From Idea to Reality: The Story of Dark Shield Apparel

Summary

In this episode of the Silver and Black Radio podcast, host Raider Wil interviews Anthony Marujo, the owner of Dark Shield Apparel. They discuss the journey of starting a unique jersey business, the creative process behind designing custom jerseys, and the importance of community support within Raider Nation. Anthony shares insights on building a brand with transparency, the challenges of entrepreneurship, and his passion for providing quality products to fans. The conversation also touches on the current state of Raiders football and the deep connection fans have with the team.

Takeaways

Anthony Marujo started Dark Shield Apparel to create unique jerseys for Raider fans.
The business began as an idea years ago and launched recently with strong community support.
Anthony operates the business from home and engages with customers through TikTok and Whatnot.
Customization is a key aspect of the jerseys, allowing fans to express their individuality.
The creative process involves collaboration with customers to bring their jersey visions to life.
Transparency and customer trust are central to Anthony's business model.
Raider Nation is a supportive community that values quality and authenticity.
Anthony aims to grow the brand by adding new products like t-shirts and hats.
The success of Dark Shield Apparel has been fueled by social media engagement and word-of-mouth.
Anthony emphasizes the importance of being present and accessible to customers. 

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Dark Shield Apparel
01:21 The Birth of a Jersey Business
02:27 From Home to Shop: The Journey
03:42 Creating Unique Jerseys
06:13 The Creative Process Behind Custom Jerseys
10:03 The Meaning Behind Dark Shield Apparel
11:27 Raider Nation: A Global Community
12:12 Inspiration and Creative Sparks
14:43 Building a Brand with Transparency
18:19 Supporting the Raider Community
20:39 The Swagger of Wearing Dark Shield Jerseys
23:01 Raider Nation: A Community of Passion
26:09 The Struggles of the Current Season
28:16 Growing Up Raider: A Lifelong Commitment
30:10 The Business of Raider Nation
35:00 Harnessing Social Media for Growth
40:25 Building Trust Through Quality
46:20 Expanding the Dark Shield Apparel Brand

Transcript

Raider Wil (00:01.271)
And welcome back to the Silver and Black Radio podcast, the Meet the Nation edition. I'm here with Dark Shield apparel owner, Anthony Marujo.

Anthony Marrujo (00:15.427)
Hello.

Raider Wil (00:17.776)
Hey guys and welcome back to the Silver and Black Radio Podcast. I'm your host Raider Will and I am here with Anthony Marujo, owner of Dark Shield Apparel. What's up my brother?

Anthony Marrujo (00:28.461)
Hey, what's going on, man?

Raider Wil (00:30.313)
Nothing much, man. Thanks for coming on the show.

Anthony Marrujo (00:32.674)
Yeah, I appreciate you having me, man. I appreciate that.

Raider Wil (00:35.573)
No, absolutely. So guys, we brought on Anthony because we want to show Raider Nation that we got people doing all sorts of stuff. Anthony has a Jersey company and he is out there putting some unique, unique products, man. I met him through one of my friends. You know, my boy Max from Silver and Black Coffee. He was out here and he was telling me, well, you got to check out these jerseys.

And man, you got some unique products coming out of your shop, So, welcome to the show, my brother.

Anthony Marrujo (01:09.942)
Yeah, man, I appreciate that. Appreciate the love and I'm glad to be here, man. Spread the word a little

Raider Wil (01:15.157)
Yes sir. So let's get right into it, man. How did this thing start?

Anthony Marrujo (01:21.23)
It started, it was about a couple years ago. I just kind of started thinking about doing something like this and I'm very involved with sports, obviously Raiders, know, all my teams, Dodgers, Lakers, and I just sat on this idea for a couple years and finally this year, my wife was the one that ended up just kind of getting on to me like, when are you going to do this? You know, when are you going to?

start something up, you've been wanting to do this while. And so I finally said, you know what, let's roll. And I started networking with suppliers and, you know, here we are, you know, I ended up creating a TikTok just a few months ago and the love that the nation has showed me, I mean, since I started has been just unreal. So it was really just out of nowhere, man. I mean,

It started as an idea a couple years ago and really just kind of can do fruition just like I said a couple months ago. So it's been awesome and it's continuing to grow.

Raider Wil (02:27.927)
All right, so you said, it just started a couple of months ago. So tell me, do you have a shop? Are you doing this out of your garage? mean, like...

Anthony Marrujo (02:36.716)
Yeah, so I'm working on getting a little shop. Right now, I just kind of do this out of my home. And I have, as you can see, kind of it all set up. And you can see behind me, I do a live on TikTok, and I sell jerseys there. And I do live events as well locally. I'm going to be doing SWATCon this weekend in Little Rock, Arkansas. So it's a big convention center, or a big convention.

I just started dabbling in the what not app, which has been really, really awesome. So yeah, man, I just, I really started digging into this a little more following other brands and seeing what they do and how they go about it. And live has been the biggest thing for me. know, people want to see what you got. People love to enter. I love to interact with people and people love interacting back. So

That's kind of where we're at, and it kind of took a mind of its own, and I'm just rolling with it.

