Photo by Maxt Shanktaneo
Max and Matt are from Columbus, Ohio. Despite this they turned out pretty clever. Well, clever enough to hightail it to New York and create WOWCH, a t-shirt label designed for fat kids who litter and people who piss themselves over ‘baby falling off swing-set' segments on television blooper shows. You know, common folk.
The first time I met Max, he was wearing a WOWCH t-shirt. The print was some sort of hybrid schizophrenic cat thing eating itself and I couldn't stop staring at it - so much so that I'm sure he thought I was on day-release. When I asked him about the shirt, he mumbled something about manifestations of dreams and nightmares, mixing with metaphysical inspirations. I still have no idea what he was talking about.
WOWCH t-shirts manage to look like nothing you've seen before. They cut animals in half and amalgamate dogs, skulls, wizards, and cats driving Barbie cars. They have some crazy shit going on, but somehow it comes across all classy. Like those paintings of dogs playing pool or cards—out of this world yet somehow so appealing.
Max and Matt went to the same high school but were archrivals until they eventually bonded over a common desire to dress their college football team in tie-dyed uniforms. Unfortunately, their carefully-crafted creations were rejected by the players and so, feeling saddened with rejection, Matt turned to a life of crime and Max ran away to tour with The Rapture as their merchandise guy. As it happens, this was exactly what they needed to put them in the spotlight. "People would always ask to buy the shirt I was wearing instead of the shabby Rapture ones I was selling. The ones we had made were way cooler of course, and on my return to New York I was straight on the phone with Matt talking business."
Now WOWCH have hip kids from New York wearing their t-shirts all over the place. They would still prefer more of the trouble-making fat ones in them though and feel they have a message that might convince the rest of the world. "You know, we are here to educate the kids. It has been proven beyond a doubt that if you wear WOWCH you get love… real love. Oh and sex."
You can get their t-shirts from www.wowch.com