About Lighten Up Gear
Take God seriously; not yourself.
Born in 2013, Lighten Up Gear is a family-owned small business located in Central Iowa and was founded by Erik Carlson.
I formed Lighten Up Gear to produce funny Christian t-shirts simply because the market had little to none to offer. I wanted to create opportunities for people to express their faith and engage in conversations with others based on messages on shirts. I also started producing simple faith-based apparel like our YHWH Lion shirt, which has become one of our best selling products (and has been copied by lots of imitators).
I have been married for over 23 years and we have 2 sons in college and 1 in high school. We are very active as a family at Keystone Church, a church plant of The Salt Network, where my wife is on staff as the director of children’s ministry.
During the day, I lead a user experience team and digital experience team for a Fortune 250 company. I also enjoy watching and supporting Minnesota United FC.
Grace and peace, Erik Carlson