Welcome to the official home of The Region Rat © : the one and only place to purchase officially licensed Region Rat merchandise. Looking for our social media? We don’t have any: the rat stays oldschool…

…Now let’s talk about history:

The Region Rat was first envisioned by Tim King while a student at Millikin University in the 1980’s : a time during which he also worked for the carpenters union at LTV Steel. King, the son and nephew of steelworkers, wished to pay tribute to the place he called home and to the many industry workers he began to meet in his early career as a signman serving the Northwest Indiana/Chicagoland region.

The term “region rat” goes hand and hand with the term “mill rat” which has long been used to describe those busting their chops within our many factories, oil refineries, and steel mills of the Northwest Indiana region. King’s vision was fully brought to life in the early 1990’s when he sought the help of artist Dave Mantel…and the suspender wearing, cigar smoking/pint drinking (off duty), mill worker Region Rat has stood the test of time as an embodiment of Midwest grit ever since. A homage to our generations of hardworking industry workers: an iconic piece of region history.


The Region Rat and accompanying materials are registered copyrights with The United States Copyright Office.
All Region Rat Goods are made in the USA.

© 1992 - 2024 REGION RAT LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

© 1992 - 2024 REGION RAT LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED