One booth stands out from all the rest at the San Luis Obispo Farmers’ Market on Thursday nights.
Phil Hurst’s homemade T-shirt stall lights up, transforms into a trailer and towers higher than any other booth at the market.
Hurst graduated from Cal Poly in 2010 with a bachelor’s degree in manufacturing engineering. He said the skills he gained in college help immensely with his T-shirt business today.
“I owe everything I am to Cal Poly,” he said.
Hurst screen prints vintage-themed shirts and hats under the brand name Genuine Stolen using a machine he partially built. He also constructed a collapsible kiosk that morphs into a trailer, which he hauls to Farmers’ Market by bike from his house seven blocks away.
He said the trailer has evolved since he first bought it.
“As time went on, I added to the trailer and made it easier to set up,” Hurst said. “Instead of pulling off 20 bungee cords and clips, it was just a hinge and a bolt and it folds out.”
Hurst also added a car battery to power LED lights that attracts market-goers after the sun goes down. In its current state, the booth features a retail store-like rack to display the shirts and colorfully painted panels that tower higher than any other booth at the market — something he’s very proud of, he said.
Standing out is also Hurst’s fashion philosophy — he said he strives for originality with his T-shirt designs.
“The motto is ‘Buck the Trend,’” he said. “These shirts appeal to people that are not into extreme sports but like to go out and look good and be different.”
Hurst’s designs feature nostalgic images such as classic cars, the Blues Brothers and an old-fashioned lion tamer. The classic symbols reflect his personality, he said.
“I love everything old,” he said. “It’s got character. I listen to records; I ride vintage motorcycles.”
Although Hurst’s designs are rooted in the past, he said he has big plans for the future of Genuine Stolen.
Hurst is the only non-student applicant for the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship’s SLO HotHouse Summer Accelerator, which will provide office space, mentoring and $10,000 to a promising startup.
“I win that shit, I quit my job,” he said. “I think (my chances) are pretty good. I hope I get it.”
Hurst’s other efforts to expand Genuine Stolen include getting his friend in San Francisco to run a satellite booth. This arm of the company is on “autopilot,” Hurst said. He sends shirts to his friend, who peddles them on the street from a miniature version of Hurst’s transformable trailer.
Hurst is looking to establish more satellite vendors such as these in San Diego and Berkeley as well.
Locally, Hurst has reached out to businesses to sponsor his booth at Farmers’ Market. His original sponsor, San Luis Art Supply, recently went out of business. However, Dr. Cain’s Comics and Games on Marsh Street agreed to sponsor Hurst’s booth and will soon carry Genuine Stolen apparel for sale.
Reid Cain, the store’s owner, said the partnership should benefit both parties.
“I’ve wanted to do a booth at Farmers’ anyway, so it seemed like a good way to kind of help each other out,” Reid said.
He said Dr. Cain’s Comics and Games will be a good fit for Genuine Stolen’s classic designs.
“I took a look at his website and his product, and it looked cool,” Reid said. “I like to carry pop images and things that look cool.”
Reid isn’t the only one who finds Genuine Stolen shirts “cool.”
Chris Head, a Cal Poly alumnus, was one of many people that approached Hurst’s booth last Thursday night.
“I like a bunch of them,” he said. “I think they’re great.”
Head said he admired the shirts’ uniqueness.
“I hate wearing a T-shirt and then seeing somebody else wearing the same T-shirt, so this appeals,” he said.
Philthy Phil is God.