Jack Carlson is a designer, creative director, author, archaeologist, and former U.S. team athlete. He is the founder and creative director of the acclaimed New York-based clothing brand ROWING BLAZERS (and author of a best-selling coffee-table book of the same name). A three-time member of the United States national rowing team, Jack earned his doctorate in archaeology at Brasenose College, Oxford, and his undergraduate degree in Classics and Chinese at Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service. He spent time as a field archaeologist in Italy, and has written on a variety of topics. His interests include the visual and sartorial trappings of status and power; the art and archaeology of ancient Rome and China; vexillology and heraldry; and the modern history of menswear - from the birth of the blazer and the rugby shirt in the early 19th century, to the rise and fall of streetwear in the 21st. Among other things, he’s a Fellow of The Explorers Club and a member of the I.B.F. (the International Bar Flies) at Harry’s Bar in Paris.

He and I get DEEP on philosophy, the Rowing Blazers aesthetic, why archeologists love (and hate) Indiana Jones and his general philosophy towards status, power and how we channel these themes through simple stuff like rugby shirts. I also try to get him to validate that I was wearing Rowing Blazers before the rappers and athletes were. This is a very special episode for me and I hope you enjoy!