Raider Wil (03:42.283)
That's awesome, man. So you say you started on TikTok and you got an app called What's What's Not?

Anthony Marrujo (03:48.622)
Whatnot, yes, whatnot. I don't know if I said what, what's that really, but yeah, whatnot. It is called whatnot,

Raider Wil (03:50.379)
What the?

Okay, I'm gonna have to check that out. So, man, like we see this, you're in the back of your garage, your wife is definitely sitting there as your rock. I know that being a business owner is definitely not easy, you know? So, did you have any experience making jerseys or making clothes or doing any of this?

Anthony Marrujo (03:57.89)
Yeah, it's really, really cool.

Anthony Marrujo (04:09.323)
No doubt.

Anthony Marrujo (04:18.83)
No, nothing too crazy, nothing too unique. I do try to dig in to some of the more unique style jerseys. And I think that's kind of where a lot of people find me from. They're looking for jerseys that not a lot of people have or can get. And I work with a number of suppliers that I deal with and order from. And I have yet to have a jersey

come across a jersey that somebody wants that I can't order or we can't do. We do custom jerseys, name plates. We do split jerseys, half black, half white with their son's name on the back. I actually, one of the coolest jerseys that we've done is the Raiders of the Century jerseys, which has different players numbers, Marcus Allen, Plunkett.

Howie Long and then it has the numbers on the back, Raiders of the Century nameplate on the back. So that's been really cool. But I try to stick with some unique jerseys. so if that's something that people are looking for, this is the place you want to go to.

Raider Wil (05:34.44)
Do you have an example of any of these jerseys man that you're talking about? mean like

Anthony Marrujo (05:39.224)
I wish I actually did behind me, I actually don't. Most of the custom jerseys that we do, I ship right out. You could always reach out to me, anybody interested. I do have pictures of stuff like that I could show, but I don't have anything tangible to kind of put up to the screen. But yeah, mean, there's been a lot of people that have ordered custom stuff and that usually just kind of ships right out. don't take pictures of it.

Raider Wil (05:47.863)
Okay.

Anthony Marrujo (06:07.662)
It's their brainchild and we make it happen.

Raider Wil (06:07.68)
No, no, no.

Raider Wil (06:13.121)
So when you're talking about that unique process of creating a jersey, right? And bringing somebody's vision to life. Like what has been the most enjoyable process or part of that process for you? Like...

Anthony Marrujo (06:26.862)
Honestly, just the creativity. I'm sorry. I don't know if I cut you off, yeah, just the creativity side. Because I feel like I'm pretty creative, know, but when you hear other people's examples of what they had in their mind, you know, I don't see this type of jersey. You know, do you think you could do this color mixed with this color and these numbers and this stitching on and, you know, nine times out of 10? It's a yeah, you know, we could do that.

Raider Wil (06:31.797)
No, ahead. Go ahead.

Anthony Marrujo (06:56.436)
it'll take a little bit of time to create and ship and all that. yeah, just kind of hearing people's, their version of what they want to rep on their back, you know? And so that's been a pretty cool part of this whole process is hearing everyone's ideas.

Raider Wil (07:15.543)
So let me ask you this. Do you have like a background in like being a seamstress or something? I mean like, you know, like I'd be like to stitch together jerseys. I mean like for me, I imagine like, you know, there's sewing machine and this guy sitting there with this sewing machine, like stitching it together, putting it together, putting some hot glue and stuff. So I'd be like, do you have some background in that or how does this exactly work, my brother?

Anthony Marrujo (07:30.732)
E E

Anthony Marrujo (07:35.532)
Yeah.

Anthony Marrujo (07:43.118)
To answer that question oddly, yeah, my mom's been a seamstress her entire life. But again, to kind of piggyback on that same question is I don't do any of the sewing or stitching or anything. Like I said, I do work with suppliers that kind of handle all of that process for me. So I send them, you know, hey,

This is the nameplate we want. These are the numbers. These are the stitching on the numbers that we want. And, you know, I place orders with suppliers that way and they're the ones that really put it all together, get it back to me and we ship them off. So oddly enough, I do have a background in with sewing, but I'm not the one putting it all together.

Raider Wil (08:21.333)
Not like that.

Raider Wil (08:30.615)
So when you're saying, you you do unique jerseys, you do custom jerseys. I mean, like, how long does that process take? And like, if I was to say, hey, man, I want to order a jersey today, like from from beginning to end, how long does this process take? And what does it look like?

Anthony Marrujo (08:53.346)
Yeah, yeah. So I try to keep as much stock as I possibly can on Crosby's and Bowers and Genties and even throwbacks. You know, I do have some stock in with long and plunk it and all that. But so if it's something in stock, it typically takes three to five days to ship. And again, from there, the more complex the jersey, it'll take longer. So like a full blown

custom jersey with your name on it, your numbers, maybe the year that you were born, you want certain patches up here. I usually tell customers anywhere two to three weeks to ship. That is kind of the downside of what we do, the ship time on those. At least for me, because I'm a pretty impatient guy, you know, like I want something like, yeah, you know, this looks cool. I want it now, you know, so I do have options for now, know, type

situations, hey, if you want to muki bets or if you want to howie long, I got them. But the more you want to customize it from there, that's from then it'll be about two to three weeks to ship.

