The cold whispers, in the grip of the storm, I find myself.
Not comfort, not in ease, but in the howl of the wind, the frost-bitten trees.
Unyielding and vast, where time fades away, the future and past.
Mother Nature calls, her voice coaxing, a dare to keep moving, to make the unknown home.
The rain started like a whisper, a sly murmur threading through the evergreens, but it didn’t stay that way. The sky cracked open, we were already deep in it—no turning back. The Pacific Northwest doesn’t offer warnings; it drags you under, spits you out, and leaves you gasping for meaning.
This is a land of extremes, where the mountains stretch higher, the forests grow darker, and the storms hit harder. A place where the line between man and wild blurs, and only the reckless thrive. It’s not for everyone, but for the ones it calls? There’s no escaping it.
I’ve ridden through a hundred landscapes, but nothing compares to this. The cold wraps around you like a vice, the rain a relentless hammer against the steel of your will. And somewhere in the middle of it all, you find clarity. Not peace. Not calm. Just raw, unfiltered truth.
This isn’t a ride; it’s a rite of passage. The Flathead roars beneath me, and the Black Bear Brand coat clings to my back like a battle flag, soaked but unbroken. Each drop of rain, each mile, each roar of the engine—it’s a prelude to something bigger. Something untamed. Something wild.
And now, the storm has arrived.
- josh
Vintage rose bleeds,
Army dreams in dirt and green—
Slub whispers: Feel me.
Navy sinks, Old Money gleams,
Charcoal smokes in twilight schemes.
Threads twist like trips,
Raindrop pocket—a portal.
Seattle hums.
HAVE A NICE DAY Podcast... a Montana moment!
In a quiet corner of Montana, where the mountains stand as witnesses and the land carries the weight of untold stories, a conversation unfolds that bridges two worlds. Jefferson White, celebrated actor from the hit series Yellowstone, and Josh Sirlin, the visionary behind Black Bear Brand, come together at a simple table in the town where fiction meets reality. This isn’t just a chat—it’s a meeting of kindred spirits. Jefferson, who brings the rugged, conflicted characters of the Dutton Ranch to life, and Josh, whose designs embody the wild, untamed spirit of the West, find common ground in their dedication to craft, authenticity, and the stories that shape us.
The air—cold, sharp... cutting through the silence. Mist clings to the peaks—stillness, heavy... chill of fall hanging in the air.
The goose down vest, built for this—this unforgiving land, this kind of life. A symbol of the wild, stitched with purpose. No compromises.
- Josh
The West is not just a place, it’s something carved deeper, etched into the bones of anyone who’s drifted under its open skies. Out here, the land doesn’t soften for you; it’s bare-knuckled, raw, a thousand miles of wild beauty and silence that can leave a man small, and yet, somehow, whole.
Its been pulling at me my whole life—the wind-battered peaks, the long roads cutting through the plains, the kind of solitude that feels like a mirror. It’s where you come to face whatever’s left inside you, stripped down to the essentials.
The road calls me, a relentless whisper that nothing else drowns out. It's the journey I know, the rhythm of tire to road, the chill in the air as winter rolls in and the sky takes on that washed-out, hard edge.
Black Bear Brand , jeans broken in by the miles, gripping the bars of that old '48 Panhead, an iron ghost on a road less traveled. This is the beginning.... every time, something wordless. Just the land, the open sky, and a promise written on the wind. - Josh
Winter’s around the corner, its PNW wet, Black Bear Brand, head to toe. Leather jacket zipped tight against the cold, jeans soaked, denim heavy with rain. Black Bear Brand built for the bite, for days like this, when Mother Nature is testing ya.
My ’37 Harley, engine cutting through the silence, tires chewing snow & gravel. Snow’s comin, the ride, the mountains—unyielding, indifferent— here I come...
