Anyone who has lived in the District for even a short amount of time knows a thing or two about the city’s quirks. For example, when riding the Metro escalators, the left side is for those in a hurry enough to climb the moving steps — a rule that quickly singles out those standing on the left as tourists.
Or despite the fact that downtown D.C.’s streets are essentially laid out as a lettered and numbered grid, there is no J Street.
It was these in-the-know idiosyncrasies that helped Marcos Salazar launch DistrictTees.com, an online company featuring T-shirts with Washington-centric slogans such as “Walk Left, Stand Right,” “I live on J Street” and “I’m Late Because I Ride the Red Line.”
The 28-year-old founded the company with his bartender friend Daniel Williams in the spring and since then has sold more than 1,000 T-shirts and sweatshirts for between $19 and $39 each.
“It’s amazing no one had done this before,” said Salazar, who also works as a full-time researcher at a Washington-based association.
“There’s so many quirky things about D.C. and you recognize them soon after you get here — and no one had made fun of them yet.”
The T-shirt company was a natural outgrowth of Salazar’s entrepreneurial career.
The New Mexico native had already written “The Turbulent Twenties Survival Guide,” an advice book for 20-somethings.
He had also been certified as a life coach with the intention of helping the under-30 crowd navigate through their post-college years.
DistrictTees.com is aimed at the same demographic, Salazar said, because the T-shirts help local residents feel a sense of belonging. In addition to the tongue-in-cheek slogans, the most popular style of tee features the D.C. flag and the name of a neighborhood, such as Adams Morgan or Columbia Heights.
“D.C. is probably one of the most transient cities in the nation,” Salazar said. “These 20-somethings are leaving the structure of college, and they feel they need to create a community. They become very attached to their neighborhoods, and they display that through their T-shirts.”
Marcos Salazar
» Current job: Co-owner of DistrictTees.com, Researcher, American Psychological Association, and writer
» Last job: Case Manager, Taos Mental Health Clinic
» Best perk: Spotting random people on the street wearing District Tees, especially someone on the Metro wearing “I’m Late Because I Ride the Red Line.”
» Gadgets: My Sony Vaio notebook that is 2.5 pounds and I can take anywhere I go.
» Education/credentials: B.A., Amherst College; Certified Leadership Coach, The George Washington University, M.A. in Organizational Management, The George Washington University (Spring, 2007)
» First job: Busboy at Ogelvies Bar and Grill, Taos, N.M.
» Original aspiration: To be a best-selling writer
» Career objective: To continue creating products, services and media materials that no one has ever produced before.
Personal
» Date of Birth: 08/13/1978
» Hometown: Taos, N.M.
» Sports/hobbies: Writing, Spinning Instructor, opening up businesses
» Role model: Michael Jordan
» Quote: “Work saves us from three great evils: boredom, vice, and need.” — Voltaire
» Reading: of course, “The Turbulent Twenties Survival Guide,” “Emotional Intelligence,” “The Paradox of Choice,” “A Whole New Mind,” and anything by Nathaniel Branden and Ayn Rand.
» Worst fear: Being forced into having a conversation with Paris Hilton