Raider Wil (10:03.967)
Okay. And let me ask you this. Dark Shield. Where did the name come from, man? I mean, like, you were sitting there, you were like, hey, you know, Death Star, Dark Shield. I'd be like, where did the name for Death Star or Dark Shield Apparel?

Anthony Marrujo (10:19.138)
man, that's exactly how it happened. I knew I wanted to do something like this. I knew I wanted to start a jersey company. I knew I wanted to start a clothing, sports apparel clothing company. And just brainstorming, I'm like, well, I'm a Raider fan, diehard Raider fan, born and raised my whole life.

And I just started just putting names together and really that's just how it came, know, it's Dark Shield. And I'm like, all right, you know, Dark Shield apparel, that kind of rolls off the tongue a little bit. It feels good. It sounds good. And I started hitting up a couple of buddies of mine that do logos and designs and stuff like that for my band, my personal band that I'm in. So I was like, hey, you know, could you hook me up with a logo? This is what I'm thinking. And that's where we're at, you know, with Dark Shield.

we got going on. So yeah, it was really just out of nowhere. Let me just start thinking of some names. What sounds cool, what sounds raider, you know what I mean? And that's where we're at.

Raider Wil (11:27.713)
So you said born and raised the Raider Shrimp. Where are you born, brother, and where are you raised?

Anthony Marrujo (11:33.196)
Right on, man. I was born in Whittier, California, actually. And I was raised up in the high desert, up in Victorville. I lived out there my whole life. And I currently live in Little Rock, Arkansas now. So I've been out here a few years and going good. I love it out here. It's awesome. It's a lot different than home, that's for sure. I do love seeing my family when I'm able to go back. most of my family is still all back there, but I do.

Raider Wil (11:55.735)
Thanks.

Anthony Marrujo (12:02.646)
do have some cousins, brother, sister that live out here as well. So yeah, that's where I'm from, it is California SoCal.

Raider Wil (12:12.295)
Bad that's awesome man, and that just goes to show that Raider nation is worldwide. I'd be like it's definitely awesome now You know we were just getting done talking about how you can make jerseys how long the process is Let me ask you man about the creative spark like when you come and you look at a jersey and you say man like I really think this is gonna be a good combination or

You know, what sparks that? in your mind goes like, yo, this is going to be a good seller. Like, I have to put this collar combo and this name on there. What is the creative process like?

Anthony Marrujo (12:49.612)
Yeah, that's a man. That's a good question. I, I try to really only source out jerseys that I, I personally would love to put on myself. So, you know, like the, when I, when I had them and we do have more on order, but like the black and gold Dodger jerseys, you know, I had them in bets and Freeman, they have the Cody Bryant patch on them. So

As far as the creative process on that it's like what I like to wear this Jersey and if I'd like to wear this Jersey I I feel confident that everyone else would But then again it goes back to Having clients hit me up, know and go hey, you know, I'm thinking this you know this color and maybe split this way and you know that kind of gets my brain going to like man, I never really thought of it. Hell. Yeah, let's let's roll with it. I'm down, know, so

I got a lot of creative spark from a lot of different areas, but it's honestly it starts with my suppliers, man. I mean, they're they're just awesome. They're top notch people and they produced just some really, really cool stuff. Enough for me to go let me buy bulk in that, you know, and sure enough, you know, they're gone in a week, you know, and I have to order more. So but yeah, that's that's about where it comes from, man.

really everywhere.

Raider Wil (14:14.127)
That's awesome. So you say, hey, know, Raider Nation has definitely helped you with your inspiration. You come in with people coming in trying to buy jerseys, trying to do all these things. You have suppliers that you like link with, that you're like the middleman with, that you do all this work. How hard has it been crafting your brand? Because Dark Shield Apparel is a brand, right? You guys want to put out quality product.

put out a product that people can afford because it's super affordable guys if you guys don't know my man is putting out a great product at an affordable price that's what something that really caught me off guard where i was like wait a minute usually you know if you get something on the lower end you expect that jersey to fall apart within like you know three to six weeks and you're like hey it's done it's a wrap but man you're putting out a quality product at a quality price

You know, how long did it take you to like find your suppliers, to find the right people, to work with the correct people? Cause I'm sure, I mean, like we've had the experience that we were, you know, looking for patches and stuff like that. And we got burned. mean, like, you know, we were looking for the right supplier, looking for the right people. And it just didn't work out. So that's where I go like, how's your experience been that way, man? And like,

Anthony Marrujo (15:28.728)
Yeah.

Raider Wil (15:40.651)
How is it like finding these partners and building your brand?

Anthony Marrujo (15:45.26)
Yeah, that is that's awesome. And I was definitely something I wanted to talk about. And part of my brand has been that, you know, is being transparent, you know, with all my clients is, you know, this is how long it takes to ship. You know, this is what we're looking at. And this is the price. And I've I've built this brand on that alone. People like I don't hide behind a keyboard. I don't.

