From Sketches to Stitches: How a Local Hat Brand Was Born

Aaron from Never Trusted ( @nvrtrstd_) joins us to discuss his journey creating Fresno-inspired hats that celebrate local landmarks and the city's identity. What started as a COVID hobby has evolved into a distinctive brand featuring thoughtful designs that honor everything from the Fresno Grizzlies to iconic city architecture.

• Founded Never Trusted during COVID lockdown, initially making shirts for friends before focusing on hats
• Collaborates with his brother JJ on designs, transforming sketch concepts into finished products
• Creates Fresno-centric designs featuring local landmarks like Security Bank building and the water tower
• Drew inspiration from the 2001 Fresno Grizzlies colorway for the purple and black "Grizzly Boy" hat
• Continually evolves design elements, recently adding all-suede materials and California stamps
• Describes seeing people wear his creations as a "humbling experience" that makes the work worthwhile
• Announces partnership with Broke Boys podcast for upcoming Dog Daze Festival featuring The Chainsmokers

Check out Never Trusted on Instagram and look for their merch at the Dog Daze Festival – this is going to be a big one!
- @nvrtrstd_ 

Follow us @ brokeboyz_ff on Instagram and TikTok
Intro Music by Rockstar Turtle- Broke Boyz (999)
Christmas Intro Song by Nico

Transcript

Introduction and Sponsor Announcement

Speaker 1 0:00

Yeah.

Speaker 2 0:00

We can't just go up and say, hey, we need this. In two weeks they're going to be like who are you?

Speaker 1 0:04

Yeah, yeah, you know what I mean.

Speaker 2 0:05

They're in the day business. You know what?

Speaker 1 0:07

I mean yeah, so they might have people already waiting months on end.

Speaker 2 0:10

So that's real Right, right, right, right, right. So there you know, yeah, that might be a no for right now.

Speaker 1 0:28

Just so. That way I'm trying to get this camera to be right. Okay, we're straight. We'll count it as like a maybe possibly, or for future reference. We can do that. But with the carrot package I'm still going to make the content for you. I still want to do a real. I want to do an unboxing, and then, on top of that, I definitely want to rock some of the merch at the Dog Days Festival just so, when people are asking like hey bro, where'd you get that hat at?

Speaker 3 0:54

that's pretty cool we can at least have that, and then we're going to have a lot of fan interaction tight.

Speaker 2 1:03

I'm going to say this, bro you guys, you know, fucking make that shit like easy bro, Like as far as no, no bro Believe it or not like me being here. I'm not one to do interviews, bro. I'm, I'm, I'm real. You know I'm a chill-ass dude bro.

Speaker 3 1:28

I'm just laid back for zone, so you know what I mean. Oh yeah, no, I'll get you real quick.

Speaker 1 1:30

That's time. Yeah, everything's already recording, so we're already live. Oh, that's crazy, so just make sure you remember your mic is up. Um, that's. That's. That's kind of crazy to think about. Bro, dog days being a new special event to be a part of is like it's uncommon, because out here in Fresno, like how many festivals do you really see happen out here? I mean, this was my very first festival event like public. I've heard of underground raves, I've heard of like brother me too you know what I'm saying.

Speaker 1 1:54

I've heard of like maybe celebrities coming in and showing up to like a club, like club encore yeah, but a festival. Yeah, it's looking like a, like a real lineup, like.

Speaker 2 2:05

LA lineup Quick question Is this the first time Dog Days has been in Fresno?

Speaker 3 2:09

This is the second time. The second time, second time.

Speaker 2 2:11

So is this like a Cali thing, a nationwide thing? What is this about?

Speaker 3 2:14

So we talked to Devin the last interview that we did with him, and he said that the first one that he did was at the Seymour Center Correct yeah, center, correct yeah, and he had five stages at that point but he didn't have so many headliners. So this time he was just like I'm going to do it bigger, but I'm going to have way more like headliners, yes, and sure enough, he has the Chainsmokers. Ian Dior.

