This profile is in active compilation — some details are awaiting a cited source.

Charlie Hustle made the KC Heart, which is now the region’s official symbol — a fair claim to the most successful piece of graphic design a Kansas City business has ever produced. Chase McAnulty started printing vintage-style T-shirts in his parents’ basement in 2011 and launched the website in 2012 with sixteen designs; the KC Heart was the last one added to that first collection. The Royals’ 2014 and 2015 World Series runs put it on the whole city. Brothers Matt and Michael Gary bought the brand in April 2025 and run it as co-presidents from the Plaza flagship.

Description

Charlie Hustle is a Kansas City apparel brand whose flagship store is at 419 W 47th Street on the Country Club Plaza.1 It sells T-shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies, hats and accessories, adding jackets in the fall, and its business is built on graphic design rather than garment manufacture — the company’s own framing is that every T-shirt is a canvas for storytelling.12

Its cultural footprint is out of proportion to its size. The KC Heart — the letters KC set inside a heart — was adopted as the official symbol of the Kansas City region, which is an extraordinary outcome for a T-shirt graphic from a company that started in a basement.3 Charlie Hustle and the KC Heart broke through during the Royals’ 2014 and 2015 World Series runs, when the shirt became the default way to display civic feeling.4

The brand has since worked well beyond the heart: Chiefs championship shirts, a line produced with the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, collegiate licensing including a return to vintage Jayhawk designs, and a World Heart Collection debuting in June 2026 for the FIFA World Cup.156

A pop-up at Oak Park Mall in Overland Park opened in 2026 on a lease running through the end of the year.1

Goods and services

  • T-shirts — the core product, built on vintage-style graphic design12
  • Sweatshirts, hoodies, hats and accessories1
  • Jackets — added seasonally in fall1
  • The KC Heart line — the company’s signature and the region’s official symbol3
  • Team and championship merchandise — Royals, Chiefs24
  • Negro Leagues Baseball Museum collaboration line5
  • Collegiate licensed apparel, including vintage Jayhawk designs6
  • World Heart Collection — FIFA World Cup 2026, debuting June 20261
  • Wholesale distribution6

History

Chase McAnulty began making vintage-style T-shirts in the basement of his parents’ home in 2011.4 He had been studying graphic design at the Kansas City Art Institute, where he started buying, selling and trading vintage shirts — the practice that led to the company.4 The Charlie Hustle website launched in 2012 with sixteen shirt designs, and the KC Heart was the last design added to that first collection.4

The breakthrough came with baseball. The KC Heart tee “first made a big splash in Kansas City during the Royals’ historic 2014 and 2015 World Series runs,” moving from a local design to a citywide uniform.4 Chiefs championship shirts extended the pattern.2

In 2019 the KC Heart was adopted as the official symbol of the Kansas City region, a step taken with the regional development council — an unusual formal civic adoption of a commercial design.3 The Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce named Charlie Hustle its 2021 Small Business of the Year, the Mr. K Award.7 McAnulty was named to the Junior Achievement Business Hall of Fame in 2023.1 By 2023 the company was expanding through wholesale and collegiate licensing beyond the KC Heart.6

In April 2025 brothers Matt and Michael Gary bought the brand and took over as co-presidents.1 What became of McAnulty’s involvement is not stated in any source located here.

Sources

Footnotes

  1. KCUR — “Charlie Hustle opening soon in Oak Park Mall with a new line of World Cup merch,” 19 April 2026 — asserts: “The Gary brothers bought the brand in April 2025 and serve as co-presidents.”; Matt and Michael Gary now own Charlie Hustle; Chase McAnulty started the brand in 2011 in his parents’ basement and was named to the Junior Achievement Business Hall of Fame in 2023; flagship store at 419 W. 47th Street on the Country Club Plaza; a pop-up at Oak Park Mall in Overland Park (95th Street and Quivira Road) offering T-shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies, hats and accessories plus jackets in the fall, on a lease running through year’s end; a World Heart Collection debuting June 2026 for the FIFA World Cup 2026. The freshest and most authoritative source on current ownership and operation. (Fetched 2026-08-14.) ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10

  2. KSHB 41 — “‘Ideas are always flowing’: Charlie Hustle CEO, founder says T-shirt ideas come from moments on, off field” — asserts: Chase McAnulty as CEO and founder describing every T-shirt as a canvas for storytelling; the company’s Chiefs championship shirts; the continuing flow of designs. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  3. Startland News — “KC Heart adopted as region’s official symbol: Charlie Hustle founder hopes icon will join KC skyline,” November 2019 — asserts: the KC Heart was adopted as the official symbol of the Kansas City region, in connection with the Kansas City Area Development Council. ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  4. Startland News — “Mr. K winner: Charlie Hustle wears heart on its sleeve as it accepts Small Biz of the Year honor,” June 2021 — asserts: Chase McAnulty started making vintage-style T-shirts in the basement of his parents’ home in 2011; the Charlie Hustle website launched in 2012 with only 16 shirt designs; while at the Kansas City Art Institute studying graphic design he began selling and trading vintage shirts, which inspired the company; the KC Heart design was the last addition to that collection; Charlie Hustle and the KC Heart tee first made a big splash during the Royals’ 2014 and 2015 World Series runs; the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce honored the company with its 2021 Small Business of the Year (Mr. K Award). Primary source for the founding narrative. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6

  5. MLB.com — “KC shirt company launches line saluting Negro Leagues” — asserts: Charlie Hustle launched an apparel line in partnership with the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. ↩ ↩2

  6. Startland News — “How Charlie Hustle’s wholesale expansion, collegiate licensing is growing its brand beyond the KC Heart,” January 2023 — asserts: the company’s growth through wholesale distribution and collegiate licensing beyond the KC Heart. Companion item on the Lawrence shop and vintage Jayhawk designs: startlandnews.com ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  7. Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce Mr. K Award, 2021 — as reported in 4. : a first-party Chamber award page was not located this pass; the award is currently single-sourced to Startland. ↩

Categories

On the record — ks.city/registry/charlie-hustle · record updated 2026-08-14