Wearing the Hat w/ IVO Founder Garrett Gerstenberger

“Wearing the Hat” is a series where staff writer Bella Taylor showcases the incredible people in the Isla Vista community and all the “hats” they choose to wear as they bring their passions to life. 

After 9 interviews and videos of “Wearing the Hat,” this series is officially coming to an end, and what better way to say goodbye than with the creator of Island View Outfitters himself: Garrett Gerstenberger!

Garrett wearing the IVO Logo Embroidered Dad Hat 

Garrett, of Castro Valley, CA, earned his degree in Film and Media Studies from UCSB almost 15 years ago. During his time in Santa Barbara, Gerstenberger put his dreams into action by transforming his Isla Vista home into a print shop and starting his own business. His make-shift print shop and original T-shirts then moved up and out of his Camino Del Sur garage and into a little store space on Trigo dressed with the sign “Island View Outfitters” above its door frame.

This is Garrett’s story of how he and his grassroots business came to be. 

We sat down at Caje and started off our conversation with some OG icebreakers for one last time. 

What is one item on your bucket list? 

GG: Climb Mount Whitney. 

What do you truly value about yourself? 

GG: I value my creativity that I didn’t once value. I didn't consider myself an artist growing up and didn't recognize how much creativity I had. It took me a long time to realize that I was an artist in many ways, and I think we all are, but I'm leaning into that and knowing that I could make things and listen to how I think or feel about all things creative has been a great quality of mine. 

What is a day or moment in your life that you’d like to relive?

GG: I spent so much time trying to not think about the past in the sense of regret, but I think a memorable moment of me was hiking Patagonia in South America. I'd like to go back to that. 

What is your go-to Freebird’s order? 

GG: Veggie burrito, double beans, guacamole, everything on it, pack it with as much as you can. It’s how you get the best value. 

Then, we got into all things IVO! Garrett recalls what the inspiration was behind starting his own business in the first place: 

“I think for some reason, there was a calling in high school where I just wanted to print my own T-shirt. I think it came from wanting to find something unique. And my mind went to, “Well, I must make something that no one else has.” I was sick of going to Pacific Sunwear and Zumiez in the mall and buying a really cool graphic Tee, and then seeing 10 other people wear it at school. And so I thought that I should just make something. I went down the rabbit hole of how to print a T-shirt, like many people do. For some reason, it stuck with me. I wrote up a business plan. My junior year in high school, I got into learning graphic design, self-taught. And at that point, I was interested from then on to eventually be able to print my own T-shirt.

When I went to UCSB, I got a house with my friends my sophomore year on Camino Del Sur. I convinced them to get the house with the garage saying that we could, you know, have an extra space to do beer pong and have parties, but secretly, I just wanted the garage space to go buy some screen printing equipment and throw it in there and have a print shop. And so, that's what I did.

The second we got the lease and moved in, I found a print shop in LA that was being sold and bought the whole thing. I picked it up in a U-haul and got it going.

So it wasn't really like a clear thought, it was just, like, I wanted to fill a need that I've had for so long. And I spent a lot of time researching it. A lot of people asked about the type of risk that I took on to do that. My initial investment was about $8,000 and I was a sophomore at the time, so I was about 19 years old.

I always say that it wasn't so much of a risk because I spent so much time thinking about how I wanted to spend my money and as long as I could print one T-shirt that's my own, then it's worth it. It's like an $8,000 T-shirt and I was okay with paying that. I also knew that I loved the experience and I love the craft, so that was all part of that value as well. But I also knew that over time, I was in a position in Isla Vista where I knew many people, fraternities, and organizations where I'm sure I could make my money back on my investment by printing custom T-shirts. So it was kind of this dual idea, and I always consider myself fairly entrepreneurial, so I would just figure it out. I always go back and say,

“I'm 35, I've been doing this business for 15 years, it's the only thing I've ever done.”

And I don't know if I would do it again.

I always tell people to not do small business, ever. It's probably one of the most difficult things. As much as I love my experience and all that it's offered me in my life, I always say that I just didn't understand business enough when I was that young in college to really know what I was committing to.