Speaker 1 2:35

I mean.

Speaker 3 2:35

Pee-Lo Sage, I mean Nostalgic, that's going to be crazy. You can think of, like so many people so much talent that's coming in and it's literally right here.

Meet Aaron from Never Trusted

Speaker 3 2:45

You can be at Chichance, yes, so, yeah. So it's going to be a good one, special one. So let's go ahead. Before we continue, you already know, let's run the intro. All right, guys, welcome back to another episode of the Broke Boys. I'm Martin and today I got a special guest and a special sponsorship announcement here with the one and only from never trusted my boy, aaron, right here, yeah so, uh, introduce yourself to everybody, man that's watching this. Give special shout outs to the family, to the kids yeah, so my name is aaron.

Speaker 2 3:40

Uh, I'm the one. Uh, the kids. Yeah, so my name is Aaron. I'm the one behind the page. Yeah, I want to give a shout-out to Broke Boys for you know, giving me this opportunity. Appreciate you guys. No, you're giving us the opportunity, no, literally Big shout-out, to Never Trust it Absolutely. Thank you guys, appreciate that.

Speaker 3 3:57

So we got big plans for this. So this is going to be the episodes that we got lined up for Dog Days Festival. We're going to have artists come and we're going to do interviews with all the artists hopefully everybody but we got a huge list of people that are already excited to do these interviews. So are we, and we just have a short amount of time, but we're going to make it work. And having Dog Days, or having Never Trusted as our official sponsor, is going to be incredible and we're excited. We're excited for this big thing. So I do want to ask you, for everybody that's watching and everybody that's listening your hats are iconic. They're one of a kind. Your designs are unique. Where do you come up with all this inspiration? Where do you come up with all the creativity?

Speaker 2 4:40

So initially I have a team with me, but you come up with all the creativity. So, uh, initially I have a team with me.

Speaker 3 4:47

But you know some, you know, life happens, I guess. But um, shout out to the team.

Speaker 2 4:49

Yeah, shout out to the team, it's actually my brother who's uh, he's an artist. Shout out to jj, yeah, uh. Shout out to caesar from between parts too, uh. So my brother, he's, uh, he's an artist. He's been drawing ever since high school way back in the day, bro. So he's the one that comes up with the designs or the shoe man idea, and then we kind of like brainstorm you know what I mean and then it's basically a collaboration between us, man. I mean, you guys just see the final product, but it's like a, like a sketchbook, if you, if you were to see that paper. It's like writing all over the page. Yeah, you turn the page around the bag, you know right. So, yeah, it's uh, it's uh, it's a huge project, it's a huge process, man. So what you guys see is a is a is the final product.

Speaker 1 5:40

Yeah, gotcha, gotcha. It's amazing hearing that, because a lot of the times you don't hear about like what goes on behind the scenes of, like clothing brands, and just hearing that sketchbook it reminds me a lot of um, of Virgil. Like one of the homies that produced his music was telling me about Virgil and how he was a big inspiration to him. I didn't understand what he meant until he told me about some of his designs and what he was going through and I was like I mean you wouldn't know this unless you were close with the guy or unless you really invested your time into it. But I mean that's amazing man, it looks amazing. This is something I feel like I would see in the mall, like in LA, like this is some real official shit.

Speaker 2 6:14

I'm just saying Thank you, thank you and just for the people that don't know, I make merch based. It's Fresno based. You know it's. You know everything you see on the hype, you pay attention, you know it has to do with the city. If not, you know within, I guess, if it's in our backyard or you know it's basically Fresno Cali related.

Speaker 1 6:39

Yeah, so yeah.

Speaker 3 6:40

So you grew up here in Fresno, you were born and raised, born and raised in Fresno.

Speaker 2 6:44

yes, yes.

Speaker 3 6:44

What part of town did you grow up in?

Speaker 2 6:46

The east side bro Huntington Street by the fairgrounds.

Speaker 3 6:50

Oh yeah, bro, that's hood, bro, that's hood man, I'm not happy to say you know what I mean, man, I'm not going to lie.

Speaker 2 7:01

It was cool, man, it was cool. It's crazy how fast time is passing us by, though. You know what I mean. But just enjoy the journey, man. Enjoy the journey. So when did you start the journey?

Speaker 3 7:11

That's my question.

Creating Unique Fresno-Inspired Designs

Speaker 2 7:12

I started during COVID. During COVID, you know how during.

Speaker 1 7:15

COVID bro, it was boring, you locked up in the house, bro.

Speaker 2 7:23

Yeah, bro, you're locked up. Man. It's basically like, if you're locked up, so I don't know, I just Started a, I try to find a hobby, right, you know? And initially I was making sure just for the homies. Yeah, you know, I'm start making sure for the homies, you know. And then, so you know what, let me, let me try getting hats, okay you know, and then shorts and then all that stuff.

Speaker 2 7:41

But I'm I'm trying to focus On just hats for now. Right, because hats, bro, people wear hats Year round. Yes, day night, yes, raining storm, whatever the case is, you know, you know. So they're always in style. Yeah, does that make sense? Absolutely, so, yeah, it was during COVID. So I've been doing this For about what? During COVID. So I've been doing this for about what? Three four years, maybe. Right right, I'm fairly new. You know what I mean. Still have a lot to learn, though you know Humble humble for sure, yeah, but I try.

Speaker 1 8:09

I got a question, though. So how long did it take you to get an official hat that you were like okay, this is the one I want to drop, that I'm going to send out? Like, how many tests, how long did it take for you to get there?

Speaker 2 8:21

Well, I mean, it's actually funny because if you go on the page at NeverTrusted underscore, you can see the progress. I have the first hat, which is simple, right, right. That's when I, you know, was trying to get the hang of it. You know, and I'm telling you, bro, it's a learning experience. I learn every day. Right, yeah, so you know if you compare my first hat to the most recent one, you see the difference.

Speaker 3 8:47

Right, you know what I'm saying.

Speaker 2 8:48

So it's. I mean, you need to keep an open mind, right, right, because I feel like if you are closed-minded, you're never going to succeed, bro. Oh yeah, you know what I mean. Keep an open mind and you know, continue to learn daily. You know what I mean. But yeah, um, I don't know. If you want to show the hat to the, yeah, let's do it this is actually one of my favorite what's?

Speaker 1 9:12

crazy is I was talking to him behind the scenes about this hat the brown. Yeah, I've got some palomino fours that I really want to rock with this, bro. It's got like this brown suede material on the front end and it's got this cream color on the top. Oh my God, bro. I'm about to rock this hat until the stitches fall off. I'm telling you right now, I love it.

Speaker 2 9:31

I appreciate that bro, as a matter of fact, this green one that I have on, I just got it. I haven't dropped it yet, right? The name of this one is Sequoia. Okay, no, no, I'm lying, bro. What's the other one? Yosemite?

Speaker 3 9:45

Yosemite Okay, the other one. Yeah, the other one. Yeah, the other one.

Speaker 2 9:49

But yeah, so Yosemite. Obviously the color it's forest green.

Speaker 3 9:54

Right.

Speaker 2 9:54

Forest. Yeah, and I like that you got the California stamp like right here, that's new, yeah, yeah, you know. It kind of goes back to what I was saying I'm learning, yeah, so this is actually the first hat that I've done that. And then, if you look at the underbrain, the inside, the scent, yeah, yeah. That's also the first time I've done. Like I said, bro, I'm learning.

Speaker 3 10:13

It's a process. Yeah, it's a process.

Speaker 2 10:15

And then with this hat, it's all suede If you compare it to the others this is the first hat that I've done.

Speaker 3 10:21

That's all suede, yeah.

