In spring 2021, I led the process of designing New Mexico United's first fully custom uniforms with PUMA, creating a silhouette and design unique to the state in the world of football. This achievement reflected the growing demand for United jerseys and justified a custom production run by one of the world's top manufacturers. It also represented PUMA’s confidence in collaborating on a one-of-a-kind design true to the identity of both United and Meow Wolf. Dubbed 'The Artist Jersey,' the black-and-yellow splatter pattern evoked multiple interpretations—some saw an artist’s paintbrush at work, others the star-filled New Mexican night sky, while some felt the confetti-like explosion mirrored the energy of United’s supporters. I designed the jersey and oversaw every step of the process with PUMA. The bold yet timeless design, anchored by the four-stripe mark on the nape of the neck, became United’s most successful jersey, with club leadership electing to carry it across multiple seasons.

Each season, the Meow Wolf Night match is a highlight on the New Mexico calendar, drawing excitement from fans and non-fans alike. This event celebrates the creativity and originality that have fueled two of New Mexico's most successful brands over the past decade, encouraging attendees to express their most creative selves. As part of the festivities, United and Meow Wolf unveil a limited-edition artist-designed jersey to be worn during the match. Designed collaboratively by Meow Wolf Graphic Designer Caleb Ortega and myself, 'The Portals Jersey' reflects the holographic aesthetic of the portals featured in Meow Wolf’s experiential storylines. Available in black and white (with the white jersey designated for the goalkeeper), the jerseys—along with matching flags, scarves, and hats—sold out within an hour of each retail location's opening.

The essence of New Mexico United and Meow Wolf's partnership is the celebration of New Mexican artists. Niko Salazar, known as Future Fantasy Delight, has become a household name in the state over the past eight years. As one of the original contributing artists to Meow Wolf's House of Eternal Return exhibit in Santa Fe, Niko's style uniquely blends Japanese cartoon and anime aesthetics with characters rooted in his family history and Albuquerque upbringing. For the 2021 Meow Wolf Night, Niko, Meow Wolf's SVP of Merchandise Luciano Mor, and I co-designed two jerseys along with limited-edition scarves, stickers, playing cards, and flags, each featuring five distinct characters created by Niko. Each character came with an original backstory that linked their design to various creatures representing New Mexico, while also embodying common footballer tropes and traits.

In 2020, PUMA was announced as United's new partner for all team attire, replacing Adidas which had outfitted the team in it's first season but was proving unable to match the club's creative ambitions or supply the surge of demand seen in the first season. The first two years saw the introduction of a true to United's brand yellow away kit along, with both the away and home jersey designed from the classic PUMA silhouette that had outfitted clubs around the world. The key differentiator of course being the United brand, the world's most unique sponsor, and the 4 stripes across the jersey's midline, a continuation of the shield's reference to the Zia sun symbol. The away kit was launched at the 2020 Black & Yellow Bash, about 1 month before the COVID-19 pandemic caused a suspension of the season. The black home was only launched in August due to a litany of complications from COVID, but through the pandemic both still became successful sellers, continuing United's status as the best-selling merchandise brand in the league. The campaigns for both uniforms were produced entirely in house by the United Creative Team, directed by myself, shot around the state by Marcos Travers, Isaiah Watts, and myself, and feature a mix of players, local artists, and community leaders including members of the Laguna Pueblo and multigenerational New Mexican families. Photographs are made by me.

It’s as if the soccer world and the art scene collided at Burning Man for a dress-up party, only to find themselves in the midst of an exhilarating soccer match. Since its inaugural event in 2019, Meow Wolf Night has become a must-attend game on the United schedule, eagerly anticipated by New Mexicans alongside the Home Opener. Many treat it like Halloween in the middle of summer, with costume contest winners receiving round-trip, all-inclusive trips to Meow Wolf exhibitions in Las Vegas and Denver. This night boasts one of the most eclectic aesthetics in world football, creating a raucous atmosphere that uniquely celebrates New Mexican creativity. It brings out the best in every supporter, making it a truly memorable experience.

In February of 2019 the Meow Wolf partnership and jersey was introduced to mix of amazement, celebration, confusion, and demand that far outweighed the initial stock. Call those good problems and growing pains. The splash was felt in the football and art worlds, and suddenly New Mexico had the world's attention with the promise of bringing art into sport as never before. The launch campaign, produced in the obscure and playful voice distinct to Meow Wolf, was produced by Jak & Flux (now mood), codirected and edited by Phillip Torres and myself. Photographs by myself.

Part of pushing the boundaries of the partnership led us to asking the question, "What if we launched a limited edition jersey in an opponent's stadium at an away game?" There was at least a reason for the foray into absurdist thinking, Meow Wolf's Las Vegas installation, Omega Mart, had long been on the partnership's collaborative to-do list, and in September of 2022, United would be playing in Vegas against the Las Vegas Lights. That was excuse enough to design a special edition jersey in collaboration with PUMA, fly the creative team out to Vegas, and produce the launch content for what was considered by many as "the weirdest thing" they'd ever seen from a sports partnership. In the language of Meow Wolf, that's a raving review. This roll out campaign war produced entirely in-house, with the script developed by myself and members of Meow Wolf's creative staff, shot on location at Omega Mart by David Young, Jay Scribe and myself, directed by me and edited by David Young. Special thanks to the Omega Mart staff who starred in the production and allowed us to use the space. All photographs made by me.

The first ever "specialty" jersey was brought to life ahead of the first Meow Wolf Night in United's 2019 Inaugural Season. Despite the early lessons it offered both staffs of the companies collaborating on it's design, myself and Meow Wolf's merchandise team in the end having to settle for a method of production and vendor out of a time crunch, the jersey was a massive success, selling out in its first day and continuing to set the expectations that merch made in collaboration between United and Meow Wolf ought to be ordered with a different set of guideposts. The announcement photographs were all made by me with production assistance from Celia Higson.