My face is all over TikTok, all over whatnot. You know, this is who you're talking to when you message me. And that that has been part of my brand. I mean, big time. But as far as getting there and building this up, it took some time, man. I mean, I I said I started just a couple of months ago, but this has been a brainchild of mine for years. And it's been years of me linking up with people that have burned me, you know, and that have

Like, hey, you know, I paid for these jerseys and, you know, haven't heard from you and, you know, you're having to constantly text. And that was something that was very important to me was I want to start something up that, hey, I'm right here in front of you. I'm going to be the one answering all the emails and all the messages. And, you know, I've in certain cases, I've even given out my phone number, you know, really, really custom, custom orders.

I want them to be sure that they could get a hold of me at any time. And anybody that has, I'm sure a lot of you will be watching this. You guys know who you are. You guys could hit me up any time. But that 100 % has been a part of my brand is being as transparent as I possibly can. I've said it before, there's other people out there that do what I do. And there's enough out there for the nation. There's enough out there for everyone to eat.

You know, and that's what I always say. I've never gate kept anything. If anybody's ever reached out to me, hey, how did you start? You know, could you link me with some sources that I'm trying to do what you do? There's enough out there for all of us to eat. And I think, again, that goes back to me just being transparent. And that's part of my brand. I will support Raider Nation in any way possible.

Anthony Marrujo (18:09.502)
I felt like I have done that this entire time and I will continue to do it. So 100 % that's my brand right there is transparency.

Raider Wil (18:19.083)
That's awesome, man. I'm glad you're able to do stuff like that. mean, like when you're talking about helping other people within Raider Nation do the same thing that you're doing and you know, you're like, hey man, no secret formula. Like I'll help you out as much as I can for you to get up on your own two feet and you do your thing that, you know, it's a big enough market space for all of us. That just goes to show the type of person that you are, man, and the character that you have.

Anthony Marrujo (18:27.448)
Yeah. Yeah.

Anthony Marrujo (18:47.374)
appreciate that. I appreciate that. That's been something huge for me. And I had people that I reached out to very early on in this process that did the same thing for me. They had every reason to say, no, no, you put the work in and make sure you do this and do that. these people that I reached out to, they were like, hell yeah, man, I got you. What are you looking to do?

this is where I could point you in the right direction and if you need any help, me up anytime. And so I know how I felt when that happened. I know how excited I was when that happened and you know, here we are, you know, and I, I, I tried to do the same for everyone else, man. So no doubt that's been a help for me to start this journey.

Raider Wil (19:42.295)
No, absolutely. And I think everybody in business, right, man, you always need a leg up. You need to always need some help. And you always like, man, you're always looking. I mean, like you're always looking, you're always trying to grow. You're always trying to develop. So when we look at it, right, and when you and you put out a jersey, what is that the feeling and the attitude that you want the people to have when they get one of your jerseys or one of your pieces of product? I mean, like, what is it that you want people to be like, yeah,

like Dark Shield apparel. Like I'm wearing one of the tightest fucking jerseys out there that's ever been fucking made. Like what is the type of swagger you want the people to have? Like you know said you'd looked at yourself you're like hey man I look at myself and if I like it I buy it I'd wear it. Well you know what is the how does Anthony feel?

Anthony Marrujo (20:16.908)
Yeah!

Raider Wil (20:39.895)
when he puts on his jersey, when he gets on his Raider Chucks on, and he's ready to go on Sunday on game day. How do you want your people to feel, brother?

Anthony Marrujo (20:47.394)
Yeah, that's exactly how I want people to feel. I want them to be amped, Because no matter what the situation our team is ever in, we're loyal. We always have been. I think we always will be. And it just restarts for us every week. All right, let's forget about last week. Let's go to this week. Let me put on my jersey. me put on my hat. Let's get rolling.

And you get a new sense of pride, it seems like every week, at least I do. And I'm sure there's a lot of people out there that do what I, know, that feel that way like I do. So when they put on jerseys that they grab for me, that's exactly the type of feeling I want them to have. You know, it's just a new sense of, all right, let's roll, let's get a dub this weekend, know, whatever we've got to do and, you know, top ball and.

you know, just be ready for the game. So, you know, it makes me happy, you know, that I get to ship out all these jerseys and, you know, it's definitely a very prideful thing for me to do. So, and I've leaked that type of feeling through TikTok and through whatnot. And I think that alone are as well has helped me, you know, get followers and get people to follow my pages. They see...

how excited I am about selling jerseys. They see how excited I am about wearing these new jerseys I got in stock and they want in on it and I'm all for it.

Raider Wil (22:26.593)
No, I got to my brother, you know, honestly, and you do give that because my boy Max, man, every time he gets a jersey, he's like, man, and he has this funny like, like thing where he goes like, yeah, like, kind of like this thing. And he's like, yeah, baby. And he was like, starts opening up the box. And then he goes, like, he does like this little whistle thing where he pulls it out and he gets he's definitely excited, man, every time you send him a jersey. And he's like, well, you got to check out this jersey I just got.

Anthony Marrujo (22:39.788)
Yeah.

Anthony Marrujo (22:46.925)
Yeah.

Raider Wil (22:56.119)
So, I mean, like, you're definitely sending out some happiness in a box. You know?

Anthony Marrujo (22:57.016)
Yeah.