Island View Outfitters, by the way, started as Isla Vista Screen Printing, and that was originally the brand name. And so junior year, we found our current location on Trigo. That was our flagship print shop where we had a small little press. We didn't have a retail store at the time so that space allowed us to start the business officially. By senior year, I already had a store to print and I had multiple employees.

So by the time I graduated, I already knew that I had a job to work at so the only thing I didn't have to consider what other options were. I just wanted to grow the business. So that's kind of how it started, is, you kind of believe in it. And it's a proud feeling to try to have this really cool, creative business, but I had no idea what I was getting myself into, honestly. Now that I look back, I just kind of did it.” 

Do you remember what your first product was? 

GG: In high school, I was a swim coach and a lifeguard at the local swim club where I grew up in Castro Valley. As a coach, we designed championship T-shirts, so my first job was to design these team T-shirts for the championship at the end of the swim season. So I remember that vividly because even though I theoretically knew how to print, I actually had no idea what I was doing and it took me what I thought would take only 4 hours, took me 72 hours of trial and error. Late nights pushed against the deadline and half of my shirts were crooked, but thankfully, the team understood what I was doing that they just accepted it. I still look back, like, scarred at how much pain I endured on my first job, though. 

Where do a lot of the designs for IVO clothing come from? 

GG: The designs from IVO have evolved over time. But originally, it started as just strictly Isla Vista designs. That was the demand. People wanted fun, hip designs that represented Isla Vista. I think Isla Vista is a unique space because of the turnover of students and residents that live here.

Every year, we have an influx of 5,000 new students and new people and then every year, 5,000 students leave and graduate. That creates a really rich transit environment that has a lot of history with hundreds of 1,000s of people. So there's this nostalgia and love for this place that is honestly unmatched. I think people just want to represent that; people are very prideful about location and Isla Vista is one of them. And we just leaned into that so designs are inspired by friends and ideas and thoughts and memories and all the things that speak about the culture of Isla Vista and the college experience. We took that same approach for everything for the region, and Santa Barbara, and Goleta. And all this local pride is a part of the same fundamentals of the love for the simple parts of the community. 

How and where are the T-shirts printed? 

GG: So as I mentioned, we started printing in Isla Vista. Over the course of time, the more we grew, the more we outgrew the space that we were in.

We needed more equipment, more employees, and more workspace. So for the first five or six years, we bounced around for 4 shops in the Santa Barbara and Goleta area, which has been great, but over time, the more we expanded, the more footprint we required and the more we realized that the cost of production was really expensive in this area.

Now at that time, we were approached by a nonprofit in a small town called New Cuyama, which is in North County Santa Barbara, just over the mountain range of the Los Padres forest, to help us think tank this idea of introducing a new economy to this small town, and we were intrigued.

New Cuyama has some similarities to Isla Vista, too. It's a little four-by-four block. It's a really small town, it's insular, so everyone looks after themselves. Then there's definitely many differences to these lifestyles, but we're intrigued by the small communities and how tangible our work with them is.

It's really easy to look at how to invest in a certain place and see the actual output from it rather than something, you know, much larger.

So in 2017, we moved our facilities out to the high desert, which is how we branched out our company.

All of our production is branded under the company High Desert Print Co.

So while we're one company as a whole, we essentially have two channels, which is our retail, Island View Outfitters, and High Desert Print Co, and there's some obvious integration there.

But all of the products that we print for our retail brand is produced out in Cuyama at our print shop there. So, we have this really cool duality between the coast and the desert, with our employees out there, and our employees here, and these two different small communities that are also highly similar. We're really thankful for this different, unique experience of trying to be a little bit innovative about the cost of production and high cost of living areas and trying to reinvest that into other places that need some economic investment. 

Who does the IVO team consist of now and what role does everyone play?

GG: The IVO team consists of a handful of retail associates that are you UCSB students.

