San Antonio has a thriving local music scene full of genres such as country, metal, indie and most importantly, punk. As a genre, punk rock is described as an overt, loud, political and DIY culture. Snail Society was founded with an accepting local scene and a love for custom goods. 

Snail Society is a pop-up shop run by Kendall Hernandez. From selling at small venues such as Graffiti House to setting up shop at ditch shows, Snail Society is becoming a staple of the local music scene. Snail Society sells must-haves for the punk community like patches, pins, upcycled clothing and will even be producing merchandise for bands such as @HerLoveBeheadsDaisies on Instagram.

“I started [Snail Society] because I was bored,” Hernandez said. “I’ve been a part of the music scene here [in San Antonio] for maybe like four or five years and was I already making stuff, so I was like f–k it, let’s do it.” 

While Snail Society is currently DIY, using bleach to paint shirts and recycled paper to make stickers, Hernandez has dreams of expanding Snail Society’s ventures. 

“I want to start screenprinting. I’ve been getting really into that, and I’ve been trying to make that happen,” Hernandez said. “I think expanding into real printed shirts would be really cool. I’ve also been working on some cool stuff with flannels, so y’all will have to be on the lookout for that new stuff.” 

With punk comes politics. Punk music is a heavily political and opinionated sphere of music, with stickers representing movements such as All Cops Are Bastards (ACAB), riot grrrl — a women-led feminist punk subculture— and Eat the Rich. Hernandez and Snail Society stick to that closely.

“I don’t really like cops, which I guess is kind [of] a punk thing. I support … [movements] like ACAB and Eat the Rich, and so do a lot of other [people] in the local scene,” Hernandez said. “I’m pretty political and I think it’s cool that I’m able to play into that with Snail Society and my art. I think riot grrrl is dope. The message that the culture is trying to put out is something I heavily associate with. A lot of people say stuff like ‘punk and riot grrrl are dead,’ but I think it’s really making a comeback, and I’m here for it.”

For more information about Snail Society, check out their Instagram @0_snail_society_0. The next show Snail Society is attending will be held at 7:30 p.m on Oct. 22 at Nani Falcone Skatepark, 8701 Mystic Park, San Antonio, TX, 78254.