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As a youth I was an avid fan of the animation series Dragon Ball Z. A friend of mine in high school (Patrick Kirnan) reinvoked my love for the series before going to college. During college I minored in art history. I was fortunate enough to go to a school with an outstanding Japanese art history program run by the infamous Bruce Coats. My favorite course I took was on the tradition and history of Japanese woodblock printing. I was absolutely fascinated with Katsushika Hokusai. My perspective on Dragon Ball was revolutionized and it became an outstandingly influential on my art as a whole.
After college I went to Japan for three weeks with Joyce (shortly after we met) to search for inspiration and dragon balls. On Joyce's last day in Tokyo I met my soul brother and role model Konishiki Yasokichi. Read more about our story on our Sumo Stomp Threads website. During my first year of dental school Koni ordered a big batch of t shirts I was designing at the time. He continued to order clothes from me and we would hang out and go out to meals whenever I went to Tokyo. Koni inspired me to push my designs in a number of new directions and as a result our clothing line was born. Sumo Stomp Threads. We make clothes of all colors for people of all sizes XS-7XL. Over the years I have learned more and more about the life of Konishiki. Every time I learn something about him, I realize more and more how much I look up to this titan of a human being. I think if we all work together we can make this world the most enjoyable place to live. Koni and I like smiling a lot, and we like to wear clothes that make people smile. You can too. 
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