Have you ever found yourself pondering the age-old question, “Who really designed that Joe Scott YouTube merch that makes you laugh mid-scroll and then somehow winds up in your cart?”
Spoiler alert: It’s not Joe Scott doodling on a napkin between filming for all his Answers with Joe clips. Look, if he designed his own merch, we’d all be stuck wearing stick figures and Comic Sans fonts.
Thankfully, Joe knows his limits, so he teamed up with many designers who do know what they’re doing. One of those masterminds is Michal Sobel, a pro who somehow figured out how to turn space escapades, pop culture, and nerd wit into beloved T-shirts that people actually want to wear in public.
Who is this guy — one of several clever designers — making Joe Scott merch look smarter than a symposium on rocket science? We dug deeper into Michal’s story, and we’re telling you all about this designer who hails from Brno, Czech Republic.
Turns out, Michal has been flexing his creative muscles since he was 14 and somehow turned “doodling for fun” into a full-blown swag empire.
From Martian Memes to Bestselling Tees
While most 14-year-olds were stressing over algebra homework, Michal was already getting paid for website design gigs. He has his older brother to thank for introducing him to the world of design and giving him a leg up, allowing Michal to pay his bills as a freelance designer by 18.
But his T-shirt career really started in 2016, after a $500,000 crowdfunding investment went south and he found himself wanting to create something “just for fun.” A T-shirt seemed like just the thing.
Enter the “Evolution of a Martian” tee. A little context here for those who cannot remember 2016 (no shade): SpaceX was taking off on Reddit and “The Martian” was still playing in theaters, so the shirt was well-played.
Space nerds ate it up, and boom — the shirts were selling like hot cakes. His next shirt? A Matrix reference so complicated even Keanu would’ve squinted at it. The result: zero sales.
“That was my reality check,” Michal said. “It’s not about the hours you put in, or at least not only about that — it’s about clarity and simplicity.” Lesson learned.
Which explains why his next shirt, “Evolution of Falcons” — from SpaceX rockets to the Star Wars Falcon — crushed it. Twenty minutes of work turned into a bestseller. Sometimes, genius is just knowing when to stop overthinking.
Fast-forward to today, and Michal’s the head of design for a team of 10, leading customer experience projects like it’s no big deal. Oh, and casually creating the kind of T-shirts that make Joe Scott YouTube fans click “add to cart” faster than a femtosecond.
So… How Did Joe Scott Enter the Chat?
But how did Michal and Joe cross paths? Pure internet serendipity.
Experiencing a full creative burnout in 2016, Michal took a step back, but still found himself doodling new T-shirt ideas on the side for his own shop. On a whim, he posted his designs on Imgur, where they blew up so much that he answered over 1,000 comments in two days (honestly, that level of commitment deserves a trophy — or a nap).
Michal took that viral-ish post over to Reddit, where Joe spotted his designs and thought, “Hey, my YouTube fans might actually buy this stuff.”
“Joe reached out asking if he could sell the designs on his channel,” Michal said.
At the time, Answers With Joe had about 50,000 subscribers — a modicum of the current 2 million and counting Joe Scott YouTube fans.
Still, it felt like the perfect audience size for Michal.
“I was excited he wanted to try it. We exchanged a few emails and got started,” he said.
Suddenly, space jokes and wearable nerdiness had a new home in Laugh Smarter, the Joe Scott merchandise store.
The Secret Sauce of Joe Scott YouTube Merch: Design Like a Fan
Anytime Michal created a new shirt for the Laugh Smarter store, he didn’t just chase trends — he designed like he’s one of us. Well, he is one of us.
“I think it’s because I’m part of the audience myself,” Michal said of his fan-favorite designs. “If a sketch doesn’t at least make me smile, it doesn’t make it into the shop. That’s really the only filter I can put into words.”
In other words, he gets it. That’s why everything is clever without being obnoxious, funny without being cringe, and smart without needing a full-on Ph.D. to “get” the joke (although, let’s be honest — half of Joe’s fans probably do have Ph.D.s).
Creative Genius or Creative Madness? Probably Both
Michal’s process is part chaotic sketching spree, part ruthless editing.
“Some ideas come in minutes,” he said. “Something sparks, I sketch it out, and within 20 minutes, it’s done. This was the case for the Solar System in Proportion.”
Other times, Michal admitted that it’s a painfully slow process with dozens or even hundreds of sketches before he lands on something that’s worth it.
His biggest challenge? Boiling down an idea so that anyone can get it within a couple of seconds.
“That’s the trick: For it to stay funny, it has to be instantly clear,” he said.
But his golden rule behind it all is to scrape the Joe Scott merchandise store regularly.
“I don’t let dead prints sit in the store. Every so often, I clean it up so only the survivors remain.”
Ruthless.
What’s Next for Joe Scott YouTube Merch? Not Clipart Rockets
While Michal spends his days leading design teams, he’s circling back to T-shirt art with fresh energy. He’s experimenting with new printing techniques, dabbling in AI tools, and basically making sure Joe Scott YouTube swag keeps looking and laughing smart.
Because, let’s face it — if you’re repping Joe’s merch, you deserve something better than clipart rockets.