Anthony Marrujo (23:00.878)
No doubt, Max over there has awesome, man. So he's an awesome dude and I'm a big coffee drinker. So silver and black coffee, man. He's repping the nation too, doing what we do. So no doubt, he's shown nothing but love and support. He's an awesome guy.

Raider Wil (23:18.775)
Yeah, man. So you know what? Let's change up gears a little bit. Let's change up gears. So let's talk a little Raiders football right now. We talked to your apparel. We talked about, know, we got to get a little bit of hyped. Now, I kind of want to know what Anthony's are on this season so far, man. I mean, like, we're one and four. And we're one and three and four. One and four.

Anthony Marrujo (23:44.298)
One and four.

Raider Wil (23:47.059)
and not looking so hot? Give it to me, baby.

Anthony Marrujo (23:50.38)
No. you know, like I said, man, it's a sense of urgency time, I feel, you know, coming into this week. you know, I think things need to change. No doubt. Whatever's happening has not been working. know, Gino throwing pick after pick after pick is a problem. Our O-line has been a problem.

I think all phases of our game is right now is a problem. Special teams even, you know, we have teams just running back on us. You know, we can't tackle defensively is just been pretty bad. There's been one constant and that's exciting for me to watch every weekend. And no doubt it's been one constant every year. And that's our boy Max Crosby.

He's balled out every game. He's given it 150 % every game. But when it doesn't show up with the effort from everyone else, it shows. And I just think there's really, really wrong in that locker room. And I don't know if it's the players and I don't know if it's the coaches. I don't know if it's a mixture of all of it. But it's been obviously pretty rough to watch.

And I just hope we get it together, I'm not giving up yet. And I will say that. I'm not giving up yet, but something needs to change very quickly for us to salvage whatever season we have left. And I hope those changes come soon.

Raider Wil (25:39.161)
man, I couldn't agree with you more man. We got to make some changes. It's definitely a tough season, but it's not the end. know, people go like, yeah, you know, sound the alarms. Yeah, we're sounding the alarms. We're in Def Con 5. But at the end of the day, I'm like, man, we can still do some things. We can still put some things together and I'm hoping that the season turns. But man, it's definitely been tough. Let me ask you this, man. When did you realize

Anthony Marrujo (25:52.034)
Yeah, yeah.

Raider Wil (26:09.621)
that Raider Nation was for you, that the black and silver is what you bled.

Anthony Marrujo (26:14.328)
man, I realized that pretty young for me. My first Raider game I had ever went to, I was four years old. My birthday is on New Year's Day. And my brother hit me up, hey, go tell mom to get Raider tickets for your birthday. And I was like, okay, know, like what do want for your birthday? And I tell my mom, want Raider, I want to go to a Raider game. She's like,

What? You want to go to a Raider game? And she looks at my brother, you know, my brother's over there. So that was my first Raider game. It was in the LA Coliseum against Endeavor Broncos. And we ended up winning that game. so this came pretty, I was very young. I grew up in a Raider house, so to speak. My brother was a very impactful person on me and being, you know, part of Raider Nation. So

That was it. It was just early on and I just knew these colors, this shield was just, no one could imitate it. You know, there's no Jersey like a Raider Jersey. There's no colors like the Raider colors. And we're so notorious that we don't even need to have our logo on our Jersey. And we're one of the only teams to do that, you know? So you know what we are.

by just looking at what the jersey is and what color that is. So that's always been something I've been, you know, that's been appealing to me. And from very, very early on, like I said, about four or five years old. So it's been my whole life.

Raider Wil (28:01.451)
No, man, that's kind of crazy how, you know, Raider Nation really like, like embodies family, right? Like, if I really talk about it, people really every single time I talk to somebody, it's like, for me,

Anthony Marrujo (28:10.945)
Yeah.

Raider Wil (28:16.127)
I'm part of Raider Nation because of my dad. My dad's huge Raiders fan. He was like, man, like, this is what you gotta do. Somebody got some brothers, somebody got some sisters, somebody got some moms, somebody got some cousins that just like gets them involved with this. And I mean, like, it's a toxic, abusive relationship.

Anthony Marrujo (28:33.72)
Yeah, yeah, we know about that. That's for sure. It's we've had some not so fun days and we had some good days, you know, but, you know, I hope we get back to that soon. And I really do. And the Raider Nation's done nothing but just support everyone. Like I said, I've been to games, plenty, plenty of games and everyone treats you like family. So I'm just beyond excited to always.

stay a part of the nation here.

Raider Wil (29:06.891)
Man, so I always say this, Raider Nation doesn't just support the team, it embodies the team. For us, it is a part of the team, I mean, like when people go and they say, hey, you know, there's people or teams that the fandoms believe that they're part of the team, people say this. I forget who was saying this, you know? But with the Raiders, it's totally opposite.

Anthony Marrujo (29:14.861)
No doubt.

Raider Wil (29:35.531)
The Raiders players believe that the fans are a part of the team, that we're a part of this.

because we roll so deep, man. And it's so crazy to see, like you said, you're in Arkansas, I'm in Colorado. I've flown out to Boston this year. I've seen games away in New Orleans and other parts of the country in Denver, stuff like that. And I see Raider Nation, man, just all over, always supporting all Raider Nation business, right? Like, and it's crazy to see how that love encompasses everything that they do.