Speaker 2 10:23

I've never done all suede, right, right, and it's funny, because my brother he was against it, you really, jj, he was like, nah, nah, because he's care of suede. Yeah, bro, so my brother, he's older than me, right, he's an OG, like he's into, like lowriders, right, he's the.

Speaker 3 10:40

OG yeah.

Speaker 2 10:41

I'm like. I guess the more like the.

Speaker 3 10:42

The youngie, the youngie, yeah, yeah.

Behind the Hat Making Process

Speaker 2 10:45

He's like nah, keep the hat basic, don't do too much, don't add what about suede or this or the underbrand? Nah, that's doing too much. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So what I do is I'll submit it, I'll get the hat in Right, and when he has it in hand he's like this is tight, you know.

Speaker 3 11:06

So I'm like, hey, I told you, it's just more being more open-minded, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2 11:10

It goes back to what I was saying. You have to keep an open mind, right right, you know what I mean. So, yeah, man, it's fun, yeah, and.

Speaker 3 11:17

I love, like it could be your like signatures.

Speaker 1 11:21

You get the 559 right here in the back, bro, and I was looking at that tag on that red one, because it represents yes, you will not see that on any other hat that's made here and anybody else that has like a brand here in Fresno?

Speaker 3 11:30

they don. Yes, you showcase that yes, which makes it very different From everybody else.

Speaker 2 11:35

Yeah, I try to target the locals. Right, I target the locals. And what's another way I can target the locals? You know, putting Fresno on the gear.

Speaker 3 11:45

You know what I mean.

Speaker 2 11:46

Yeah, and you know, just, you know, it's all love, bro. I appreciate all the love and support, yeah, from everybody. If you cop something, if you like or share whatever it is, thank you guys. Man, I appreciate that and it means a lot to me. It's a, I must say, man, it's a crazy feeling when you're out and about, you know, just minding your business, and you see somebody rocking your gear. Yes, oh damn.

Speaker 3 12:10

You know, fuck, yeah, hey you. I can only imagine. No, bro.

Speaker 2 12:15

But it's not like to brag, but it's just like it's a humbling experience bro it's a humbling moment Like oh, me and my brother created that that's tight, and for me it's worth it. Man, Just seeing somebody rock your gear. It's cool, man. It's a good feeling. Yeah, it's like somebody else actually genuinely enjoys my creation. That's real, bro. It's a good feeling.

Speaker 1 12:33

Yeah.

Speaker 3 12:33

You know what I mean.

Speaker 1 12:33

It's like somebody else actually genuinely enjoys my creation. That's real, bro, right, yeah. Yeah, it's a different feeling.

Speaker 2 12:39

And it's like you know it's. I feel like for me when I see someone rocking it bro, I'm like that's time yeah.

Speaker 1 12:46

It's all worth that.

Speaker 3 12:47

Exactly, exactly, yeah, yeah, I know black and purple one that I have. When I rocked the broke boys shirt, um, I I saw that it was like it was crazy how everything works all together. Um, because a lot of people don't like I'm a strong believer. If everything happens for a fucking reason, right. But if you see the colors man, the purple f and even the, the grizzly wearing the hat, yes, those match the same color as the broke boys logo and the jordans that I got with the brook boys.

Speaker 3 13:18

Yeah so when I did the whole photo shoot, I was just like this fucking match is so fucking perfect. And I was just like yeah so.

Speaker 2 13:25

So initially, bro, this hat it's, it's um, um. What we went based off of is the um, um. I believe it's the 2001 Fresno Grizzlies, if you go back and look at that colorway if you look at that colorway. This is it, Damn.

Speaker 3 13:44

That was before the orange.

Speaker 2 13:45

Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's some deep research.

Speaker 3 13:47

That's for the OGs. Yeah, bro.

Speaker 2 13:49

So, I try to look into it. So, yeah, if you go back, this is the colorway that they use. So what I'm doing is you know that's the You're repping.

