Bribe Island’s various t-shirt designs. Photo courtesy Bribe Island.
By Kim Kalunian, WPRO News
Bribe Island launched the week of April Fools’ Day, but the founders say it’s anything but a joke.
The new Rhode Island apparel company does have a good sense of humor though – their sweatshirts and t-shirts are blazoned with slogans that poke fun at Lil’ Rhody’s history of corruption and scandal.
“You won’t get caught until the feds outfox you,” reads one shirt. Another says, “Under the table, like a fox.”
Brian Roberts, co-founder of Bribe Island, said the “fox” on their shirts doesn’t refer to disgraced former House Speaker Gordon Fox, who pleaded guilty earlier this year to misusing campaign finance funds and accepting a bribe. Roberts calls the “fox” reference “just a coincidence.”
But Roberts said they did have certain politicians in mind when they came up with the name for their new company.
“We wanted to do a little parody [on Rhode Island], and we kicked around a few names,” he said. “We’ve had five or six judges, a number of city council people, a few mayors, a governor, legislators all get in trouble for taking bribes. It just seemed to be the perfect fit.”
And so Bribe Island was born. Roberts and co-founder, Nicole Alan, dreamed up the concept this winter.
“It just kind of popped up,” said Roberts, who said he would get flooded with emails about all the “imperfections” in the state. “We thought, ‘Jeeze…maybe we should put the messages on clothing.’”
Roberts said the slogans on their apparel highlight some of the negative things about the state, but he said they hope to start printing more positive messages soon.
Right now though, folks seem to be eating up Bribe Island’s style.
“We’ve gotten a good amount of orders in our first week,” Roberts said. “We’re off to a good start.”
Bribe Island officially launched in early April, just days after April Fools’ Day. Though their clothes are meant to start conversations and even elicit a few laughs, Roberts said their designs are meant to be more than just an outlet to express frustration.
“We thought we could have fun, send a message, and maybe get some things improved,” he said.
After all, Bribe Island’s tag line is, “Let’s turn our state around.”
Do you have a slogan you think should appear on a Bribe Island shirt? Leave your idea in the comments below!