Anthony Marrujo (30:03.086)
Yep.

Raider Wil (30:10.775)
Tell me something man that kind of caught you off guard now when it comes to Raider Nation and doing business. Like you know like I know that at first I don't know how experienced you were you know like doing business I don't know if you had some other type of business but I know that with Raider Nation they are not scared to tell you if something is shit. I mean like yeah they are real

very quickly tell you that something sucks and that something needs to be changed. So I'll be like, how's your experience been, man, working with Raider Nation and, you know, going through that whole process of just like, like dealing with us.

Anthony Marrujo (30:53.326)
Yeah. Yeah, there's no doubt we're pretty vocal. We're all impatient, I think for good reasons, know, like, hey, you know, we want it now. Let's do it now. Let's get some wins now. And so that that correlates back to what I do with my jerseys, you know, everything I send out. I always tell everyone it's not crap. I don't send any iron on nothing. It's all stitched, you know, stitched numbers, stitched lettering. So

The feedback I've gotten from Raider Nation has been, it's actually just been absolutely insane for me. you know, there's been quite a bit of people that reach out to me and like, hey, bro, these are amazing jerseys. I'll be ordering from you again. And like I said, I've said this to clients and customers is, you know, I really don't make money on one jersey, man. I make money on you coming back to me. And,

that has been 100 % part of my business model is I don't want to sell you one, I promise. I want to sell you 30, you know, over your lifetime. sending out good products and good jerseys and quality jerseys has been just very important to me. And when I get videos, people send me videos of them wearing their jerseys or, you know, just recommendations, you know, they're telling their friends and family.

That's what's helping me. Everything I've received back from everybody has been awesome. I actually got a client that hit me up on, I think, my Instagram who said he found me from somebody at a Raider game wearing a jersey. Asked him where he got the jersey and he told him Dark Shield. And so he hit me up. Hey, I'm looking for some jerseys. So word of mouth has been amazing.

All my live shows that I do on TikTok and whatnot have been amazing. So the support's there. It's been second to none, no doubt. Raider Nation knows how to support what I do. And I think it's for that reason, because I'm not sending out crap. You know what I mean?

Raider Wil (33:12.659)
absolutely, man. So you said you have IG, have TikTok, you have what's not, right? Where you promote all your products. Is there like a website or anything else?

Anthony Marrujo (33:26.272)
Yeah, I do. have a Square website. It's darkshieldapparel.square.site. It's all over my TikTok. Usually at the bottom of videos, I try to put my website on there. TikTok typically doesn't allow me to like add links and stuff like that onto them, which is just fine. I've had no problem anybody reaching out to me in DMs or whatever, sending them the website, stuff like that. yeah, Instagram, TikTok.

and whatnot. I really encourage everyone to go download that app, not only just to follow me, but it is a really cool app. There's tons of just sellers, people selling t-shirts and shoes and Jordans and flags and NASCAR diecast cars. mean, there's just everything on there. So I'm really starting to kind of shift.

my TikTok live shows that I do over to whatnot. And it's just a really cool process. All you gotta do is swipe your screen and you purchase the jersey that you want. So it's a lot more streamlined, it's a lot quicker. And yeah, it's pretty fun. And it's just as interactive as TikTok. I talk to everyone that's in there, I could see comments and we could talk ball. I love talking football and...

and stuff like that so we could do all that there on what not.

Raider Wil (35:00.055)
I did like we got a TikTok whatnot.

Anthony Marrujo (35:04.248)
Yeah, I'm pretty new to it as well, it's been a blast the few times I've used it.

Raider Wil (35:13.335)
All right, man. So tell me a little bit about your business and social media since it seems it's super tied together. Like, how has that process been? mean, like, I don't know your age range or anything like that, but I'm assuming you're about my age, which puts you in that that stage where you know how to use a computer, but you don't know how to. They're only use a computer. Like you could turn it on, but you can't get it to work.

Anthony Marrujo (35:36.942)
Yeah, I am

Yeah, no, feel I feel you. I feel pretty confident actually behind the screen and using computers and for the most part, you know, I am up there in age. I don't know the light coming through, you know, shows it enough. But but yeah, man, I mean, I feel pretty comfortable. I like I said, it was pretty random. I just started TikTok. TikTok was very new to me. I didn't even have a personal TikTok account, but I knew

with building my brand what I'm going to have to do. And so let me just download TikTok. Let me see what it's about. Let me just start going on Raider pages and following other Raider fans. And it literally, it literally snowballed overnight. And it was just really cool. I posted some videos of some jerseys. I was letting everyone know, hey, you know,

hit me up for any jerseys you guys need. And I made this video and it was overnight. I mean, I'm telling you it was overnight. I showcased a gray Max Crosby jersey just like this one. And I'm holding it up to the screen. I do a quick little 60 second video and I wake up the next morning and there was quadruple and I'm not

kidding quadruple the amount of followers I had that video got over 60,000 views overnight and I checked my email and I had just a flow of just orders and I woke up my wife and I went holy crap look what's going on she's like what and I just got a flood of orders man and

Anthony Marrujo (37:38.683)
So it was just a blessing, dude. And I have been at it really ever since on TikTok, since that video. I constantly just, you know, wake up to more orders and orders I have to fill. People hit me up, people sharing my videos. So it literally happened overnight and I couldn't be more thankful. And you guys are just continuing to do that. So...

