Way back in 2014 or 2015 the was a trend of shirts that were a play on the NWA graphic which said Straight Outta Compton, but instead of Compton they had different cities, like Straight Outta Miami. I wanted one that said “Straight Outta Tarbell” and one that said, “Straight Outta Erdnase“. I went out and had one of each for me made.
I happened to wear the shirt after a show in Canada while having a drink with the local magicians and my buddy Mike Norden took the picture below:
He posted it and it got shared around a bunch on social media, which eventually led to people asking me if I would sell them one of the shirts. I had a batch made and sold them all very quickly. However I didn’t and still don’t want to be in the T shirt business, so I haven’t had them in a long time. A magic convention asked me if they could use it on their T Shirt and of course I said yes, so that put more of them out there.
It’s been years since you could get one, then someone told me that Square Circle Printing has started making them. They said they were using my idea. First of all, while I think I’m the first person to do it, it’s a play on the NWA graphic and it’s not a huge creative leap to get to Tarbell. I think it’s a case of someone coming up with an idea that I already had independently. If I was still making these or had a garage full of them, I might be a bit upset. However that’s not the situation, so if you want one, hit up Square Circle Printing!
This brings me to how pretty much all of magic tricks have hit the market. I never has sold a magic trick with the intention of selling the trick. I’ve always made things that I wanted, the people start asking me if I’d sell them. So I end up making a batch of whatever it is.