- josh
Josh Sirlin rides through the rainy Pacific Northwest on his vintage 1937 Harley, wearing a Black Bear Brand leather jacket and soaked Black Bear Brand jeans. Snow dusts the ground and clings to the trees as he navigates the winding logging roads, embodying rugged style and adventure in the unyielding wilderness.
#BlackBearBrand #JoshSirlin #VintageHarley #PNWAdventure #WinterIsComing #LeatherJacket #MotorcycleLife #Craftsmanship #RuggedStyle #AdventureAwaits #NatureLovers
Step into the world of Black Bear Brand with Josh Sirlin—
Step into the world of Black Bear Brand with Josh Sirlin—the mastermind behind the rugged, handcrafted designs. Watch as he rides through the scenic beauty of Oita, Japan, laughing with friends, kicking up dust on his vintage Harley, and showing the personal, playful side of life on the road. This is more than fashion—it’s about adventure, craftsmanship, and real connections. From the studio to the open highway, Black Bear Brand is a way of life. Join Josh and experience what drives him, who he is, and why every piece tells a story.
Its dawn, I have a purple Shovelhead, buddy Tekashi is grinning like a man who knew more than he’d ever say... tearing through the city like a couple of acid-fueled road warriors from a time no one remembered, but everyone still felt. Everything buzzed with it—the engines, the colors, the laughter in the air. The kind of day where reality bends just enough to let you slip into another world. Freedom, a touch of reckless and wild, a day that demanded you throw your middle finger up and grin at the absurdity of it all. Yeah, BE HAPPY—it was the only thing that made sense.
Traffic screamed past us, headlights streaking in the twilight, but we were in our own little world on the shoulder of chaos.
We knelt by the bike, tools scattered, fingers greasy, hearts racing. The city hummed around us, a beast breathing down our necks, but we worked like mad scientists trying to bring Frankenstein back to life. Sparks flew, the engine coughed, and for a moment, the world held its breath.
Then, a roar. The Shovelhead came back to life, shaking off death like it was nothing. Tekashi slapped me on the back, grin wide as ever. We kicked it into gear and blasted back into the city, the ride even sweeter because we’d stolen it from the edge.
Yeah, BE HAPPY—because sometimes, you gotta bring the dead back to life just to keep the trip going.
We left the city behind, chasing the sunrise through the countryside, and found ourselves in front of an old soba shop tucked in the hills. The soba man—wild, grinning like he was in on some cosmic joke—welcomed us in like long-lost friends. It wasn’t just a meal; it was a ritual. The kind of experience that pulls you back in time, makes you question where you are and what decade you’re living in.
He served us with a huge smile, his world becoming ours for a while, and in that moment, everything felt like it was part of some strange, beautiful trip. No rush, no worries, just the taste of freedom, and the road still waiting.
Yeah, BE HAPPY—because sometimes, the world invites you to lose yourself in its wildest corners.
There’s a place, far from the rush of cities, where the wind never stops and the earth feels ancient. It was here that the cloth was made, woven by hand on looms that have stood the test of generations. It wasn’t just any wool, but Harris Tweed—the kind that holds the spirit of the land itself. Psychedelic blue, with flashes of pink, red, purple, yellow, and navy. It felt alive, a pattern pulled from the archives of memory, too wild to be tamed, too rare to be forgotten.
I brought it back to Seattle, that cloth. Wrapped in the quiet reverence it deserved, it traveled with me, across oceans, mountains, and miles of road. In my hands, it was still raw, waiting. But in the studio, it would become something more.
The jacket was born slowly, crafted by hands that understood patience. The design pulled from the past but shaped by the present—a Western cut, rugged and sharp. Leather-reinforced snaps, each one sewn with intention. Inside, the Japanese diamond quilting added a layer of warmth, a touch of elegance against the strength of the outer wool. It wasn’t just a jacket—it was the kind of piece you wore into the wild, into the unknown.
I took it on the first ride, through the sweeping curves of Glacier National Park. The road stretched out before me, the mountains rising like giants on all sides. The jacket held firm, a shield against the wind. It felt as if it had always been there, stitched into the story of the land.
