How to get a FREE SFDC99 t-shirt!

It is a sacred, time honored tradition for me to give out SFDC99 t-shirts at Dreamforce.

As some of you may know, I take free t-shirts very seriously and this year is no exception! As a free t-shirt connoisseur, I not only enjoy receiving high quality t-shirts – I like giving them away too!

So naturally I put a lot of thought into creating this year’s batch of shirts. Each batch of shirts I make are run only once – meaning you only have one chance to get your hands on this design. Extra incentive for me to make this batch the highest quality of all time.

Let me give you a glimpse into the research that went into creating this year’s shirt:

Materials

I’ve literally worn hundreds of free t-shirts over the years so the feel of various free t-shirt company’s products are etched in my muscle memory. A lesser brand of tee will be rigid, thick, and rough to the touch. Sure you’ll save money, but it won’t be a pleasant wearing experience. A good t-shirt is soft and slightly flexy – something you’d cherish caressing with your cheek. You’ll pay a premium for this kind of material but what good is a free t-shirt if you don’t enjoy wearing it? For high quality materials, I choose the Bella/Canvas brand, one of my personal favorites in the industry.

Fit

Equally important with materials is the fit of your shirt. You don’t want your generic, double-wide, Hane’s beefy tee that’ll hang off your body like a loose towel. You need a fitted tee that’ll have a modern contour. The shirt should respect your body shape like a good shoe respects your foot. Like a developer respects their code. That’s why this year I’m proud to make shirts in both men’s and women’s fits. No matter who you are, you could get your perfect fit.

Color

Arguably the most difficult part of the process for me. Do I play it safe and go with your standard black/blue/grey free t-shirt? Or do I go for something fresh, new, and distinct? Should the color be solid, or heathered? The color you choose will impact the longevity of the shirt. Solid, darker colors tend to fade over time in the wash. Too bright, and you risk permanently staining your favorite tee. This year I chose to go with Heather Red, a homage to my Uber t-shirt, one of my all time favorites. In previous batches I played it safe with coloring – but not this time. The red of the shirt is one of a kind, yet, the heathering gives it a subtlety that would otherwise make the color too red for normal use.

Design

The heart and soul of a shirt. Design will make or break everything. What do I put in the front? The back? Sleeves? Should the design be big or small? Centered or polo? Busy or simple? What colors should I use? What words, if any? The options are limitless and it’s easy to try to do too much with a shirt these days. Just as it is with many of the best free t-shirts, less is more. This year’s shirt has a singular message – a focus that you’d expect from a top tier developer that surely will be wearing it. It screams, “This shirt represents me and my focus. FEAR MY DETERMINATION!”

Drum roll please…

INTRODUCING THE 2015 SFDC99 T-SHIRT!

This year’s shirt is my favorite yet and it’s sure to become a staple in my clothing rotation. I’m even considering keeping a few extras as backup in case I lose mine. Alas, I need to save some for my top students! Special thanks to my wife for helping with the design!

There are two ways to get a free SFDC99 t-shirt:

— GUARANTEED WAY —

Inspire the world and post your success story! I make a very limited batch of shirts and everyone on this list goes straight to the front of the line. If you’ve written me a story in the past, check your inbox for an email from me! (Note: not all stories are accepted unfortunately!)

— NEXT BEST METHOD —

Find me at Dreamforce and tell me the secret code! Last year a ton of people got shirts this way, but, I had to give people some bad news because I ran out of shirts too early. This year the code will be more difficult – stay tuned for a future post on what the secret code is!

See you all at Dreamforce!

David