Laurence Fishburne talks “Man of Steel” in YellowMan Tattoo Shirt

Laurence Fishburne dons YellowMan’s Yakuza tattoo shirt beneath a suit jacket on Katie Couric’s talk show.

How perfect is it that actor Laurence Fishburne wore a YellowMan shirt when talking on Katie about his role in the latest Superman movie, Man of Steel? Why? Because director Zack Snyder’s choice of Fishburne to play Daily Planet Editor-in-Chief Perry White created a bit of a racial stir. Until now, Perry White had always been depicted as a white (pun intended!) character.

So what does this have to do with YellowMan? Well, the tattoo clothing line was created by founder Peter Mui as a vehicle to celebrate cross-racial and cross-cultural attitudes. This was a deeply personal endeavor for Mui, growing up Chinese in Oklahoma. Mui made it his mission to turn the racial slur “yellow” on its head and re-brand it into an expression of pride.

The late Peter Mui, founder of YellowMan tattoo clothing, along with three of his children.

For Peter Mui, the tattoo medium was an obvious choice to express his cross-racial mission. Tattoos held deeply personal meanings, they were literally colored on skin (the ultimate racial identity), and he observed that Westerners frequently wore traditional, Eastern-themed tattoos, and vice versa. Somehow, tattoos were breaking boundaries and ushering in the first examples of racial coexistence and cultural acceptance. So Mui traveled the world and commissioned tattoo masters of every style to produce original artwork, which were eventually produced into wearable art steeped in rich cultural identity.

So, back to Laurence Fishburne. There he is on Katie Couric’s talk show – talking about his groundbreaking role as a black man playing a traditionally-white Perry White, wearing a piece of traditional Japanese yakuza art by the late irezumi master, Horitoyo, in the form of a badge-of-honor YellowMan shirt  –  all beneath a purple suit jacket… Absolutely smashing and profound!

For the full video interview with Laurence Fishburne go here.

Get your own smashing badge-of-honor YellowMan shirt here.

Tattoo Heavyweights at Kings Avenue Tattoo

FROM TOP LEFT: Frankie C. , Horitomo, Horitaka (Owner of State of Grace Tattoo in San Jose), Mike Rubendall (Owner of Kings Avenue Tattoo in Massapequa & NYC), GREZ, Matt Beckerich, Brian Paul & Jason Tyler Grace. IN FRONT: DJ Cato of NYC (holding YellowMan shirt by Horitomo)  & John Foscante (manager of Kings Avenue)

DJ Cato of NYC has graced the home page of YellowMan.com several times now, wickedly styling YellowMan tattoo shirts (including a tattoo shirt by Horitomo he’s holding in the above picture), but now he’s taking his love of YellowMan a step further. He’s having some of the artists ink the art directly to skin – and it’s looking mighty good.

DJ Cato is currently having his work done by Matt Beckerich (third from top right, above) at ink-heavyweight Mike Rubendall’s Kings Avenue Tattoo in New York. He sits for four hours at a time while Beckerich does his work. If that sounds painful, DJ Cato tells us the tattoo removal he received before this tattoo work began was far more excruciating. This is something to think about if you are on the verge of getting a haphazard tattoo.

A photo montage of Traditional Japanese koi tattoo sleeve stages. FROM TOP LEFT: (1) Stencil of art transferred to arm. (2) tattoo linework begins. (3) Tattoo artist Matt Beckerich at work. (4) Shading and color applied. (5) Spectacular koi tattoo sleeve at Kings Avenue Tattoo (note how clean it is there!)

The start of DJ Cato’s traditional Tiger sleeve by Matt Beckerich.

In the early days of YellowMan Tattoo Clothing, tattoo artist Horitaka (pictured third from top left) helped the late founder, Peter Mui, broker relationships with other top tattoo artists, like Horitomo (pictured below with DJ Cato). Over the years Horitaka and Horitomo have both produced exceptional designs for the premium tattoo clothing brand.

DJ Cato flings a YellowMan shirt over his shoulder, designed by the artist by his side, Horitomo.

Those of us lucky to be around in the office in the early YellowMan days often experienced the treat of opening packages and unrolling tubes of original artwork from world-class tattoo artists – like this incredible koi tattoo sleeve art by Horitomo:

Original koi tattoo art by tattoo master Horitomo, as exhibited in the 2009 Tattoo Sleeves Exhibition in Miami.

