Don't Be Mad at his Greatness

Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, Joe Freshgoods is also known as T-shirt papi. Freshgoods started as a sales associate in a streetwear store in 2005 before finding his passion and started merging high-end fashion with streetwear, which ultimately led to the creation of Don't. Be. Mad, a famous streetwear brand across the United States.

 Growing up in West Chicago, Joe had six siblings from his father's side and two siblings from his mother's side. He grew up with the influence of hip-hop and R&B, and his mother also fueled his interest by getting him CDs now and then. The elders of his family were a huge reason behind Freshgoods' interest in music.

What truly inspired him to work in his field for many years to come was Juelz Santana's music video "Dipset."Joe Freshgoods' fashion sense was greatly influenced by the pink bandana and jeans combo in that music video. He would proudly go to school wearing clothes nobody had any idea about.

In 2009, with just 80 dollars in his pocket, Joe started Dope.Boy.Magic, his brand with Terell Jones. He enjoyed flipping his shirts moreover other jobs. He believed that there is more to love in Chicago than music, and he was obviously hinting at the fashion scene in the city.

The brand he worked for in the beginning was among the hottest ones of the time. However, in 2006, he began interning at "Leaders" with his friend Jones. "Leaders" was a hub of rich culture and local hip-hop, and this is what gave birth to everything, according to Joe Freshgoods.

"Leaders" was where Joe bonded with people like Rockie Fresh, Chance, and Vic Mensa along with others from the crew of SaveMoney, a hip hop group. During the group's first show in 2011, both Jones and Joe Freshgoods helped Rockie.

Only a year later, he used his garage space to open his fake storefront and sold self-designed clothes with help from a local manufacturer. Two years down the road, Freshgoods and others he met at "Leaders," decided to open their first-ever store in Logan Square. After several attempts to come up with a name, the group decided to call it Don't. Be. Mad where they would run different individual lines.

Overall, their collection consisted of humorous hoodies, streetwear-inspired by East Asia, Jerseys, T-shirts, and several other items. As the store started expanding, it moved to the West Town area in 2015, where it witnessed constant growth. What started as a fake storefront in Joe Freshgoods' garage went on to become a huge hit within a span of a few years.

One of his recent collaborations includes the one with 7-Eleven for a limited-edition capsule collection. The first set of merch was dropped on May 13th, and as anticipated, it sold out only in a few hours. If there’s a designer who’s having the time of their lives, it’s Joe Freshgoods. His “Chuck 70 Hi” collaboration with Converse was yet another hit during the holiday season only a few months ago. It featured shoes with designs inspired by the t-shirts he’s designed over the years.

He also had a display on Niketown's store window in Chicago, the same store that had fired him a few years ago. Joe Freshgoods' journey as a fashion designer has been a success story among many others that began in his home garage. As of now, he continues to inspire more people to wear his odd yet extraordinarily designed clothes and hopes to open up more outlets.