We Started With a $400 Press and a Reason to Try.
Breaking Free Industries is a custom screen printing and embroidery shop based in Santa Ana, California. We print on blanks from AS Colour, Bella+Canvas, and Next Level. We handle screen printing, embroidery, heat transfer, and decorated apparel for nonprofits, sports teams, restaurants, schools, corporate brands, and causes of all kinds.
But the shop is only part of the story.
How It Started
Josh Nowack founded Breaking Free Industries in 2020. With a felony conviction for embezzlement on his record, the path back into the workforce he’d known — corporate finance, executive roles — was effectively closed. So he built something instead.
He bought his first press with a $400 gift from a member of his synagogue. He studied the model that organizations like Homeboy Industries had proven: that meaningful work, offered without conditions, changes outcomes. He decided to build a print shop staffed by people who needed the same thing he did — a real chance to rebuild.
That’s what Breaking Free Industries is. A functioning business that produces real work, delivered on time, to real clients. And a second-chance employer, every single day.
Who We Employ
Every order decorated at Breaking Free Industries is handled by people with conviction histories — individuals rebuilding their lives through skilled work and fair pay. We don’t treat employment as charity. We treat it as the point. Our team runs the presses, pulls the screens, threads the machines, inspects every piece before it ships.
When you order with us, the shirt matters twice: once for your brand, once for someone’s future.
What We Do
We offer custom screen printing, embroidery, heat transfer, and direct-to-film decoration for orders starting at 12 pieces. We source ethically from sweatshop-free blank suppliers. We print in-house in Southern California — no overseas fulfillment, no middlemen. Quotes come back within one business day. Most orders ship in 10–14 business days.
Our clients include nonprofits across Orange County, youth sports leagues, restaurants and food brands, corporate teams, faith communities, schools, and independent artists. We ship nationally.
Why Organizations Choose Us
Some clients come for the pricing. Some come for the turnaround. Some come because they want their dollars to do more than buy a shirt. Most stay because the work is good and the process is easy — one point of contact from quote to delivery, no ticket queues, no runaround.
We’ve been cited by Jails to Jobs, partnered with organizations across Southern California, and built a catalog of 700+ decoration-ready blanks available for same-week production. We’re not the biggest shop in Orange County. We’re the one with the most reasons to get it right.
Based In Southern California. Built For Everyone.
We’re based in Southern California and serve clients across Orange County, Los Angeles, the Inland Empire, and nationwide. Screen printing, embroidery, and decorated apparel — for teams that give a damn.
Ready to start? Get a quote in 24 hours.