In the span of over a decade Peter Mui was able to amass a vast collection of original artwork from over 70 of the top tattoo artists around the world. That artwork has become the gold standard of the exclusive YellowMan Authentic tattoo shirts now available at yellowman.com. If you haven’t ever seen one of these amazing shirts in person, you have to experience one to believe the exceptional quality of print, fabric and comfort. There truly is nothing like it anywhere else!

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More information about DJ Cato: website | twitter.com/DJCato | DJ Cato on FaceBook | become a DJ Cato Fan  

More information about Matt Beckerich

More information about Mike Rubendall

More information about all the artists from Kings Avenue Tattoo here

Check out some interesting links about these tattoo artists Horitaka – Horitomo –  Mike Rubendall

Top 5 YMX Review/Giveaway Blogs for August

By now you have likely stumbled onto one of the many blogs hosting YMX athletic/lifestyle apparel reviews and giveaways. We’ve compiled a list of the top 5 blogs that generated the most traffic for the month of August. Here they are in order of the most traffic first:

1. shutupandrun.net

Blog Post Excerpt: So many running apparel items look the same. The designs start to run together. YMX by Yellowman deviates from the norm and brings us some colorful, playful patterns that are lightweight and performance material. full post.

Excerpt from the “About Me” tab of the blog: I love to run. I discovered it 2 1/2 years ago. Like I do most things, I went from zero to 26.2 miles. No half marathons for me, no running cross country in high school. I just set my mind to it, trained and crossed the finish line. In April 2011 I came back from a hip stress fracture to run the Boston Marathon. I didn’t win, but I crossed the same finish line as the winner did. I’m proud of that.

I also love to write. I believe in holding nothing back. I believe in telling the truth. I believe in being real. I’m sure it offends some, but I’m also sure it resonates with more. more here.

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2. seemomrunfar.blogspot.com

Excerpt from blog post: I wore the shirt on a 20-mile run outside, then on a 8 mile track workout (with the armsleeves), and then again this morning on a 12-mile run on the treadmill. I love it! I think this is the lightest running shirt I have ever worn. full post here.

Excerpt from the “About Me” tab of the blog: I work (from home) as an adoption coordinator for special needs kids in Ethiopia for Adoption Advocates International. It is a rewarding and yet stressful job.

I am a runner, and running has given me so much. Running has helped me lose and keep off 75lbs. Running has given me a sense of personal satisfaction and accomplishment. Running has helped me reduce my stress and increase my patience. Running has helped me make taking care of myself a priority and better balance my life. Running has given me a wonderful friendship that I desperately needed. Running helped me find a part of myself… a part that is athletic, strong, tough, brave, determined, and confident…a part of me that I didn’t know existed. Every day running betters my body, mind and soul. more here.

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3. imasleeperbaker.blogspot.com

Blog post excerpt: The fabric is great, I’m used to the tech shirts I receive at races, but this was something completely different.  The jersey is made of a “MadKool” fabric, it was very light and soft, and a bit stretchy, with a bonus UV Protection of 50+.  In addition, it’s wrinkle and abrasion resistant, which is nice, especially when your dog jumps up on you, while you’re wearing the jersey, as you take him for a run. Full post here.

From the “About Me” section of the blog: I’m a wife and mother of two, who left the wilds of NYC for the wilds of Central NY. I am a runner, with one marathon, and one triathlon under my belt. Next up, the NYC Marathon, I’m raising research funds for The Children’s Tumor Foundation. I appreciate good food, I love to cook healthy meals, but I also indulge when the mood strikes. I’m a Stay At Home Mom. Basically, I’m all about balance, as I try to figure it all out. more here.

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4. zanetaruns.blogspot.com

Blog post excerpt: Things I liked about the Tribal Sea Running Tee:

1. It is super light weight and silky to the touch (I kinda want to wear it for everyday clothes)
2. The fit is flattering
3. It is SO SO SO comfortable to wear!
4. The colors are bright and the design is fun
5. I LOVE the sweat wicking material, it dries super duper fast
6. After washing it a few times it doesn’t seem to have lost any of it’s brightness
7. CHAFE free!!! 🙂
8. There is a pocket in the back that is big enough for a GU

Full post here.

