Tattoo Stories: DWEEB FOR LIFE 🤓

I decided to get this tattoo because I love everything that Jamaal Williams @hey_its_maal stands for and what his brands have represented. Plus, it’s just a cool design!

I took it to my artist Abel Killian @tattooabel with my idea, and he rocked it out on me. It’s about embracing your inner dweeb and loving yourself despite what society thinks about you. And for Jamaal, it also stands for DON’T WANNA EVER END-UP BROKE. A sentiment that definitely resonates with me.

I met Jamaal in 2015 when he was promoting a Kickstarter campaign to fund his latest line of modern streetwear for his brand The DWEEB Lifestyle Company @dweeblifestyle. After our mutual friend Antoine @antoinza shared Jamaal’s Kickstarter, I messaged Jamaal to ask for an interview with him for a blog I ran at the time called Dominion Collective @dominioncollective. He was stoked to talk about it with me and to share his story. As I got to know Jamaal, we developed a friendship and kept talking over text and social media.

Jamaal started his apparel company in college with t-shirts featuring his trademark logo of the glasses with crossed arms. Very much a new school pirate vibe. In my 20s, I would occasionally see this logo around Hampton Roads on people’s cars and maybe on a few shirts. I didn’t know much about it at the time, but I thought it was cool and appreciated the design. 

According to the Dweeb Lifestyle Co. Facebook page: We work hard so that we do not become broken spiritually, financially, physically or intellectually. That mantra is at the core of our team’s mission to provide authentic clothing and accessories to those who stay on the grind like us. For some, the grind may entail studying hard or working late hours. For us, it is clothing design. We apply our unique experiences and inspirations to our take on men’s urban wear in the form of jackets, hoodies, hats, t-shirts and more. We partner with and support local artists to promote and expose good, quality music. We may also host a purposeful event from time to time. But, at the core of all our efforts, is the DWEEB mission. Each of our designs is centered on the core belief that inspiration can come from anywhere. But our biggest source of inspiration comes from you. We are driven by those who believe that anything you put your mind to can be achieved. The kids who study hard and have a genuine thirst for knowledge inspire us. We live for the people who grind on a daily basis – those who personify the hustle.

In 2017, when I started getting into video production, I asked Jamaal if he would be interested in being featured in one of the videos for the series “Follow Your Path,” which I started under my creative lifestyle brand Path to Life. The series featured creative entrepreneurs trying to have a positive impact in their community through their work. Of course, Jamaal was down. He visited Richmond for the video shoot and to hang with me afterwards. We had a few laughs and deepened our friendship as we got to know each other more intimately. As a fellow creative person, I admired his design aesthetic, artistic sensibilities, and his positive attitude.

A year later, Jamaal moved to California with his wife and daughter, and he shifted his focus from apparel to photography and video production under his new brand Maaly’s World @maalys_world. Jamaal has a great eye and attention to detail for capturing beautiful images, whether he’s shooting a model holding a pose, a drone shot of the skyline, or his wife and baby on their daily adventures. 

After the tragic death of George Floyd that brought more mainstream attention to the ongoing Black Lives Matter movement, Jamaal wanted to use his creative skills as a clothing designer and visual storyteller created from a calling to give back to the community in a meaningful way. Jamaal created The Department of Public Goods and Services (DPGS)  @publicgoodsandservices because he wanted to support people who were fighting for change. He made t-shirts and donated the sales to Color for Change. His mission for this organization continues to grow. The goal is to uplift the Community - whether that be directly, or indirectly by supporting other groups and individuals who doing the work. 

As we all know, systemic racism is a broad, complex issue that isn’t limited to the justice system; it also rears its head when the issue of “diversity” is brought up, especially in creative spaces. Representation matters and people of color make up a small percentage of the overall creative industry. Jamaal and I think it’s important to highlight BIPOC in creative spaces so that young people can see themselves in places where they may not feel like they belong. 

In late 2020, Jamaal started doing interviews for a DPGS video series called “Conversations with Creatives of Color.” He curated interview and broll footage highlighting individual people of color in different creative disciplines. Inspired by his first two episodes in the series, I reached out to him with an offer to make videos on the east coast for the series featuring people of color doing creative work. He was stoked about my interest and passion for collaborating with him on this project.

Since then, not only have I created 4 episodes (and more on the way) in the series, I’ve learned so much from the unique perspectives of the people I interviewed. Jamaal and I have also discussed collaboration on other projects in the future. We both want to escape our corporate 9-5 jobs so we can refocus our careers on doing creative work full time that continues to connect and create positive results and relationships.

I’m so stoked to have this reminder on my leg as a reminder to keep doing the work to create the life I want and as a mark of brotherhood with Jamaal. 

Love you dude!