About Us

Kinkster Gear was born from a desire for connection, community, and self-expression.

In September 2023, I was in San Francisco for Folsom Street Fair and I wanted a new shirt to wear to the fair. I wanted a shirt that communicated what I was into. Something beyond just a plain black tee with a giant corporate logo slapped across the chest. 

I wanted a shirt that said something. That had personality.

As I walked through one of the biggest leather stores in the city, I realized almost every shirt had become the same thing: brand logos recycled in different colors. Blue. Red. Yellow. White. Still just advertising and corporate branding. No humor. No signaling. No clever, playful graphics. Nothing provocative enough to spark conversation or help kinksters connect with each other.

And honestly? That felt like a loss.

Kink culture has always had its own visual language. Shirts, patches, pins, hankies, symbols, inside jokes, ways to recognize each other without saying a word. Unspoken ways to find your tribe.

Some of my favorite kink shirts over the years came from that very store, including one with a drawing of a fist and the words:

“THINK IT WILL FIT?”

That moment became the beginning of Kinkster Gear.

If nobody was making the kind of gear I wanted to wear, designs that help kinksters recognize each other, connect with each other, and express themselves, then I’d make them myself.

At Kinkster Gear, our mission is simple:

Help kinksters find their tribe through bold, expressive designs rooted in queer, leather, kink culture.

Our philosophy is equally simple: your kink is your business. We may not personally share every fetish or interest represented in our designs, but it’s not our place to judge consensual adult expression. Our goal is to create apparel that helps people connect with others who share their interests, boundaries, curiosities, and desires.

That also means you may occasionally see a design that doesn’t resonate with you, and that’s okay. Kink is deeply personal. Different people want different things and we believe there’s room for all of us.

Every item we sell is produced on demand in our small studio, which gives us the freedom to create niche designs that larger brands often won’t touch. If there’s a design you’ve always wanted but have never been able to find, reach out. We’d genuinely love to hear your idea.

And if you’re part of an LGBT, leather, kink, or BDSM group looking for custom apparel from a gay-owned, kink-friendly small business, we’d love to work with you.

While I’m grateful to those who created the hanky code and started the tradition of flagging, a hanky can only say so much.

— Daddy J