Here we are, you know, so it's been pretty cool. So I'm glad I decided to download TikTok. I am on Instagram. And like we've said a million times now on whatnot. So.

Raider Wil (38:21.333)
Yeah, I mean, like, that's crazy, bad. You probably woke up you were waking up your wife. like, babe, we just got hacked. There's somebody

Anthony Marrujo (38:27.224)
Dude, it was just wild. I was like, what the hell is this? I was actually like, there's so many orders. I don't have this many jerseys. What am I going to do? So it was a quick panic. And I'm like, all right, well, this is a good thing. This is a really good thing. So I hit up one of my suppliers, and I go, hey.

Raider Wil (38:41.29)
you

Raider Wil (38:54.229)
I'm an American.

Anthony Marrujo (38:55.872)
I'm gonna be ordering a ton. And they got back to me, yeah, we're ready. Just, you know, they'll ship out tomorrow. Just let me know what you need. So it was pretty quick, but there was such a flood of orders that it was just like, just instant like, okay, what the hell am I gonna do? You know, this is pretty crazy. Am I even doing the right thing? You know, like.

Is this too much for me? Because I don't have help, man. It's just me. It's just this is just my business. My stepson in there does help me pack orders here and there. My wife helps when she can. But it really is just me. know, my my wife is a business owner herself. So, you know, she comes home tired and, you know, get ready for the next day. The last thing I want to do is, hey, babe, can you help me pack 250 jerseys?

Raider Wil (39:48.132)
Yeah.

Anthony Marrujo (39:50.575)
to ship out tomorrow. so yeah, man, it's just me and everyone out there on TikTok and Instagram that's been placing orders has been so patient with this whole process that, you know, it definitely relaxes me a little bit enough to go, all right, these guys trust me, these guys know what they're going to get. I'll take my time packing these orders, making sure everything gets out right and correctly. So,

But yeah, no doubt it was pretty wild and it wasn't an overnight thing for me.

Raider Wil (40:25.203)
So, mean, like, and you said it right there, people are patient with you, but it's because you they know the quality product that you put out. They know that you're a good guy. They know that you're not trying to rip them off. And I think that's the hard part, right? Where in your space, there's a lot of people that do that. Like I told you earlier, man, it's hard to find a supplier that is not going to rip you off. That's not going to try to take advantage of you. And you know what? It seems like you're you're doing all the right things.

in order to gain people's trust, in order for your company to grow. And I mean, like, it's obvious. I mean, like, like you said, I mean, like, if people continue to come back and buy, I mean, like, think Bax is probably on Jersey, like number 35 now or something like that.

Anthony Marrujo (41:10.254)
Yeah, he's ordered quite a bit. You know, I've always said it like, I'm not only selling jerseys, man, I'm selling me. I'm selling myself because I am this brand. I'm a part of this brand. So like I said, when you guys DM my page on anything, Instagram or TikTok, you know, you're talking to me.

You know, I don't have anyone else working behind the scenes. is 100 percent who you're talking to is me. So that I get again has just been a part of my brand is, you know, I'm not just selling jerseys to you guys. I'm selling you my me and my personality and the type of person I am. I'm a hardworking guy myself. You know, I have another full time job, you know, and I know how hard it is for to have extra money for.

play and jerseys are play, you know, play money. And so I've always said, you know, your guys is orders and money has a hundred percent will always be safe with me. mean, that's just all there is to it. Because like I said, I've been through the ringer years. You know, it's been a couple of years in the making, you know, me just hitting up other people and grab this jersey. Let me grab that jersey. Do you have this in the large? And I just get burned, man.

They're out there and it sucks. So that's what I'm here doing. And like I said, at the beginning, I don't hide behind anything. My face is all over my videos. I'm going live. I'm talking to you one on one, just straight up in the comment section. And I've done nothing to prove to anybody that you know.

that I'm not trustworthy, I guess, if that's the right word I'm thinking of. That's been a point of mine to make sure that everyone knows. This guy knows what's up. My cousin so-and-so told me about him, and he's right here talking to me. So that's 100%. Dude, that's really important to me, and that always has

Raider Wil (43:27.663)
So when somebody buys from you, right? When somebody buys one of your items, what are they getting when they get a dark shield jersey? I mean, like what are they like? do you, you know what I mean? I mean, like, what are they getting when they get to when they when they're getting a dark shield jersey, man? I mean, are they getting something that you put your name behind and like everything, all those good things?

Anthony Marrujo (43:55.416)
No doubt. I mean, I put my name behind every jersey we send out. mean, if it's not something I would put on my back, I do not send it out. that's what they're getting. I think Raider Nation knows enough that supporting Raider Nation is important from a small scale to big scale.