We have an in-house designer and a handful of operations managers that kind of work both the custom High Desert Print Co side and IVO. But most importantly, I think our brand is very comprised of a bunch of passionate young people and we rely on our UCSB students to be creative and intuitive.

We don't really have a structure for our retail and it really changes as the team changes. We have a set of creative crew people and we like to listen to what people's needs are. If there's a new retail associate that we hire that has a skill set that's different than just working the store, then we'll try to leverage people's skills to try to do something different. So there's a fluid, like, autonomy with our organization where we kind of just let it evolve.

We do get a lot of cyclicality with our operations and our work because we're in a transit community so the consistency is there by a core group of people, but we let a lot of it run as it changes with our team. 

Island View Outfitters has incorporated many UCSB students into the brand, whether it be through screen printing for student-run organizations, tabling on campus, hosting space for bands to play for events, and more. Here is Gerstenberger’s take on including students in his company: 

“You can't describe Isla Vista without the UCSB community. It's a significant portion of the community and I appreciate how it's so rich with curious people at a young age who are searching for information and experience that ask amazing questions and that are willing to try and experiment things for themselves for their life.

And so I just love to channel that energy.

It's like a youth that I used to have, I still feel like I do. It's refreshing to see that and I just want to activate people that are looking for opportunities to grow and learn and just kind of hitch on to that. We were also doing our best to have a voice in this community and to be a pillar, but then to express ourselves creatively is important. I think that it’s an important interaction that we need to have.” 

Gerstenberger notes that another great aspect of IVO that makes it so special is the ability to express itself as creatively and naturally as it has. IVO absolutely has a voice in the Isla Vista community with its outreach and strength to withstand the unfortunate high turnover of small businesses in IV. He gives thanks to the support he’s received and the custom work he’s been able to do that allows for that investment into this community through different economic seasons. 

What has been one of your favorite projects or collaborations that IVO has done? 

GG: I think my favorite collaboration is with someone who is now a good friend of mine, DJ Javier. He's a local artist in Santa Barbara. It's not so much like one project, but like a lifelong experience, or a career experience. And we both started very young and at a different time when he was starting out, and I was starting out.

We’d grab coffee and learn about each other's skills, and I was intrigued by his artwork and now we work together on a weekly basis. He's a really well-known designer now and I support everything he does with his collaborations with some big companies and retail brands. We work with him on a lot of his projects and screen print for him and help creatively and it's been really inspiring to see other artists in town that really excel at what they do. 

Of course, I had to ask about the beginning of blogging on IVO’s website and how that became a popular feature on the web. Gerstenberger describes how it was something that the brand has always wanted to have, but never felt like they had the capacity to be consistent enough about it. He referred to the blogs always being a bit of an afterthought, but information that still felt necessary to share. He notes that one of the most important blogs that has been posted is an incoming student guide to UCSB, and I’d have to agree. Garrett remembers the time when he was a freshman and felt clueless about Isla Vista, so he channeled that energy to curate a blog about some local food spots and in-depth reviews of student housing to help students feel like they were about to join a community that they’ve always belonged in. 

How do you feel when you see people out and about wearing IVO merch?

GG: It’s become more desensitized over time, but I still love it. And it's always like a pinprick of just being proud that people want to wear something that you make. I think it's an honor, so I don't want to take away from that.

I distinctly remember the first time as a junior in college when I showed up to a class and it was just fresh, when we first started printing a bunch of these IV designs. And the person in front of me, to the left of me, and to the right of me were all wearing different designs from my, at that time, small retail store. I was just so happy, but I couldn't actually put my words together of how crazy that felt. I was like,

“Wait, hold on, I touched all three of those T-shirts. I printed these things. And these people don't know who I am. But I know exactly what those designs are.”

So it's this weird relationship of anonymity, but like, I'm living in this place where not one but three people in the proximity came in and supported my business. It's crazy. And so, you know, between those two feelings of now and then, yeah, there's a ton of gratitude that people still want to come back and wear it. People send me photos and I've seen things in airports and in different states. As far as the East Coast, someone was wearing a product that I printed. It's pretty cool to see that. 

