The Kissing Sailor of San Diego

By The SDN. Brand

San Diego has always been a city built on arrival. People came here through service — drawn by duty, anchored by the ocean, and eventually, by love.

For Terrance “Tehos” Hosley, the founder and creative director of The SDN. Brand, that history runs through his family. His grandparents came from opposite sides of the country — one from Meridian, Mississippi, the other from Dayton, Ohio. Both were called to serve and stationed in San Diego. They brought his parents with them, and what began as a military assignment, turned into love, which then became home.

Hosley represents a generation born from that legacy — a first-generation San Diego Native whose roots trace back to service, migration, and resilience. His story mirrors countless others across the city. Families who arrived through the military, stayed to build a life, and helped shape San Diego into the community it is today.

The Kissing Sailor statue at Seaport Village has long been a landmark of reunion — a sailor and a nurse frozen in time, symbolizing love at the end of war. For Hosley, it means something more. It’s a quiet monument to the reason so many call this place home — the embrace that began generations.

The Kissing Sailor of San Diego tee reframes that image through the lens of identity and origin. It’s not about tourism. It’s about lineage — about honoring the people who came here through service and became San Diego Native.

For the ones who served.
For the ones who stayed.
For the ones who became San Diego Native.