Jimmy Gorecki and Temple University Drop New “Skateboard Owls” Streetwear Collection
The Temple alum behind JSP teamed up with North Philly-based Boathouse Sports to create cherry-and-white apparel honoring the university’s place in skate-culture history.
Temple Owl holds his “Skateboard Owls” likeness on a new JSP t-shirt. / Photography courtesy of JSP
In a unique collaboration, pro-skateboarder-turned-fashion-entrepreneur Jimmy Gorecki has teamed up with North Philly brand, Boathouse Sports, and his alma mater, Temple University, to create a skate-inspired collection that drops today. Boathouse Sports x JSP celebrates Philly’s skate culture — which, for Gorecki, was defined by Temple’s Cecil B. Moore plaza.
“Temple’s low-key been at the center of so much amazing skate content — covers of magazines, featured in so many amazing films — really all at the center of the plaza on Cecil B. Moore,” Gorecki explains. “I wanted to put together something that celebrated that rich history.”
Gorecki, known for his lines JSP and Standard Issue Tees, drew inspiration from his time at Temple University, where he was part of that burgeoning skate scene. “My freshman year, I’m skating for Pharrell and still sneaking my board into the dorms because there’s only three skaters on campus and it wasn’t a cool thing to do at all,” he says. “Fast forward three or four years and Cecil is popping with this huge scene of skaters, all from the student body.”
Skating at Cecil B. Moore plaza … in the new JSP skate-inspired collab with Temple University.
While at Temple, Gorecki was one of the first members on Pharrell’s Ice Cream skate team. After he graduated Temple, he’d go on to launch his line of sweatpants and streetwear. (JSP is an acronym for Jimmy Sweatpants.) His signature sweatsuits have fans in everyone from LeBron James to Jay-Z, plus lots of Philly love from athletes like Bryce Harper, Jalen Hurts and Tyrese Maxey. Last fall, he did a line for the Eagles — it promptly sold out.
But the collaboration with Boathouse? That was sparked during Gorecki’s visit to their North Philly factory. “I was blown away at the type of clothing production they were doing up there,” he says, and he set out on a project merging Boathouse’s production capability with his own design sensibilities (and French terry garments). With the help of fellow Temple alum and designer Jared Wheeler, who had been holding onto graphics for years, the concept for the collection began to take shape.
The result is a five-piece collection that serves as a uniform for Temple’s unofficial skate team, the “Skateboard Owls.” Each piece reflects the aesthetic and ethos of skateboarding culture while incorporating Temple’s logo and cherry-and-white colors.
A t-shirt features a fierce skateboarding Owl, while a cherry-red “Skateboard Owls” jacket shouts out the Broad & Cecil intersection.
Of course, the collection wouldn’t be complete without some iconic pants and hoodies that Gorecki’s JSP line is known for. Meanwhile, the bucket hat hides a deeply personal love letter to TU’s skate culture inside. It begins, “Like most skateboarders in the city of Philadelphia you were always the top choice. Straight shot up Broad from Love.”
To create the collection’s look book, Gorecki and Boathouse combined their two athletic inspirations: The Temple crew team took them out on the water for photos at Boathouse Row, and they also captured images at Cecil B. Moore Plaza where it all began.
The collection will be available for purchase at Temple bookstores, online at Standard Issue Tees’ and Boathouse’s websites, and in-store at Lapstone & Hammer and Nocturnal Skateshop.