What has been the most rewarding aspect of having Island View Outfitters?

GG: The most rewarding aspect is the people I’ve met along the way. I'll be honest, I never made money in my 20’s. I'm working on having or working through financial insecurity of just the ability of working so hard and never finding that level of success. I think we all have that and it just expresses through me pretty deeply. And I've worked through, you know, my ups and downs. I've learned, as I've gotten older, that it's not really about the money you make, but more about the experiences that you are able to collect over time. Now I look back and realize how much value it is having the community that I've been able to develop.

We print for small businesses, nonprofits, events, organizations, school groups, elementary schools, middle schools, colleges, you know, businesses near and far, new startups, and it's like, to be able to touch every single one of those, it's fascinating.

I'm integrated with the community, I know what's going on by my vessel of T- shirts. If there's a 5k run or a nonprofit event, like I know that by way of my clients, and that also allows me to have a very professional but personal relationship with a lot of people because we do work that's related to emotion and art and people's purpose. And we get to listen to those purposes. So I feel very enriched in my life, to meet a lot of people through my work, that have become really great people in my life. So I mean, that's worth millions of bucks to me. 

What has been the biggest challenge you’ve faced while owning your own business? 

GG: I’m always facing a challenge, and I’ve learned to be resilient. But over the years we’ve gone through hardships like partnership buyouts and terrible experiences with customers that don't respect the work that we do.

A month ago, I just lost our biggest account to bankruptcy, and that caused some financial hardships and that caused me to take on additional debt to keep our cash flow going.

Things that aren't generally public, like there are many times when I just want to shut down the business and give up and go find a job. And then the other half of me says to just kind of stick it out. And then the other half of me still asks why I still stick it out instead of just closing it up and getting a new job. So I don't know, there's always that like, existential question of like, “Am I doing the right thing?” And am I losing another opportunity by doing this thing that sometimes doesn't feel fulfilling when I have some difficult situations to get through? So I don't know. I'm still asking that question, I guess on a daily basis. 

What are you most proud of yourself for when it comes to IVO?

GG: I'm very proud of my experiences and learning how to work with people. And most importantly, I’m proud of having employees that trust me and respect me, and are willing to invest their time into something that I've created. 

Garrett reflects back on his years as a Gaucho and how times have changed at his alma mater since then: 

“One thing that I respect and appreciate is the sense of adventure that people have more than we did. I felt like Isla Vista was a little more insular back then, and every decade before that is even more insular. I think the common idea of Isla Vista and that experience with UCSB students is, like, you're gonna go out, you know, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday Saturday and it's all about drinking and having fun and going to parties and whatnot. I was pretty burnt out of that by my junior year. But I recognize that there are UCSB students who now have a big sense of adventure. Students want to actually leave Isla Vista to go explore anywhere and everywhere they can. Whereas for us, I felt like Friday, Saturday, we were locked in Isla Vista just doing the same thing over and over again. So I don't know. I don't know if that speaks to the social media world of needing to get that shot somewhere, but, whether it's good or bad, it's getting people out to explore parts of everywhere that we did not.” 

Do you have any other hobbies, interests, or ways you spend your time?

GG: I am an avid adventurer. I'm an ocean swimmer. I'm a potter, I make pottery. I find myself working with my hands a lot. I think that just, like, the idea of purposeful art is very important to me. So the same way of making my own T-shirt is the same way of making a mug or a Copper plate. So everything in my house that I have is handmade. I think it adds to the touch of your coffee when you wake up like, “Oh, I made that mug,” like, that's so great. So I found myself doing a lot of that woodworking and making things. But yeah, outside of that, my friends and I like to get outside and go explore and enjoy nature. 

What is your favorite spot in IV? 

GG: Bagel Cafe. I’ve had 10,000 bagels from Bagel Cafe. 

What is something that you can't wait to do in the future? 

GG: Right now, I just can’t wait to meet my younger sister’s baby boy. 

How has Isla Vista shaped you into who you are today? 

