The origin of Ribafish

He’s standing at the chalkboard, sweat beading on his forehead and running in little streams as he stares at the equation in silence. He swallows, furrows his brow—his focus deeper than the ocean…

And then: enlightenment.

“Aha!” he says, and drags the chalk across the green surface. A number next to a number, a letter here and there, a math symbol. Suddenly, he’s at the bottom right corner. He’s off the board.

But it’s not over. Not even close.

He straightens up, scans the beginning and the end, wipes the board clean, and keeps going in a burst of inspiration. Again, he fills the whole board, wipes it, and continues where he left off. Somewhere around the halfway point, he writes the solution, underlines it twice, and lifts his arms in victory.

The teacher watches him without a word. The room goes quiet. Somewhere a fly buzzes.

The triumphant grin slowly starts to slide. We all look at each other—and those of us who know about as much math as he does wait to see what comes next.

The old man suddenly bursts out laughing.

“The solution might be correct,” he says, “but not on planet Earth. You’re roasted, Ribafish!”

* * *

That was thirty-five years ago. My classmate passed the year. I, meanwhile, soon drew a design for our class’s first T-shirt—ink on tracing paper, flipped as we did back then.

Since then, I’ve designed plenty of t-shirts for different organizations, packaging, and even an online store for a real clothing brand. But I’d never seriously considered starting my own.

Then, when I finally did, the name came to me first: Ribafish.

That scene replayed in my head, and suddenly it clicked. A name where at least half of it is understood anywhere in the world felt perfect for a line of clean, comfortable essentials with a twist — funny characters, smart one-liners, and print that lasts. For those who like to swim against the current.