Speaker 1 13:59

Yeah, you're repping. Yeah, you're bringing the OG style in with the new style, bro, yeah, that's crazy you know, I'm trying, you know.

Speaker 2 14:05

and then this side logo, the bear. Yeah, so the name of the hat is Grizzly Boy.

Speaker 1 14:12

Right.

Speaker 2 14:13

Yup, yup.

Speaker 1 14:14

Hence the side patch right.

Speaker 2 14:16

Right, right, grizzly Boy right and then obviously the Grizzly you know in reference to the Fresno Grizzly.

Speaker 3 14:22

Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2 14:23

So, kind of you know, everything you see has been thought of. Yeah, I'm saying like everything here and then it's just, it has a background yeah, and more than just the hat, yeah, and then. And then this ca is actually my handwriting, so I try to add like a little yeah, I try to add like a little, you know, unique touch to it. So that's my handwriting, right there yeah, you know, so it's just I'm trying to be creative, bro.

Speaker 2 14:46

It's not easy. It kind of goes back to what I was telling you try to sit down and cook something.

Speaker 1 14:50

Try to try to create something colorways, designs, right, it's not easy, it's not easy, and then to not give up and just keep pushing, even after trial and error. Trial and error. I think a lot of people know that it's easy to give up. It's easy to just be like man, this ain't working, I'm gonna just do something else, right, but if you have that mindset, you'll never be good at anything. Yeah, having the mindset to sit down and really grind and keep going is everything. Look at that.

Speaker 3 15:14

And then this one here, that one's tight man.

Speaker 1 15:16

The water tire.

Speaker 3 15:18

I'm going to whoop it up because I had it on my shelf for the longest because I was just like I'm worried about my hats.

Speaker 1 15:25

I got a lot of hats.

Speaker 3 15:26

So I'm like there's only a few that I'm like, okay, I'm going to bring them out now. So that day that we did the podcast with Blair, I was just like I'm bringing this one out. And then it was crazy, because me and DJ were just chilling here doing a little photo shoot, doing a shoot here, and then we look over at the very corner and you see the logo of it.

Speaker 2 15:42

Oh damn, what's up with that?

Speaker 3 15:53

Oh yeah, you tagged me in that post. That's what I'm saying. It glow purple for the broke boys man.

Speaker 2 15:56

So I was just like that's crazy. Oh, there you go bro.

Speaker 3 15:57

Everything, everything happens. Everything was locking in.

Speaker 2 16:00

It was meant to be, bro, you manifested it. Oh fuck, yeah, and it just over here all blended together over here, martin well, think about it.

Speaker 3 16:08

Look over where right now yeah you're showcasing fresno with the fresh Yosemite hat.

The Evolution of Never Trusted

Speaker 1 16:12

I mean, come on, bro, and the whole mission behind it all, bro, is to represent the town bro.

Speaker 2 16:17

So if I could throw a little detail, this side patch here, my brother designed it, right.

Speaker 3 16:26

Yeah.

Speaker 2 16:26

Designed it, so it's obviously the security bank, with the mountains in the background, and then there's a sunrise behind that.

Speaker 1 16:35

You know what I'm saying this is crazy the sun, bro. The sun is setting bro. Oh yeah, yeah, there you go. It's perfect. You should show the camera real quick, right there, look at it. I'm telling y'all right now Look at this and then look behind him.

Speaker 2 16:48

Bam.

Speaker 3 16:48

You see the message, you see the image Would you thought you would ever be in this position.

Speaker 2 16:52

Nah bro, nah nah Honestly I.

Speaker 3 16:54

With all the designs that you created, and now you're showcasing it.

Speaker 2 16:58

Yeah, well, the thing is like me, I'm not doing it to brag, I'm not doing any of that, I'm just, you know, I'm doing it to create, you know, something Like. It kind of goes back to what I was saying it's dope seeing somebody rocking your gear, man.

