Meet Antonio Hickman | Owner and Operator of Humanitees Print and Design(screen print and Embroidery) fashion house

We had the good fortune of connecting with Antonio Hickman and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Antonio, how do you think about risk?
Bigger the Risk, Bigger the Reward Risk has played a Big role in my life and newfound career due to the fact the before starting my own business I had to make the decision to remain working a 9-5 or quit and bet it all on the will power to manifest my reality, my Good friend Josh Harris had just lost his life January 8, 2019 to suicide and I had to decide to take over the print shop with no prior knowledge of screen printing or stay in my comfort zone of working a 9-5 with guaranteed income but only to a certain financial limit. Obviously with me writing this you can see I said F the job and be my own boss and make my own rules and reality

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Although I am the owner and operator of a “business” i strongly categorize myself as an artist/creative. Why? Everything i do in my field starts with the imagination and then making that into realiTee hence why our slogan is “From idea to RealiTEE

I am a screen printer, graphic designer and embroiderer.
Starting my company was HARD!!
Going from having a great job where I only worked with 1 other person on the road for weeks at a time with no supervisor oversight first put me in a mental space of knowing how to make things happen on my own and problem solving.
On January 8th while I was home awaiting my next job assignment tragedy struck with the news of my close dear friend and my screen printer for my own brand at the time “Trippy Hippy Clothing” Josh Harris had took his own life. At the time leading up to this tragedy, I was renting a space inside the shop and had purchased a DTG (direct to garment) printer and was slowly learning how to create my own garments and was gonna soon be in training from Josh to learn to screen print from him but that never happened. After his passing I went and did one more job that was 4 weeks long. Left on my birthday Feb 25th 2019 and returned 4 weeks later.

For that entire month on the road away working I dedicated 12 hours a day watching YouTube videos, reading books and reading manuals on how to screen print. I turned my then depressive state Into the fuel of determination to learn this craft and carry it out when I made it back.
Upon returning home I immediately went to the shop, walked in the door, locked it behind me, looked around, looked at a pic of Josh, smiled and said to myself this is my new journey. I spent the night in there that night and spent The night cleaning organizing and visualizing what was to come. Woke up in the shop the next morning called my job and gave them my resignation, hung up and began to make my first silk screen. I failed about 3-4 times before getting it right. I don’t even think I was frustrated but more so overly confident in thinking because I watched a ton of videos that it would be easy but man I didn’t know it was definitely an art and process to get from one part to the next in the field of screen printing and how meticulous each step can be if you want the right and Great results in the end..
After 3 weeks straight of 7 days a week, 12+ hours a day in the shop painting, building shelves, organizing inks and buying necessities I was ready to take on my first order which was a 200 pc Hoodie order. Nervous yet determined I knocked it out in 3 days and looking back in comparison from where my skills are today to then man those hoodies were sh*tty quality haha.
Through this journey I always put theses 2 words in my head daily: CONSISTENCY & DISCIPLINE. Because I Knew with those 2 traits it was only a matter of time before I was well on the way to mastering my craft and if I could show you a picture of what the shop looked like 2019 via today you will see that those 2 words helped me manifest everything that I own and have accomplished today.
I advise ANY artist, creative, entrepreneur to hold fast to those 2 traits and I promise you if you apply them and learn to get lost in the process of doing rather than looking for the end result you will look up and it will all have unfolded before you’r eyes

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Chattanooga is such an artsy, goody and beautiful city that it’s sooo much to do here if you’re not from here but by me spending majority of my life here I kinda have grown accustomed to my places that I call home and visit and dine frequently

Breakfast would have to be a quick grab from Southern Squeeze with the fresh cold pressed juice for the healthy start, and depending on the day and how healthy I’m trying to maintain I would have lunch at Plant Power when I’m on my vegan diet, plus it’s literally right above my print shop so that’s hella convenient. On my pig out southern boy days I gotta holler at my boy Baby Jays BBQ who you can catch only on Thursday’s and Friday’s. On Tuesday’s or Wednesday’s me and the guys t try to make it a thing to get out in nature and experience some REAL LIFE. And connect with that which we tend to either hit up Rainbow lake or Signal point for the views..
When I’m in the downtown area I always swing by my 2nd home Brewhaus for a good IPA brew to drink RESPONSIBLY before I end my night going to my secret location close by that overlooks the city where I get my manifestation and visualization on. (Only a select few know about this spot)
Other than that we’re at the Trippy Hippy Hideout which is the name of the shop because of its location and exclusivity where it’s pretty much my real life coloring book where I can let my imagination roam free and the vibes are ALWAYS elite wit the best people coming through on any given day. Might catch anybody from YG TUT and the house in there, the cities dopest photographers and videographers networking or you might catch the young upcoming creatives from the Dynamo studio program. It’s really the Mecca 🕋 for everything if I must say and it’s limitless on what comes out of the Shop

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
First off I want to thank my dad for having a weak pull out game lol. And my mom for housing this sperm cell you see today

Honorable book mentions that shaped my mental and helped me see my world from a different perspective:
-The Kyballion by the Three initiates
– the Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle

I would like to give a special shout-out to my deceased homie Josh Harris for first Introducing me to the art of screen printing and the Harris family for allowing me to continue on his legacy

I would like to thank my birth city of Atlanta for instilling the hustle ethic in my veins and the City of Chattanooga for kickstarting my business and supporting me along the way

Website: www.humanitees.world

Instagram: HumaniteesLLC

Facebook: Humanitees Print and design

Image Credits
Kessler Cuffman of Dynamo Studios Briah Gober of Lovely Intoxication