Interview: Why I Started Death Metal Mugs

A conversation about black coffee, brutal fonts, and building something cool.

I sat down with Michael Taxiarch, the founder of Death Metal Mugs, to dig into the origin story of the brand. This is the raw story of how a funny idea turned into a mission to bring genuine authenticity to your morning coffee routine.

Grab a cup. Let's talk.

The Before

Alright, let's start with the scene. What was your life like before DMM? Paint me a picture of a typical morning back then.

The 6:30am alarm goes off. I get up, make coffee in either my Black Coffee or Stonks mug, which back then were one-offs I made for myself just because they were a fun idea I had for my morning routine.

Then I'd go to my home office, pull up the charts for whatever stocks I was monitoring at the time. Always SPY, but usually also a couple others that varied.

The opening bell here in Colorado dings at 7:30am and the charts came to life. For the next few hours I would day trade SPY and keep tabs on any swing positions I had open.

What about music? What was in heavy rotation?

It varied for sure, but some of the ones that would make the playlist often were old school Amorphis, Intestine Baalism, Ataraxy, Disincarnate, Immolation, Opeth, Iron Maiden, Metallica, Pink Floyd, Faith No More, Smashing Pumpkins, Volbeat... I'm also a big fan of punk so the entire discography of Ramones would make frequent appearances.

"Trading music" usually involved listening to various albums from beginning to end as I had the time to enjoy them that way.

How long had that routine been going on before you had the Black Coffee mug idea?

That routine started around late 2021, maybe early 2022.

Some time in 2022 is when I had the idea to make myself a Black Coffee mug and a Stonks mug just because they'd be fun to have in the mornings.

I still use those two original mugs to this day, but now have a wider variety to choose from because of the DMM store.

It’s important to add, though, I can't claim to have been GOOD at trading back in 2021-2022. I was definitely still figuring out my edge and learning the hard lessons. It was probably late 2023 or early 2024 when I started being more consistent.

The Spark

Walk me through the exact moment you thought "I need a Black Coffee mug in a black metal font." Where were you? What triggered it?

It was morning in my home office and I had already started the trading day.

I was drinking coffee, watching a chart, listening to Immortal.

I always take my coffee black and had a fun thought: I’d like a mug that said "Black Coffee" in a cool black metal font.

Up to that point I was using whatever mug my wife bought at Target or some old beaten up thing from who knows where.

Did you search for one first?

Yeah, I searched Google to find one. Etsy had a couple, but none were cool enough. They were clearly generic and made by someone who wasn't an actual metalhead or into that kind of music. It looked like they didn't understand the aesthetic.

So I bought a font, opened up GIMP, created the Black Coffee mug myself.

You mentioned it was a "funny idea." What made it funny to you?

Like most of my humor, it's not super complex.

I take my coffee black. So if the mug said "Black Coffee" in a "black metal" style design, it'd make me smile whenever I saw it. Bing bang boom, it worked and still does.

The First Steps

So you bought a font and opened GIMP. Had you done design work before, or were you figuring it out?

It was a lot of trial and error. Learning how to add the right design elements, drips, overall shape of the letters.

I made the first version, then put it on a back burner while I made a design that said "Chores" as a header for the chores list I give my kids every week.

Making that second one allowed me to learn even more about how to control the design, so I came back to the "Black Coffee" mug and tweaked it to make it even better.

Wait, so the chores list came before you finished Black Coffee?

Yeah. I was just experimenting and having fun. Not treating it like some business idea yet.

Once you had the final Black Coffee design done and printed on a mug, what was it like holding it in your hands that first time?

It was a very cool feeling. I hadn't ever designed something like that and printed it on a physical item before.

I literally had only one made since it was just a personal item I wanted. Very much a "cool, mission accomplished, I have my funny mug now" kinda thing.

But about a week later I started dreaming up the "Stonks" mug because at that point I knew I could actually dream something up and make it reality.

That's a big shift right there, realizing you can make things. So Stonks came about a week later. What was the idea there?

I wanted another mug for the mornings I trade stocks. But I also wanted to try making something more brutal looking this time around.

Black metal has a different aesthetic than death metal and I had the itch to experiment, so I bought a second font and got to work.

The Stonks mug was a lot more complex to make. It had to be significantly more messy, but like the intentional, controlled messiness. Piecing together the stock chart while making it look metal as hell was a fun project.

The Turning Point

You mentioned friends started asking where you got them. Who was the first person to ask?

My brother, who actually got me into death metal a couple decades ago and also trades stocks, was visiting one day. I made him a cup of coffee in the Black Coffee mug and he was like "How cool!" I showed him the Stonks mug, which he also loved and asked where I got them.

These were one-offs at the time, so I made a couple more and gave them to him as a gift later.

Later on, another friend of mine who also trades stocks saw my Stonks mug and to my surprise LOVED it and asked where I got it. It was surprising because he isn’t even into metal at all.

