our Story
Mission:
All Oaklanders have a safe, stable home and are treated with respect
Vision:
To amplify the voices of Oakland's unhoused community through
collaboration with local artists to create limited edition apparel
Benjamin Gonzalez Bio:
I am 23 years old, born in Mexico and immigrated to the United States when I was 11 years old. One of my first community projects was making a soccer field at the school in my neighborhood, which evolved into a documentary called Futbolista 4 Life. This experience opened my mind to the importance of giving back to the community and how young people could have a voice through community collaboration.
As a teenager, I discovered how good it felt to make my own designs and print them on stickers. When I put that sticker on something, I was expressing personal and unique pieces of who I was. Soon, that hobby grew into my first business, Oakland Authentic, a screen printing shop I run today.
All Oaklanders have a safe, stable home and are treated with respect
Vision:
To amplify the voices of Oakland's unhoused community through
collaboration with local artists to create limited edition apparel
Benjamin Gonzalez Bio:
I am 23 years old, born in Mexico and immigrated to the United States when I was 11 years old. One of my first community projects was making a soccer field at the school in my neighborhood, which evolved into a documentary called Futbolista 4 Life. This experience opened my mind to the importance of giving back to the community and how young people could have a voice through community collaboration.
As a teenager, I discovered how good it felt to make my own designs and print them on stickers. When I put that sticker on something, I was expressing personal and unique pieces of who I was. Soon, that hobby grew into my first business, Oakland Authentic, a screen printing shop I run today.