TAMPA, Fla. — Gabriel Santos loves the 813.
No, like seriously adores this area.
"Tampa Bay has been everything to me," he says.
WATCH: Engrained Apparel at Tampa's Sparkman Wharf stylishly celebrates local love
In fact, the Tampa Catholic and USF grad crushes on his hometown so hard, he launched a clothing brand, Engrained Apparel, that now has a brick-and-mortar store at downtown Tampa's Sparkman Wharf.
Shirts are emblazoned with "TAMPA BAY MADE." Local colleges and pro teams are represented in cool, offbeat ways.
"This is different than what's out there currently," he says.
This husband and father is following a dream that started early, when he would design his own T-shirts and shoes.
His wife Tiffany encouraged him to embrace his talent and his civic pride. He started small, selling his clothes at area farmers' markets.
"Without those farmers markets, I would not be where I'm at right now," he says. "The community has really shown up for me."
Adding to the hyperlocal flair, Gabriel has his T-shirts printed at a company in Lutz.
For more on Engrained Apparel, go here.
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Sean Daly calls himself Tampa Bay 28’s resident big kid. He puts his boundless energy into sharing stories about people doing good, things for you to do, and of course, theme parks. If you have an idea for Sean’s next adventure, send him a message.
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