GG: Isla Vista is an anchor point in my life, whereas for other people, it's just a portal for them to come and go and they learn things and then they leave. For me, it's like a perpetual thing that stays in the same place while everything else changes. It is access for me to stay young and learn through the generations.

I say that Isla Vista has shaped me consistently, not just as a student or when I started, but I guess I'm becoming more of a Boomer, and so I get all my questions answered by like, “What is this phrase?” Or, “What is this meme?” Or, like, I'm not understanding how TikTok works, so, you know, it helps me learn and stay young I guess. 

Garrett Gerstenberger wants people to know that he has absolute gratitude for all the support he’s received for his business.

He refers to himself as an open book, inviting others to reach out and ask questions as he loves to give advice to things he has either learned from or failed from. He encourages those to keep following their dreams and comforts us college students with the reminder that we have so much time to do everything that we want to do. 

In the time I spent talking to Gerstenberger about his story and his passions, I have felt so much of my own gratitude, inspiration, and respect for Island View Outfitters and its journey.

Garrett is someone who deeply cares for Isla Vista and strives to uphold the special scene of this magical place through eco-friendly apparel specific to life as a UCSB student.

The unique culture of Isla Vista sticks like beach tar to everyone that is lucky enough to consider it as “home” even just for a moment. It is such a privilege to get to twin with a stranger in IVO merch from afar as it serves as a reminder of something that only so many people get to bond over.

Isla Vista is more than just a college beach town and Island View Outfitters is more than just a brand.

IV is a way of life for the surfers, the jewelry makers, the clothing designers, the soccer players, the drummers, and more. IV is for Individualistic Vendors, IV is for Impassioned Vulnerability, IV is for Irreplaceable Value, IV is for you, and it’s for me, and it’s forever. 

On a final note, IVO has opened up new doors for me that I could not have dreamed of before starting my first quarter here at UCSB. To every single person who contributed to “Wearing the Hat,” whether it was through interviewing with me, checking out all the clothes from behind the counter, or buying one of the many hats sported by all of our amazing guests, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. 

To Melany, I’d like to thank you for being yourself. You are a lovely manager, friend, and human. Thank you for trusting me with the creative space to start and finish what began as just an idea in my head, and helping me make it into so much more. 

To Noah, thank you for all the time you’ve spent reviewing and encouraging my blogs. Your support did not go unnoticed by me. 

To the in-store staff, thank you for checking out every item of clothing for this series, week after week. You guys truly help shape the face of IVO, and the store wouldn’t be the same without your diligence and bright smiles. 

To Mckenna, thank you for taking a chance and working with me to bring this series to life. Because of your videos, we got to put a face to the name of our interviewees, and “Wearing the Hat” is so much more loved and known thanks to your work. I couldn’t imagine doing weekly Caje takeovers with anyone else. 

To Garrett, thank you for taking the risk. On being creative, on starting this company, on sticking with it, and on me. None of this would exist if it weren't for your willingness to follow a dream. Your perseverance is an inspiration to us all. 

To everyone that I interviewed, Liam Ereneta, Courtney Collins, James Lloyd, Joe Vliestra, Miles Carter, Caden Lane, Carlo DiFiore, Phoebe Alva, Kaki Jacobs, Ethan Slaman, Melany Mihai, Lauren Stammnitz, and Garrett Gerstenberger: I thank you for being the most rewarding part of my work. There aren’t enough words that can express my gratitude. I hope you can look back on these videos and blogs of yourself and remember how much you shine in the eyes of others.

Thank you for your dedication to your passions, for taking the time to be interviewed and filmed, and for directly affecting my college experience. You were chosen to be in this series because I felt moved by you and I knew others would, too. So many “hats” of yours to appreciate. 

And finally, thank you to the readers of my blogs. My main motive behind this series was to highlight some really rad UCSB students by giving them a platform to share who they are with us. Everyone who watched a video or read an interview helped me do exactly that. I am so happy that you were a part of this community. 

As always, #GoChos. (And shop IVO). 

Signing off, 

Bella Taylor