E-Mail This Article to a Friend Gameskins Raise high your flag of geekdom BY MITCH KRPATA

How fondly I remember a particular T-shirt I wore when I was seven years old. It was dark blue, and emblazoned across the top were the words SUPER MARIO BROS 2. Underneath, a joyous-looking Mario appeared to be leaping forward, fist held high, using my stomach as a springboard. And how miserably I remember suffering the slings and arrows of kids who, even at that tender age, knew what was fashionable and what wasn't. Video-game-related clothing, alas, was most decidedly not.

A decade and a half later, things have changed. Geek chic is in, and leading the charge is a company called Gameskins, which since January 2000 has offered an ever-expanding line of apparel referencing everything from the Atari 2600 to Grand Theft Auto III.

Gameskins was founded by California native Francisco "Kiko" Villasenor. Villasenor had been working on the idea for some time, but it took a stroke of luck to raise the necessary capital. "The California Department of Transportation [Caltrans] decided to build a freeway through the back of my father's property," says Villasenor. "During construction, Caltrans accidentally knocked over a palm tree and, unbeknownst to us, palm trees are really expensive." And an empire was born.

The genius of Gameskins' products lies in their subtlety. Because the company isn't licensed to use any of the registered trademarks of companies like Nintendo, their designs instead allude to some of our fondest gaming memories. The most popular item is "The Code" (available both as a T-shirt and hooded sweatshirt), which depicts the legendary button sequence to receive 30 extra lives in the classic NES title Contra. The shirt has resonated so strongly with gamers that "back in 2001, Konami bought a ton of them and used them at one of their press events," says Villasenor.

Gameskins also offers a "Quad Damage" tee resembling an athletic team jersey, a shirt depicting Link's legendary heart-shaped life meter, and – for the truly hardcore among you – a tee with a mock HELLO, MY NAME IS sticker upon which is scrawled "Justin Bailey." Because the shirts only make sense to those who "get it," expect drunken strangers to remark upon them in bars.

Gameskins has made inroads into popular culture as well. Their clothes have appeared on G4 and Tech TV (the two stations recently merged) and even on the WB drama Felicity.

Of course, Gameskins' geeky cachet would mean little if the clothing quality weren't up to par. These aren't some dumpy iron-ons; both the T-shirt and sweatshirt decals are high-quality screenprints, and can stand up to numerous trips through the washer and dryer. Years from now your shirt will still proudly and clearly declare that "Campers Suck." If I have a complaint – and I always have a complaint, because I'm a jerk – it's that the hooded sweatshirts are a bit too thin, and don't offer enough protection against cold weather. Then again, this is fashion we're talking about; form before function, and the form is killer.

With dozens of selections for men and women, plus a line of headwear, it appears Gameskins is well-positioned to be the sartorial choice of gamers for years to come. And just think: wearing one of their shirts won't even get you punched in the stomach at recess.

Visit Gameskins online at www.game-skins.com