do is reach out!

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

For a long while, we only wanted to work within our borders of Wisconsin. That’s the whole point of having state pride, right? However, we have plenty of family and friends in other parts of the country and the world. We were asked many times to start designing for other states as well. Finally, we made the decision to provide other state skull options. It was a big jump away from our core customers. With some hard work and some luck, it’s been a huge success and we haven’t looked back. It’s opened up other markets and business relationships we hadn’t anticipated.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

It’s ok to ask for help. I was always determined I could do everything on my own. The DIY culture engrained that in me. The process was: anything I couldn’t do, learn to do. That often lead to costly mistakes and a time-intensive learning curve. I quickly learned that mentality is completely arrogant. I needed help. I decided to build a team around me that I could count on, that were experts in things I wasn’t an expert in, and people I could trust to be honest with me. That team has set up the entire business for success. I now have more time to focus on the things I’m good at and delegate to the experts.

Contact Info:

• Website: unitedskullsamerica.com
• Instagram: unitedskullsamerica
• Facebook: facebook.com/unitedskullsamerica
• Twitter: @skullsunited