Now, that story continues.
In ink and thread, you speak to me—
Hands that carve, hands that weave,
Your ancient shrines breathe quiet truths,
And colors bleed where time forgives.
I chase your patience, I follow your grace,
In every line, in every stitch, I find my place.
You are my teacher, my unspoken guide,
In you, I’m lost, yet finally alive.
I am yours, where beauty lives,
I am home, where the art lives forever.
- josh
Before the road called,
Before the leather knew the touch of rain and sun,
It was just a jacket,
Waiting for hands to shape it,
For journeys to write their lines into its grain.
Now, it rides through Japan’s winding hills,
With the roar of a Knucklehead beneath,
Worn by time, hardened by miles,
And softened by the stories whispered into the wind.
A living testament,
To the wild beauty of the open road,
And the spirit that never fades.
- josh
I resurrected Black Bear Brand in the way one might resurrect a ghost. It wasn’t a calculated decision, but a relentless itch, something clawing at the back of my mind. I couldn’t ignore it, like a fire that wouldn’t die.
It started as a dream, the kind of wild idea that comes to you when you’re deep in the woods, miles from civilization, where the world is reduced to the crackle of a campfire and the stars overhead. I wanted to create something I could touch, something real, something that wasn’t just another product churned out by faceless machines in faceless factories. I wanted to design and make things that I could have, that I could love. Things that would last, that would tell a story, just like the stories I chase, the adventures I live for.
Designing became more than just a task; it was the pursuit of something pure, something honest. It was chasing the feeling you get when I crest a hill on my bike and the world opens up before me—when the road stretches out endlessly, and you feel that deep, primal thrill in your bones. That’s what designing is to me. It’s that same chase, that same hunger, that same need to feel alive.
Adventures are just simply something I chase; they make me feel alive. I chase experiences like a madman, not because I want to, but because I have to. It’s as natural as breathing. It’s what makes me smile, what keeps me moving forward. And Black Bear Brand? It’s an extension of that. It’s the embodiment of my life, my dreams, my relentless pursuit of the things that I can love, that make me feel.
This brand, this resurrected thing, it started as something I wanted to do, but it’s become so much more. It’s become a part of me, a reflection of me. Every stitch, every piece of leather, denim, wool... every design is a piece of the adventure, a fragment of the wild, chaotic journey that is my life.
So, have a nice day... or not.
- Josh
**a ghost in the fog
**century's mysteries, lost in the haze.
**tale retold, in threads that whisper the past.
**Black Bear is the dream, raw and real
**every stitch, every seam, a wild ride
Rugged charm Harris Tweed in hand I trace the lines of ancient castles.
Each thread woven with stories of wild history.100 Princes Street your heartbeat your streets the pulse inspiration.
Designing in the shadows of your towering spires.To the untamed spirit of travel you ignite my soul raw and unfiltered.
- josh
Have A Nice Day...
*** a haven with an essence of a middle finger to the world. motorcycles, surfboards, racks of denim, leather, and Harris Tweed... whispering tales of craftsmanship.
*** my old leather chair, my pit bull at my feet
*** each piece of art, every stitch of fabric—fashion intertwined with adventures
The Black Bear Brand Journal is a tribute to the wild beauty and craftsmanship that define the brand. Within its pages, you’ll find stories of adventure and creation, from riding motorcycles through America's untamed landscapes to exploring the meticulous art of denim making in Japan. This fifth edition offers an intimate glimpse into the processes that fuel Josh Sirlin’s designs, beautifully captured by world-class photographers. Join us on a journey through the heart of Black Bear Brand, where every tale, every image, and every piece is a testament to the spirit of adventure and timeless quality.
a peak into my minds chaos...
wrangling the tornado in my head...
each design, a release of my madness...
each design, a moment of peacefulness...
Black Bear Brand, this is my life!
