In Search for Truth: The Story of Falsehood
Written by Helene
Published on December 15, 2025
FALSEHOOD began with a question: how do you stay true to who you are in a world constantly trying to shape you into something else?
For Leo, a graffiti writer, designer, youth mentor, and the creator of the Brooklyn-born streetwear brand FALSEHOOD, that question is not philosophical. It is survival. He learned who he was through graffiti while growing up in Brooklyn, East New York, and later Newark—using rooftops, train tracks, and abandoned buildings as his canvas. His work was bold and expressive, a visual declaration from communities where young people are often overlooked.
“Graffiti was how I expressed myself… That’s how I learned to communicate when nobody wanted to listen.”
Public expression, especially from Black and brown youth, is often treated not as art but as disruption. The same creative outlets that gave Leo purpose also brought him into regular contact with police and courts. Friends were arrested. He watched how quickly the system could criminalize artistry.
“I got tired of the trouble and the consequences,” he explains. “They pushed us into a corner. If we wanted to keep surviving, we had to find a different way.”
Leo did not abandon graffiti; he reimagined it. He realized he could protect his future without giving up his style or identity. All he needed was a new surface to paint on. That moment of clarity led to the creation of FALSEHOOD, a brand that carries his voice forward while expanding his reach. What began as a single T-shirt has grown into a globally recognized streetwear label. Still, Leo insists the clothes are only the doorway.
FALSEHOOD, he says, is a way of thinking. It challenges anyone who has ever been pressured to fit a shape they never chose.
“Falsehood became the way to continue my art without losing myself,” Leo says.
“I’m not trying to rebel just to rebel. I’m trying to make people think.”
The brand’s mission—to help people find their own truth in a world full of lies—comes from one of the most personal moments in Leo’s life: his mother’s struggle with diabetes. When she was diagnosed, doctors focused heavily on medication and restrictions but offered little guidance on lifestyle changes. Instead of accepting the story handed to her, Leo learned the benefits of a raw vegan lifestyle and introduced that knowledge to his mom and the rest of his family, helping them uncover information often quiet, hidden, or obscured. Her transformation showed him that some truths must be fought for.
Her resilience became the emotional blueprint for FALSEHOOD. Leo began embedding messages about growth, awareness, and self-belief into the garments. The brand invites its community to question the systems, norms, and narratives that shape society and identity.
Despite its philosophical grounding, FALSEHOOD remains rooted in the graffiti culture that raised Leo. One of his proudest projects is the Graffiti Writers Collaboration Alphabet, a multinational effort connecting generations of writers. For each letter, he commissions a respected artist to reinterpret FALSEHOOD in three forms: a tag, a throw-up, and a piece. The project documents a culture that is often erased or misunderstood.
“People get excited,” Leo says. “They ask, ‘Who’s next?’ It connects generations. It keeps graffiti alive in the clothing.” A recent collaboration with Brazilian writer Benson went viral, drawing support from South America and Europe and proving that graffiti travels farther than authorities ever tried to stop it.
FALSEHOOD’s following spans ages, but children and teenagers connect with it in a particularly powerful way. Leo sees himself in them: young artists searching for expression in a society that often punishes them for it. “Kids are drawn to graffiti because it’s freedom,” he says. “They shouldn’t be punished for trying to express who they are.”
Parents began asking for kids’ sizes, and Leo listened. His new collection, Lil’ Future Healers, introduces the deeper themes of FALSEHOOD with a spirit of playfulness and confidence. The title is intentional. Leo believes children, with their honesty and curiosity, have the potential to repair the harm caused by fear and misinformation. In many ways, kids grasp the brand’s message even faster than adults.
Community remains at the heart of FALSEHOOD, and nowhere is that clearer than at the Punk Rock Flea Market. Surrounded by DIY jackets, painted denim, and spiked hair, Leo meets the audiences who understand authenticity at its deepest level. “This is how society should be,” he says. “Be yourself fully and still survive.” These events allow him to speak directly to the people wearing his work and hear how FALSEHOOD connects to their own stories of survival, transformation, and self-acceptance.
After nine years, the evolution is impossible to ignore. Leo has grown from a tiny folding table to a 20-foot custom booth that anchors every market. The brand has expanded from one design to more than 300 products, all created by one person.
And while FALSEHOOD was born in Brooklyn, Leo proudly manufactures over 80% of the brand’s catalog in Newark, NJ—screen printing, sewing labels onto every garment, and packaging each order himself. It is his way of honoring the city that played a pivotal role in the growth of the brand.
Through all of that growth, the mission has remained clear.
Whenever someone approaches his booth or clicks onto his website and asks about the name FALSEHOOD, he always responds with a question of his own:
What is falsehood to you?
The answers are raw and deeply human: heartbreak, divorce, corrupt workplaces, toxic friendships, broken school systems, hidden illnesses, and unexpected healing. People confide in him. They trust him. They feel seen. Leo collects these stories as a witness, not a voyeur. He believes naming what is false helps people begin fighting for what is real.
FALSEHOOD is more than clothing. It is a reminder to question appearances, a refusal to accept narratives built to keep people small, and a declaration that identity should be protected, not surrendered. Above all, it is an invitation to the truth.
Leo knows that truth can be uncomfortable. Truth can get you in trouble. Truth can make you stand out when the world wants you to blend in. But truth is survival. Truth is self-respect. Truth is freedom.
“Truth is personal,” he says. “And it deserves to be worn proudly.”
In a world full of lies, FALSEHOOD is a promise:
You do not have to become what the world tells you to be. You get to decide.
Helene is a a writer and visual artist based in New York. Her work blends thoughtful storytelling with creative narratives, aiming to capture the essence of artistic communities and the people within them. In addition to writing for UP Magazine, she also contributes to Float Magazine.