There’s no “About Me” section of this blog, but there is this in the header:

Luck is taking the opportunities God gives you and making the most out of them… this is my journey about making the most of the life He’s blessed me with and training for races while going back to school and planning a wedding!

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5. pinkhatrunner.blogspot.com

Blog post excerpt: This shirt is so versatile you literally could wear it anywhere.   I wore it to town to do some errands.  This shirt has a very trimming look to it too. Full post.

From the “About Me” section of the blog: I am a farmer’s wife and a mother of two boys. I help my husband with our farming business. I did my first marathon in October and loved every minute of it. I’m hoping to do another one this year. more here.

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So there you have it. The top 5 blog posts for August. Be sure to check in on the YMX Facebook page for more giveaway/contest announcements.

Dispelling the Top 3 Concerns about YMX Clothing

Hear that sound? It’s the growing hum of online chatter about YMX.

By now you have either heard about YMX, bought and worn YMX, or joined the YMX FaceBook community. Or perhaps you have stumbled onto one of the many, many blogs that are reviewing YMX athletic/lifestyle clothing. This fast-paced trending should not come as much of a surprise, though, because we’ve known for a long time that once a person wears YMX they are a YMXer for life!

Perusing the hundreds of comments about YMX on blogs across the net we decided to compile the top three threads we are seeing and expound on them:

1) PRICE:  Perhaps the most frequent comment about YMX is the price. Many love the appearance of the product, but feel it is out of their price range.

The truth about the price of YMX apparel: YMX clothing is packed with original art, high-quality performance fabric, and silky-soft comfort. YMX garments are extremely durable and can be stretched, abused, and worn hard while still holding shape and quality. The fabric and prints offer multi-use properties, so you can wear your YMX in action or casually (or both, without changing!). The fabric doesn’t retain moisture, odor or wrinkles, and even offers UV protection. YMX makes every possible effort to include all of these benefits at the lowest possible cost to consumers. YMXers would all agree that removing any of the cherished benefits to lower the cost would be the end of a good thing. In any event, price-concerned customers would be hard pressed to find any other brand that offers the same quality/benefits at a lower price point. In short, YMX is priced at great value!

2) DURABILITY: Because YMX garments are made with luxurious, silky and lightweight fabrics, customers are often concerned about its durability and are afraid to wear it too much.

The truth about the durability of YMX: YMX garments look and feel delicate, but they can be worn hard! Stretch them, sweat in them, ball them up and jump on them. They hold up, hold their shape, don’t retain moisture (and odor!), and are hard to wrinkle. And yes, you can machine wash and dry them!

3) TOO NICE TO SWEAT IN: Sweat-prone athletes, like runners, are often concerned that YMX garments are too luxurious to sweat in. Why wear something so nice when it’s just going to mop up with moisture and get tossed to the side when their activity is done?

The truth about sweating in YMX: Perhaps many people are conditioned into thinking sweaty activities limit them to wearing basic rags. YMX is changing that mentality and believes you should have the choice to look and feel good at all times!. With YMX you can sweat away while you run, workout, or whatever you like to do, and when done your YMX garment will have expelled the moisture with little to no effect. Go sit down somewhere and get a smoothie, or hang out with your friends. They won’t shun you.

Got other concerns, comments or questions? Feel free to comment on this post.

YMX Performance Tees for Men

YMX has some really cool athletic tops for Men, like this Dragon Fury Performance Tee

YMX offers all kinds of great athletic wear for Women, but did you know YMX has some great wears for Men, too? In particular, check out the Men’s performance tees {$59-69}. They have all the athletic benefits you expect (moisture transport, breathability, odor and wrinkle resistance, etc…) with the added bonus of incredible comfort. YMX performance tees are designed to be basic, all-purpose t-shirts that can be used for running, workout, cycling, hiking, or whatever your activity might be. The graphics are sophisticated and understated, and yet exude a flare of originality that is the hallmark of YMX quality.

YMX's "Spinal Trap" performance tee gives you the extra edge you want, without taking you over the deep end.

Want one of these shirts?

Dragon Fury Performance Tee $59 – buy it here

Spinal Trap Performance Tee $59 – buy it here