Spotlight: Inside Abstract Denver, the city's hip streetwear promoter

Aaron Cohrs and Dave Roggeman made their first foray into local streetwear in 2002 with a T-shirt emblazoned with the slogan "Denver Against the World."

State of play: More than 20 years later, the team behind retailer Abstract Denver — formerly known as INDYINK — says the mission is the same: to prove that artist-designed streetwear isn't just found in New York and Los Angeles.

• And that Colorado's reputation extends beyond the state flag and marijuana.

What they're saying: "We want to highlight where we are from, in Denver and Colorado, and get away from the bicoastal thing. We have good artists here, we have cool stuff to do here," Cohrs tells us.

What's happening: Abstract — with stores in Denver, Aurora and Edgewater — features prints, streetwear and more from local artists that highlight iconic elements of the city, whether a Blue Bear v. Blucifer anime battle or the city's skyline.

• "It doesn't have to be a cheesy tourist thing, either, it can be a really cool design," Cohrs adds.

The intrigue: For our local Spotlight series, we talked to Cohrs and Roggeman about what piques their interests.

Favorite place in Denver:

• Cohrs: RiNo, South Broadway and "neighborhoods where you can walk around"

• Roggeman: Santa Fe Arts District. "It still feels like old Denver."

Favorite places to eat and drink:

• Cohrs: Rooftop patios, like Irish Rover and Historians on South Broadway
• Roggeman: Uncle and Prost in LoHi

Favorite public art:

• Cohrs: "The French Fry," also known as the articulated wall sculpture.
• Roggeman: Blucifer, the blue mustang at the airport

Podcast queue:

• Cohrs: Rick Rubin's, "Tetragrammaton"
• Roggeman: "No Dogs in Space"

Streaming:

• Cohrs: "Breaking Bad"
• Roggeman: HBO's "Perry Mason"