You know, like Max over there at Silver and Black Coffee. know, people go to him because they love coffee. His coffee's awesome. And he's part of Raider Nation. You know, people are coming to me for my jerseys because my jerseys are clean. You know, like I said, their friends and family got some already. They got to see them. And they're getting a part of Raider Nation by ordering through me. Hence the name, you all the way down to the name.

you know, dark shoulder peril, you're supporting Raider Nation. So that I think is what they get out of it, you know, is they get to support their family that's involved in the nation and doing, I would hope to think good things, you know, for other nation families. So I stand behind everything I do. I stand behind every jersey that gets shipped out. You know, here and there we have issues. Hey, you know, I ordered a

size too small, bro, can you exchange it or whatever? But there's been no doubt, man, I don't send out crap and I work with everybody as much as I possibly can to maybe do exchanges if I need to size up or something like that. But that does get pretty tricky too in itself. But yeah, I think to answer your question, man, that's what they're getting. They're getting 100 % a Raider Nation product.

Raider Wil (45:22.917)
you

Raider Wil (45:49.063)
And I love it. love it. I love it. So what's next for Dark Shield apparel, man? I mean, like, what's the next step? I'll be like, we talked about your origins. We talked about how everything came up, you know, where you're at now or what you're doing with tech talk. What's the next stage? mean, like, are we looking at some other type of closing coming out? I mean, like, I know you do jerseys. Are we doing shirts or are we doing hats?

What's the next step for dark.

Anthony Marrujo (46:20.609)
So yeah, man, obviously it's jerseys. We're always gonna be repping jerseys. We'll stay on the ready for that. We got hats, as you can see behind me up there, my big old noggin usually. So, you know, we do hats as well. We're kind of getting in the hat game. A lot of people were hitting me up about, hey, you know, do you got any Dark Shield merch? know, like any type of art with your logo and.

Raider Wil (46:32.489)
Okay.

Raider Wil (46:47.22)
Yeah!

Anthony Marrujo (46:50.605)
I kept having to tell them no until now. And I'm glad you brought this up. So this is pretty cool. I'm going to showcase this. So we got some t-shirts for you guys.

Raider Wil (47:01.369)
we're dropping an exclusive right now, baby. Let's go.

Anthony Marrujo (47:12.843)
Right here, the one, the only Raider Nation t-shirts. It has my logo right there on the back. All graffiti drip. I do have these in medium to 3XL right now. We are kind of testing these out. And the reason why I say testing out is because I want to see how everyone takes to these if they like them. I love them. They're six ounce shirts, so they're nice and thick. They're nothing cheap and crappy.

But, but yeah, so we're gonna dive in a little more to some some t shirts and yeah, I have some other designs and stuff coming out. So just be patient with that. little by little, man, there's nothing but growth in my head. I want to continue to grow. want to continue to grow this brand. And it starts with with you. It starts with your podcast. It starts with

Raider Wil (47:48.683)
love it, man, I love it.

Anthony Marrujo (48:09.197)
You know hitting me up or me hitting you up and going hey, you know I'd like to get my name out there it starts with you guys talking to your friends and family at barbecues and You know, that's that's how we grow, you know, I could only do so much I do my due diligence No doubt try to post videos and try to get people in the comment section and let's talk ball and let's talk jerseys But it really really starts where we grow it starts with

every one of you guys. It really, really does. So I'm trying to just add products as much as I can and we do have those new shirts. So I'm pretty excited about it.

Raider Wil (48:50.263)
No, absolutely, man. Hey, Raider Nation, what I want you to do, man, is make sure you hit up my boy. I want you to go to Dark Shield Apparel. I want you to go down there. I want you to click on one of those links, man. Make sure that you guys are engaged. What we he got going on. He gots jerseys. He got shirts. He got stuff coming out every single day of the week now. It seems like man. And guys, if you need custom work, my man got you. And guess what the Silver and Black Radio podcast is going to do? We're going to order two jerseys.

I already told my man the way that we're going to get them made. And when they come in, I'm going to make sure that you guys stay locked in. Make sure you watch the Raider mail short on that. When it comes in, man, nothing is going to be on and popping and y'all know that's going to be a hot drop right there, baby. So guys, hey, I want you guys to stay locked in. Make sure you guys come back to the next episode where we come, hey, meet the nation with Silver and Black Radio podcast. Again, we are here with Dark Shield Apparel, Anthony.

Maruho the owner guys hit him up. TikTok, Instagram, whatnot. It doesn't matter. It's Dark Shield Apparel is in the house, baby. And they are rocking it. Make sure that you get their gear, man. My boy is doing it big. You got anything else Raider Nation, my brother?

Anthony Marrujo (50:12.661)
Hey, let's get a win every weekend, but especially this weekend. Make sure you follow silver and black coffee.com Max over there is an awesome dude. Silver and black radio podcast. I appreciate the love. Make sure you give everyone a follow. Thank you so much for letting me do this man. And it's been nothing but but love over here and we'll be getting your jerseys to you soon and I appreciate you.

Raider Wil (50:36.597)
Yes, sir. And guys, hey, like I said, stay tuned in. We're going to have Anthony back later on in the season. See how he's doing. See how business is going. hey, again, it's all about one team. It's all about one nation. It's all about the Raiders.