Triple D Gear is more than apparel—it's a living symbol of Dallas' real hip-hop, music scene (all genres), and urban neighborhood culture. Born and raised in Dallas as a first-generation Mexican-American, I survived family addiction, constant moves through West Dallas, Oak Cliff, South Dallas, Pleasant Grove, foster care at Buckner Children's Home and Happy Hill Farm, adoptions, and graduated Lake Highlands High in 2000. After learning the game in Atlanta, I returned to found Rich Mind Records Inc. in 2004, built Stash House studio, and helped fuel Dallas' Boogie Movement—recording tracks, touring, and spreading "Durty Durty Dallas / Triple D" as our local twist on the Southern hip-hop wave. That pride caught fire in the streets.

When music shifted to free downloads with no clear digital money, I pivoted: formed Triple D Gear in 2012 and federally trademarked the logo in 2014 for caps, tees, shorts, and more. People wear our Triple D logo—not the city's—to rep the music, neighborhoods, hustle, and resilience of Dallas. The city's "D" sits on boring municipal stuff like water bills and trash cans; nobody rocks that on their chest or head. Ours became the cultural heartbeat.

The trouble started when SMU, post their 40-year "death penalty" recovery (sanctions lifted around 2018), wanted to remarket to locals. They knew the generation was repping "Triple D," so instead of partnering with the authentic brand (us), they licensed a derived version of the city's logo (pony in the center) for a 50/50 profit split with the city starting ~2019. They marketed it as "Triple D SMU" or "The Triple D Collection"—and confusion exploded. Fans hit my socials/emails with "Congrats on the SMU deal! Where can I buy?" thinking we collabed. That's real proof of market confusion and infringement—we're the rare case with evidence.

I wanted to fix this directly: reach out to SMU for a fair merch partnership, share profits to fund scholarships for low-income Dallas students to attend SMU—a true win-win for community, education, and culture. Instead, SMU alerted the city (who licensed a mark without full apparel rights), and in 2020 the city sued me in federal court (Northern District of Texas, case still ongoing) to cancel my trademarks—after losing their USPTO challenge ($200k spent, they failed) and approving another $200k in Jan 2023 for the appeal/fight.

This is betrayal: the city that raised me through struggle is using hundreds of thousands of our tax dollars to bully a small, local business celebrating Dallas, while ignoring the confusion they helped create. It drains my resources, stresses my family, and divides the community that loves this pride.

The Dallas City Council and Mayor can end this—tell the City Attorney to drop the suit or settle fairly. Let's turn this into positive impact: protect authentic creators, stop wasteful spending, and support real Dallas culture (maybe even those scholarships).

Sign this petition to stand with Triple D Gear. Show Dallas protects its Entrepreneurs, neighborhoods, and music/urban pride—not fights them. Together, we keep the real Triple D alive! 🚀