He isn't even into death metal?

Exactly. Dude just thought it was really cool. So I ended up making another one and giving it to him as a gift.

It's not super common for friends and guests to open my mug cabinet or see mugs still on the counter from the day's use, but over the course of years it did happen sometimes. People would comment on how cool the mugs look and ask where I got them.

Hardly any of my friends even like death metal, let alone actively trade stocks, so it was always a bit surprising.

I bet that was quite a moment. Your friend who doesn't like metal loved it anyway. So you're giving them away as gifts for years? At what point did you go from "I'll make you one as a gift" to "maybe this could be a thing"?

For a couple years or so, I happily had only my Black Coffee and Stonks mugs in my daily rotation. But one morning in 2024, chatting with my wife, I had the idea to create the Fuck Decaf mug.

That's when the store idea sparked.

I'm making all these cool designs, people think they're rad as hell... What if?

That year I started building the store and creating more designs. Early 2025 is when it actually launched.

The Build

Walk me through the decision to actually start a store. Once you had that "what if?" thought, what came next?

It was a pretty quick decision actually. Within a few days I bought the DeathMetalMugs.com domain name and signed up for good hosting.

Fast mover. So what was the hardest part of getting the store launched?

The hardest part was probably being so meticulous about everything.

I don't mean "perfect" by any stretch, but making sure that every facet of the store communicated that a real metalhead was behind everything. To make it engaging and entertaining.

It wasn't good enough to just slap a cool mug on a store with a buy button. I wanted my customers to feel that an authentic human being was showing them something authentically cool and unique.

That's why it took me over a year to actually launch the store.

Over a year. Most people would've launched in a week. During that year of building, did you have any moments of "what the hell am I doing?" or "is this stupid?"

Oh for sure.

Death metal coffee mugs is a pretty nichey-niche.

But I whole-heartedly believe I'm ahead of the curve here. It's not for everybody, but I've been surprised at how many unexpected people have reacted positively.

When the right people see our mugs, it'll speak to them.

The Why

Alright, let's dig deeper. Why does this matter to you? Beyond just "mugs are cool.” What's the deeper reason you keep doing this?

I'm bringing something truly unique and cool to people that will make them smile first thing in the morning. They do that for me so I figure others will have a similar reaction.

I like to think DMM represents a calling card for genuine authenticity in a world increasingly controlled by two-faced corporate interests.

When you see someone using a DMM mug, whether it's a photo online or in person, what goes through your head?

It brings me utter joy seeing people using my mugs and calling it their new "favorite mug!"

It feels like we're all connected together, even unknowingly, through our shared interests. It's like we're all in a club together, and the secret handshake is a sip of coffee from one of the mugs.

What do you hope people are getting out of it?

I hope people are getting a spark of joy each morning from the mugs. A little grin when they open their cabinet and see it.

Sparking joy within yourself is the proper way to start any day.

On a deeper level, I hope that some of my mugs actually help people feel more motivated and confident in life.

Take my Kaizen mug for example. It's one of my personal favorite mugs. It might sound silly at first, but it's undeniable that greeting yourself in the morning with a motivational message will help direct how your morning goes. And how your morning goes often determines how the rest of the day goes.

When I know I have work to do, I grab that mug.

If you could talk to yourself back on that morning in 2022 when you first thought "I need a Black Coffee mug in a metal font," before you'd even opened GIMP, what would you tell yourself?

Jeez, I probably wouldn't say anything. I'd just stroll over to myself, holding the Black Coffee mug, give a knowing nod, take a sip, and warp back through the wormhole.

Everything has worked out as it should, and will continue to do so.

The Now

How many mugs have you designed now?

About 45 or so designed now. A handful aren't available on the site yet but will be eventually though.

Do you have a favorite?

I don't have a solid favorite, but a few definitely appear in the morning routine more than others. My 2 original Black Coffee and Stonks mugs for sure. I grab the Kaizen mug pretty often. When I'm feeling cheeky or it's FOMC day, I grab the Conspiracy Realist mug. Gone Squatching also gets used a bunch, because who doesn't like Sasquatch?

FOMC day equals Conspiracy Realist mug. I love that. What's surprised you most about this journey?

Probably how dang long it took to actually launch.

And finally: what's next? Where do you want to take DMM?

My current vision is to get my mugs on the same shelf as those boring mugs in Target to give more people the opportunity to see and choose something with actual personality.

There it is, the origin story of Death Metal Mugs.

From a morning listening to Immortal and wishing for something cooler than a Target mug, to building a brand that stands for genuine authenticity in a world drowning in corporate bullshit.

Just a guy who wanted a cool mug, learned he could make things, and decided to share that with people who get it.

It's a calling card. A secret handshake. A tribe. And if you're reading this, you're probably in it.

Want to join the club? Check out the DMM collection and find your mug.