How a lock with a question mark became a mission.
No marketing department wrote this one. It's just what actually happened.
The shirt that started it
It started with a Discord post about an AI-generated design and someone joking it'd be funny on a shirt. One rush order later, we actually had them — and more people wanted one than we'd printed.
DC14, DC18, and a long gap before DC34
I went to my first DEF CON in 2006 — DC14 — and kept coming back through DC18 in 2010. My first DEF CON was life-changing. I found my people. Then life happened, and I stepped away for over a decade. This year I made it back for DC34, and finally made it to my first BSides too. Coming back reminded me exactly why I fell for this community in the first place.
Why a padlock with a question mark
The mark came out of messing around with logo ideas with Grok, and it just looked cool. But the question mark stuck for a reason: stay curious, keep asking, keep learning — and honestly, I never know what we'll come up with next for a design. The padlock's simpler than that. Locks are just fun.
Why give back
Badges are expensive. Travel is expensive. I haven't always been in the position I'm in now, and I want to give back in a way that's actually impactful. If my first DEF CON could change my life, I'd love for someone else to get that same shot. I've also come to realize BSides can matter even more for people who can't travel to Hacker Summer Camp — which is why the very first design we made was BSides Pyongyang.
Today
Cyber Whatnot is still a side project, run by someone with a day job, not a company chasing growth. What gets given back depends on what gets sold — no guarantees, just follow-through, order by order.
"My first DEF CON was life-changing. I found my people. I'd love for someone else to get that same shot."
Want to see where it's going?
Check the FAQ for how the giving actually works, or head to the store to grab something that helps fund the next badge.