A 100 series shot is the most severe disciplinary infraction you can receive in prison, reserved for serious offenses such as murder, drug offenses, rioting or escaping. These offenses carry serious penalties if found guilty, adding an extra decade on top of the time the prisoner is already serving.
Being incarcerated already seems like the worst situation one could ever be in but even when you’re already down there’s a boot that’s ready to stomp you even lower. Such turbulent times can either break someone completely or force them to rise above their surroundings and Gisel Monteyro (Since the Flood, Hammer Bros., The World) chose the latter.
Finding himself incarcerated and stripped of the individuality that allowed him to create amazing art, Gisel spent the immense amount of spare time he had in front of him to plan on what other endeavor he could get into when he got out. “I’m pretty lucky in that I’ve been able to express myself independently in so many ways already whether it was through music, designs or fashion, even though I hate that word.”
Never wanting to be held down by the 9 to 5 life, Gisel has always found ways to keep himself busy through creative means, playing in multiple legendary bands in the Boston scene throughout the last two decades. His most notable work outside of music being his design work for bands and other companies.
Elaborating on how he began designing Gisel explained, “I started doing designs around 2006, this was for my other band before I joined Hammer Bros. At the time there weren't many resources for that and when I went through different companies we were never satisfied with them. So I started learning that process for myself, making sure it was all high resolution and learning all the terms so if I ever went through a company I could pinpoint exactly what we wanted out of them and communicate that to them.”
Gisel continued his design work in Hammer Bros. and ended up designing their merchandise all the way up to their disbanding in 2011. Around that same time he took what he learned from designing merchandise and started his own brand.
Speaking on the impetus of his first brand he states, “It was called Defamation Nation. Corny ass name but I would bring all our merch to shows and it caught a little following and I put a lot of my focus into that for awhile. I never really used the hardcore subculture to really market it though and I should’ve incorporated it into that. I branched off into what was popping around that time, like streetwear at the time.”
Looking to gain more experience within the world of designing for clothes, Gisel began working in marketing for brands and brick and mortar shops in order to really learn how the business worked and apply it to his own future projects. “I started going to school for design, like at a community college to get even more info on the ins and outs of the business and everything. Back then, there wasn’t really much info you could find about this on YouTube or anything. If I wanted to document this whole journey I probably could've been pretty popular on YouTube just giving advice and tutorials on what I learned back then."
By the time Gisel figured out how to build his own brand and run it as a proper business, Defamation Nation closed down. He took what he had learned in the process and continued marketing for other brands and continued making great design work for clients but his work was mostly done for others which he found success in but it wasn’t satisfying his own creative side.
Gisel did return to music, playing bass for Boston hardcore band The World alongside Matty Arsenault from A Loss For Words. They released two EPs in 2021 and 2022, respectively, and also featured some of Gisel’s own hip-hop beats.
During this time, however, Gisel admits that while things seemed to be going great for him his personal life began to spiral out of control which led to him being incarcerated. “Prior to being locked up I was in a very dark spot, I started going through a serious depression and I was an addict but I was content with all that. That way of thinking affected everything in my life; my health, my family, my career and it almost cost me all that. I still had this incredible work ethic and my design work and trying to push my brand really kept me going until it was all taken from me.”
While Gisel was locked up he states that this was where the motivation for 100 Series really came into fruition even though he didn’t intend to move in that direction. “Obviously, I had a lot of time on my hands so I thought about what I was going to do when I got out. I hadn’t planned on starting a brand because of my previous experiences with it and I didn’t feel like my mindset was there yet. Being inside though I really started to pinpoint what was my passion and that’s always been creating and marketing. My goal wasn’t to work for anybody else unless it was doing something I love. So I decided I wanted to start a new project. I didn’t know what the direction was going to be but I knew the mission of the brand.” he states.
When your freedom of expression is stolen from you the way it is in prison it can either break the individual’s spirit for the rest of their days or they can rise above it and luckily for Gisel, through the support of his friends and family, he was able to take what was the lowest point he had reached and make something from it. That’s what inspired the name and the mission statement of 100 Series, making the best of the worst possible outcome.
As explained before, a 100 series in jail means the worst possible outcome for the prisoner punishment-wise but outside the number 100 is always seen as a positive, giving 100% of your effort. “It’s pretty much going from the worst possible outcome to the best of yourself. Without friends and family looking out for you you won’t become that best version of yourself.”
Gisel has mapped out 100 Series’ mission statement on their website: “Always stand by your people. Whether it’s putting money on their books, to helping them get that extra rep in. Make sure yours always comes out of the worst possible outcome to essentially the best possible outcome. 100 to 100. Our products are a vessel of our message and each piece is only available for a limited time. 5% of sales will be donated to the Sentencing Project.”
With 100 Series Gisel intends to put the mission statement to action by donating portions of their income to The Sentencing Project which advocates for those wrongfully incarcerated, reduce the imprisonment rate in America and assist with the well-being of those incarcerated by sending money for their books as well as providing legal resources to prisoners.
The webstore for 100 Series launched on March 24th with the drop featuring 6 t-shirts, a muscle shirt and tote bags all designed and printed by Gisel. The lead up to the release was marketed through videos also shot by Gisel, demonstrating yet another facet of his marketing skills, with quick cuts and peeks of the merch being sported by his friends.
The marketing for this drop felt like an emergence from the ashes for Gisel and displayed his skill in all corners of marketing and branding. Watching the clips gives you an idea of all of Gisel’s interests and subcultures he’s dipped his feet into, hardcore, hip-hop, and street wear. The subsequent clips also presented 100 Series in other spaces like workwear so that the brand never pigeonholes itself. “The subculture of hardcore and other pockets of it will definitely show through the minimal aesthetics as far as the designs go. It’s gonna make a lot more sense once you dive into the message and the content that we’re gonna be putting out,” Gisel explained.
Even with a fresh first drop, Gisel is already planning subsequent drops and admits he even had to hold back on including pieces for this one. “I’ve pretty much mapped out all of 2025 for what 100 Series is going to put out, the amount of pieces will change and I’ll have to put a bunch on the backburner but I’m hoping to make each drop unique.”
100 Series is a remergence for Gisel who's been through hell and back the last couple years and emerged not only with himself still intact but with heaps of inspiration and drive to accomplish what he’s always set out to do. He took the worst situation and made something out of it. This might just be the beginning but it already feels like a big event largely due to Gisel’s skill at marketing and branding developed over the last decade, this is all these elements of his life coming to fruition.
He may not be making music but he’s never away from the scene itself. 100 Series draws from the scene he’s enveloped himself into and he knows how to cater to that audience but 100 Series has the potential to appeal even further than that, kind of the same way hardcore has drawn a lot more people into the scene post covid, we didn’t go to the crowds the crowds just came to us.
The 100 Series website is now live and there are still pieces available from the first drop if you want in on the ground floor. Be sure to keep up with their socials for inside scoops on future drops and keep up to date with all other sections of their growing business. Run 100.
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Tagged: hammer bros., the world
