THE ORIGINS
Meatball was started by Jesse Mitchell with a simple goal: create racing apparel that isn’t embarrassing to wear. Speaking of embarrassing, there’s nothing worse than writing in third person, so I (Jesse) won’t be doing that anymore. I’ll also try to keep this short because, if you’re anything like me, I won’t have your attention for long.
After majoring in design, I worked at a handful of ad agencies with roles ranging from graphic designer to creative director. And while I love working in advertising, racing and design are my passions.
As a race fan, I struggled to find gear I actually wanted to wear. I don’t always want to rep my team by plastering corporate logos all over my body. Sometimes I don’t mind, but I was always on the lookout for a brand that nodded to racing and fit my aesthetic. I’d find a shirt here or there but nothing i really latched onto the way I did with skate and surf brands from my youth.
I figured I wasn’t the only one feeling this way so instead of waiting to find my Cinderella racing brand, I merged my two passions and created Meatball.
If you’re here, thank you; we’ll probably get along.
WHY MEATBALL
The Meatball flag always made me smile. It’s rarely used but something about its meaning just clicked. Basically, get your ass to the pits because your car is damaged and isn’t suited to be on track. I want to create designs that aren’t suited for traditional F1 apparel. Less stuffy and corporate, more playful and interesting.
THE DESIGNS
The designs draw inspiration from digital and print techniques, brand ownership, parody…
Bitmap patterns that give the impression of shading, created for computer screens when they only had one color.
Xeroxing an image until it’s so high contrast and manipulated that it becomes an aesthetic more interesting than the original.
Pixelating images enough to question whether they still violate copyright laws.
I don’t know, just fuck around a little.
THE SHIRTS
We use Comfort Colors 1717 tees for all of our designs. 100% ring spun cotton so there are no side seams, giving an cleaner look and more comfortable fit. These tees are garment dyed and feel like you’ve been wearing them for years. They fit right. Not oversized. Not fitted. But you can still achieve either look by sizing up or down. The weight is perfect. Not thin. Not ultra heavyweight. Just a bit heavier than a standard shirt making them crazy comfortable and soft.
THE PRINTING
All Meatball shirts are printed using the DTG (Direct To Garment) method. A modern technique that not only allows a limitless number of colors, but also prints them incredibly vibrantly. Now, I’m a sucker for screen printing so some of our simpler designs may be screen printed one day but for now, DTG gives us the freedom we need.
EXCHANGES / SHIPPING / other questions
Our shirts ship straight from the printer so if there are any problems with your shirt or the printing, let us know and we’ll get you a replacement. It means the world to us that you wear our shirts so we want you to be as happy as we are.
Right now we only ship within the US. We plan to expand eventually but international trade has complicated things. That being said, if you ask us real nice, we may be able to sort something out.
If you have any other questions, ideas, or just wanna shoot the shit, contact us at the form below or email me directly at thebigmeatball@meatballapparel.com.
Thank you so damn much,
Team Meatball
