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What started as a T-shirt shop on the street soon became the “Greatest Store in the Universe.” And owner, Mike Draper, is as surprised as anyone.

Draper was born and raised in Van Meter, Iowa. He lived in Iowa until 2000, when he left to attend the University of Pennsylvania as a history major. In the spring of 2004, as his college years were coming to an end, Draper decided to reevaluate his plans.

“I always wanted to do something creative, but I didn’t know what,” Draper said. “I had no background in design and had never seen a shirt being printed before, but I picked up on it fast.”

That is when a friend of his suggested they create T-shirts and sell them on campus. That day they printed 100 black shirts that read “Not Penn State” and sold them to students for $10. Eleven years later he is essentially doing the same thing, just on a larger scale.

In 2005, one year after selling his first shirt, Draper opened his first storefront in Des Moines, called Smash. The store expanded throughout the years and in 2009 the business split into two parts: RAYGUN and Eight Seven Central. Eight Seven Central produces custom prints, and RAYGUN sells their own merchandise.

In 2010, Draper continued to expand by opening another RAYGUN in Iowa City and in 2014 opened a store in Kansas City as well.

RAYGUN is not known for producing T-shirts with typical slogans. Instead, they have made a name for themselves by creating witty and sometimes controversial shirts. Some of their most prevalent shirts have sayings, such as: “Iowa: Wave the Next Time You Fly Over,” “I Went to the Iowa State Fair and All I Got Was Type II Diabetes” and “Don’t Meth With Iowa.”

So where do they get the ideas for all the popular and extremely clever slogans? They often base the shirts off whatever local news or events are happening at the time, and everyone has the opportunity to throw out ideas. The ideas are dwindled down until they have a funny, unique shirt they believe people will buy.

Although they claim to just be poking harmless fun at the Midwest, RAYGUN shirts often receive mixed emotions.

“No matter what you do someone is going to be upset and complain. You can’t please everyone,” Draper said. “We get emails and calls about complaints about certain shirts daily.”

Mike had never used Photoshop, never watched a shirt being made and knew nothing about screen-printing when he started his own T-shirt company. Much like his business plan, his hiring process is nontraditional. One might assume each employee at RAYGUN has a design or graphic design background, but that is not the case. Draper does not focus on the degree when hiring someone, but is more concerned with how they will mesh with the rest of the group. 

Lauren Matisik, RAYGUN’s most recently hired employee, is one of the few to work at the store with a graphic design and art degree. Matisik grew up in Des Moines when RAYGUN was getting started, and she said she remembers thinking the store was super cool. After graduating college she applied for an internship at 87 Central and ended up getting a job at RAYGUN instead. She said she absolutely loves the environment and the creative freedom she is able to be a part of every day at work.

“I get super excited when I see someone wearing a shirt I helped make. Even if I just did a small part of the printing process it still makes me feel so cool,” Matisik said.

Although Draper didn’t have a specific plan in mind after college, he has very high expectations for his future and the future of RAYGUN.

“Obviously, goal No. 1 would be get rich enough that I only have to associate with people with private helicopters,” Draper said.

More realistically Draper said he would like to keep the business within the community. Draper does what he can to support local businesses within the Midwest rather than outsourcing his work. RAYGUN does not wholesale its products to national chains, and its glass and paper products are made in Des Moines.

“If I were purely trying to make money, I would be doing something else more lucrative,” Draper said.