Dirty Guys is more than just a streetwear label—it’s a raw, unapologetic fusion of art, fashion, and underground electronic music. Founded in Berlin in 2003 by Paul Gleason and Leonardo Lüpertz, Dirty Guys was born from the city’s rebellious creative energy, where street art, club culture, and DIY aesthetics collide.

Paul, originally from Minnesota, USA, studied Fine Arts at Parsons School of Design in Paris before moving to Berlin in 1990. Leo, a true Berliner, studied design at the Berliner Technische Kunsthochschule (BTK). When Paul returned from Paris in 2003, the two joined forces to create a t-shirt brand that felt more like an artistic movement than just fashion.

The Dirty Guys name and concept emerged from Paul’s final painting exhibition, I’d Rather Bomb Paint—a provocative anti-war and pro-graffiti statement inspired by the second Gulf War. The exhibition’s oil paintings mimicked the look of street stencils but were meticulously hand-painted. These works became the foundation for Dirty Guys’ first t-shirt collection, launched in Berlin alongside the paintings in 2003.

At its core, Dirty Guys embodies the raw spirit of Berlin’s underground—merging streetwear with the city’s dynamic art and electronic music scenes. In the beginning, Paul and Leo had no formal screen-printing skills, so they took a DIY approach: cutting stencils and rolling fabric paint onto shirts, just like the graffiti artists they admired. This hands-on, no-rules attitude remains part of the label’s DNA.

Beyond clothing, Dirty Guys is also a music alias for Paul and Leo as DJs and producers. The same rebellious energy that fuels their designs carries over into their sound—gritty, unfiltered, and deeply rooted in Berlin’s electronic music scene. Whether through fashion or music, Dirty Guys is about creating without boundaries, pushing against the mainstream, and staying true to the raw, unpolished essence of street culture.