Life & Work with Nicholas Zaragoza

Today we’d like to introduce you to Nicholas Zaragoza.

Hi Nicholas, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
May 11th, 2017: I entered the impact treatment center in Pasadena a walking corpse. Drug addiction had ran me down to the bone. I was out on bail on two separate felony cases. I was flat broke, nearly homeless, and suffering from all the other typical misfortunes that come with years of drug abuse. Worse of all, my spirit had died. I stayed at Impact for about a year. It was the best decision I ever made. I built a strong foundation for myself and then started to search for more purpose in life. I decided I wanted to start my own business. My initial plan was to create a clothing brand for people in recovery from drugs and alcohol. I printed up my first few runs of t-shirts and they sold very well. I knew I was onto something. I continued to work on designs, shoot photos, build a website, and basically just spent the second half of 2019 at home in front of my computer – creating, researching, and developing a business plan. (I was quarantining before it was mandatory)

By the summer of 2020, I realized that I needed a dedicated space to print t-shirts and stock merchandise. I stumbled upon a great deal for an office/showroom in Pasadena and I jumped on it. Since being here, I often think back to when I was in my early 20s – attending 12-step meetings in church basements, parks and dingy backrooms in community centers. They were often filled with people 20-30 years older than me. I couldn’t relate to them, I didn’t like the environment and I felt so hopelessly out of place. Those experiences has helped form a vision for my brand far beyond just making clothes. I want to have a meeting place for the recovery community that is centered around art and creativity. I want young people to walk into the space and feel intrigued and motivated towards recovery. I want aspiring artists and business owners to walk in and be encouraged to chase their passion. I want to have all of the necessary resources available under one roof.

I truly feel that if this existed when I was 21 and trying to get sober… I may have avoided several years of grueling addiction. It’s been almost four years now since I first walked into the Impact treatment center. I have remained entirely sober since then and my vision is already coming to life with the current Team XII shop in Pasadena. This space has become a central meeting location for my friends and the community as a whole. We started a recovery meeting here on Fridays which continues to grow and grow, and I’ve had the opportunity to help bring many people’s creative visions to life. We are already outgrowing the space and I’m beginning to look towards obtaining a much bigger spot where we can hold recovery meetings around the clock, plus offer more types of creative services to aspiring artists and business owners in the community!

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has certainly NOT been a smooth road. Sitting here now, the first thing that comes to mind in regards to challenges and obstacles is the problems with personal relationships I have seen along the way. It’s very unfortunate, but I’ve lost more than a few friends since I first started Team XII. Reasons range from a lack of time I have to maintain friendships to disagreements I’ve had with others. Whatever the reason, I haven’t let it stop me. For every relationship that I have lost, a supporter (or 3) steps up and fills their spot. I wouldn’t be able to do this if it wasn’t for the many, many faithful people behind Team XII!

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I do all kinds of creative stuff! I think I enjoy the process of photography the most. From being out in city… looking for the perfect spot to shoot… then back to my office to edit which is a joy of its own. I specialize in street portraits of people with an emphasis around the environment itself. I usually try to capture a grimy, grungy type of feel in my shots… probably cuz those were the types of environments I often found myself in during my addiction. You know… you can take the addict out the streets but you can’t take the streets out the addict! Of course, I design t-shirts and I also print them here in the Team XII shop. My designs are all centered around addiction and recovery. I have always tried to think outside of the box and do something different than your average sober brand. Some of my messages can be dark or even mildly-offensive but I realize that’s what sets Team XII apart. “Kill your Connect”… “Anti Drug Junkie Club”… “Don’t Die” (featuring evil Percocet pills)… “Bad Friends” (featuring cartoon cocaine, weed, and alcohol characters) Yes, I push the envelope & no, I will not stop. These are messages from my soul.

Alright so before we go can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
You can support me and Team XII by buying any of the products from teamxii.com! You can also make a donation to us by just clicking the donate button. All donations and other proceeds help us keep the shop doors open so we can continue to hold meetings and have a central location for the recovery community to connect & support one another. We also use a portion of the contributions to print t-shirts that we donate to addiction treatment centers. If you’re part of a brand or other organization that wants to collaborate, then I really, truly encourage you to reach out to us. We are always looking to build new relationships and would really like to work with other organizations that are actively being of service to the community.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: www.teamxii.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/teamtwelv

Image Credits:
Nick Zaragoza Camron Hatef