Speaker 2 17:13

Right For me it's humbling, right, it's humbling. That, for me, makes it worth it. You know what I mean. And I just like I haven't seen anybody. You know, from Fresno, you know, drop gear in reference to Fresno, yeah, you might see a few here and there, but reference to Fresno, yeah, you might see a few here and there, but like that's what I've been focused on, from from the get-go, just Fresno based. You know, try to. You know, obviously, the building, the, the, the grizzly bear, the water tower.

Speaker 3 17:42

You know, grizzly boy, yeah, you got a lot of cameos, a lot of things, yeah.

Speaker 2 17:45

I try to uh, switch it up, you know. So this hat here is the first hat I've done, a solid color. I've never done solid color, I've always done two tones. Yeah, this one's the first solid and it's suede, and it's cool. I like it. It's different for me. I might do another hat, maybe a solid. Yeah, who knows, man, maybe you know, switch it up a little bit, kind of. I'm just trying to be unique, you know what I mean. No, you definitely are.

Speaker 1 18:13

You're doing a great job at it, bro, I'm telling you man.

Speaker 3 18:16

I love getting the compliments. People are like where did you get that fucking hat?

Speaker 1 18:19

Bro, when we were at, we were doing the interview for Blair, and I'm blanking out here I can't believe it, my boy J. And they were like bro, where did you get that hat from? Yeah, as we were up here.

Speaker 3 18:31

It was the craziest thing, bro. Never trust it, yeah never trust it, man.

Speaker 1 18:34

Hey, y'all better go on Instagram and type up never trust it.

Speaker 3 18:36

Yeah, if you miss out on the next merch drop, you don't have to see me about it, and you better see it at Dog Days.

Speaker 1 18:43

Man, there's going to be people coming up, yeah already know it's gonna be a big one, it's gonna be huge. So I mean, with that being said, y'all got to get a little bit of an insight about my boy right here and what he's repping right now. I mean, we got a huge collaborative coming up with him as well, so keep an eye out for the future reel that's gonna drop, because we got something cooking up behind the scenes as well so hell yeah, man well, is there something that you want to tell your family, your friends or anybody that's watching?

Speaker 2 19:10

I just want to give a shout out to everyone who's been supporting us. Like I said, a like a share repost, if you purchase something, just thank you guys. You know I wouldn't be in this position if it wasn't for you guys. Again you guys, thank you guys for you know, bringing me on board. You know, it means a lot to me, man, and it's only up from here.

Speaker 1 19:33

Yes, sir, I mean we see the love and the passion for the town and obviously what you're trying to do. I mean we're in the same position. You know what I'm saying.

Speaker 2 19:40

We're all just trying to make it out here. We're trying, bro, we're trying.

Speaker 1 19:43

Yeah, exactly, let's bring each other up, exactly, so check it out bro.

Speaker 3 19:47

Yeah, you guys already know. Well, I appreciate you guys for another episode. We're going to wrap this up because I'm pretty sure this dude kept walking back and forth.

Speaker 1 19:54

Security's getting ready to kick us out real quick.

Speaker 2 19:56

Yeah, he's got 20 minutes he's like come on now.

Speaker 1 20:00

Hey, man, my bad, you better go cop a hat after this. He's going to be like hey, y'all got one more of them hats I can get.

The Meaning Behind Each Design

Speaker 3 20:07

He love it. That that's cool, man. Yeah, we love you guys. Man, y'all have a good one. Remember, go ahead and check out. Never Trusted. There's going to be the official sponsorship for the upcoming episodes of Dog Days and, thank you guys, we'll plug his socials. We'll make sure you guys see his new merch. We got reels. We got everything cooking up. So much love, take care. Thank you guys. That's cool man. Oh yeah.

Speaker 1 20:28

That's cool, bro.

Speaker 3 20:29

See, like I said, there's nothing once you get into it, bro, I appreciate you bro.

Speaker 2 20:33

Of course bro. I appreciate you bro. Fuck you man. Thank you, man.