San Franpsycho celebrates 25 years with an SF retrospective 

Before San Franpsycho was a clothing brand, its founders were surfers at Ocean Beach. In 2001, they made a surf video and gave it an unforgettable name. 

Twenty-five years later, those beginnings are the focus of “Quarter Century of Psycho: A San Franpsycho Retrospective” at 111 Minna Gallery. The exhibition follows San Franpsycho from its early days in the Outer Sunset to building a brand around San Francisco culture. The opening party, for ages 21 and older, is Saturday;  a closing party is Oct. 16. 

The exhibition includes work by more than 20 local artists, along with original San Franpsycho shirts, posters, photographs, archival footage, collaborations and stories from people connected to the brand, such as owner Christian Routzen, a co-founder with his friend Andy Olive.  

“It’s a wild feeling to look and see so much that’s happened — to see all the different communities that we’ve come together with over the years,” says Routzen. 

“Hopefully, people see the creativity that lives and breathes every day in SF and that working together with the community, San Francisco continues to grow in fun new ways,” he adds. 

The brand took shape from Routzen’s senior thesis at San Francisco State University, a documentary about the Ocean Beach surfing scene called “San Franpsycho” which gained a following. Routzen and Olive taught themselves to screen-print and began selling custom clothing out of an orange-and-black zebra-striped van. 

Down the road, they opened San Franpsycho’s flagship store at 505 Divisadero St. in March 2012, then closed it in 2016 when the lease expired. That same year, SFP moved to the Inner Sunset at 1256 Ninth Ave. and opened a second San Francisco location in Haight-Ashbury at 1439 Haight St. in 2021. A third opened in Fisherman’s Wharf, at Pier 43 ½, in 2024. There’s also a store at San Francisco International Airport in Harvey Milk Terminal 1 which opened in 2023. 

“It could have [gone] either way,” says Routzen about SFP’s origins. “There was no real plan other than to have fun learning the art of screen printing, bringing community together, and combining that with passions of surfing, music, and being part of the city at large.” 

Michelle Delaney, longtime co-owner of 111 Minna Gallery, has known Routzen for years, back when he would screenprint shirts himself at events. The idea for the show came about organically: “I think it was just kind of one of those things where every time we saw each other, we’d just be touching base, and then we’re like, ‘Hey, let’s do something cool.’ And I don’t think that we knew exactly what cool thing we were going to do together, but then this worked out,” she says, with a laugh. 

Unusual for 111 Minna shows, the SFP exhibition is “museum-style retrospective,” says Delaney, and not about selling art. 

“This one’s not going to work like that, but that’s OK because it’s going to be rad,” she says. “It’s kind of fun to just go, ‘You know what? We’re not going to try to do the art-sale thing this time. We’re just going to let people enjoy all this amazement that San Franpsycho has created over the past 25 years.’” 

Saturday’s party will include an 8:45 p.m. screening of the “San Franpsycho” surf film, first released on VHS and unseen for more than two decades.  

“Come on out, have some fun, and check out this debaucherous old-school film where it all began,” Routzen says in a recent Instagram video. 

Hannah Finn, manager of the Haight Street store, is distributing flyers to those who stop by and excited about bringing people together to celebrate. Finn, who grew up in San Francisco, says SFP is part the city’s history and culture. Locals can be seen wearing hoodies and beanies that came out more than a decade ago. 

“This brand is actually the real deal,” says Finn, who began working full time for the company in 2023. In her mid-30s, she says she couldn’t imagine working retail anywhere else. Every time she folds one of the screen-printed shirts in the store, she considers the labor and artistry that went into it. 

“That makes me feel good,” she says. 

Delaney is glad that 111 Minna Gallery — itself a decades-old San Francisco institution — can support another longtime San Francisco company. She and Routzen share a similar approach: putting in the work, staying connected to their community and keeping San Francisco’s creative scene moving forward. 

“As owners, we’re out there just doing it,” she says. “We’re participating. We love our community. We want artists to be supported, and we want San Francisco to keep thriving.” 

In other words, they’re both out there catching the same waves. 

“Quarter Century of Psycho: A San Franpsycho Retrospective” opens at 7 p.m. (with 6 p.m. VIP entry) on Sept. 19 at 111 Minna St., San Francisco. Tickets are $5 to $35 at 111minnagallery.com.