Football shirt addict, actor and a Garfield cuddly toy collection. Cult Kits speaks with Conor McLeod about his obsession that has been channelled into a football shirt collector's fan page with some unlikely collectible combinations. Welcome to the world of Ratboiiiiiiiiphotos.
Cult Kits: For those that may not know much about you, can you tell us a bit about yourself and of course, Ratboiiiiiiiiphotos?
Conor McLeod: I’m Conor McLeod and I collect football shirts. That sounds a bit like AA meeting. I’m Conor McLeod and I’m addicted to football shirts. People I guess might know me more as Ratboiiiiiiiiphotos - I’m the guy that takes photos in football shirts holding a collection of different Garfield teddies and matches them up to frames from the Garfield & Friends TV Series. I’m an Actor which I’ll drop a bit more about later, but I studied at Guildhall School of Music and Drama down in London where I currently reside. However I’m from Glasgow originally.
CK: Now for the all important question, who is your team?
CM: My dad’s a Rangers fan, so although I had a bit of a complex issue with certain aspects of the club, mainly due to being from a Catholic family and myself being very anti-monarchy. I don’t classify myself as British. I always found it difficult which is the honest truth growing up, when in reality most people don’t care about that stuff anymore. It isn’t even given a second thought.
I still always rooted for Rangers to win for my Dad and being outside of Glasgow I’ve found it a bit easier to come to terms with. When I watch games in the pub down here, I don’t involve myself in the stuff I don’t feel comfortable with and if anyone asks I speak freely about my feelings towards those things that made me push away from the club. I was a season ticket holder growing up - I shouldn’t run from that feeling of loving a football club. I say that and then as I said whenever I speak to 99% of fans, nobody gives a f*ck about any of your own beliefs as long as you’re wearing red, white and blue and cheering when Rangers score. I’ve also got a soft spot for Roma and Manchester United.
"I’ve always grew up loving cartoons - all the cartoons from the 80s, 90s and 00s. Scooby Doo, Looney Tunes, Tom & Jerry etc. I wanted to try do something a little bit different and try to combine the things I love to make it something more than just photos of me in football shirts."
I would say I’m a Scotland fan also, I’ve completely fallen in love with The National side again since Steve Clarke has taken over. Me and my mates went to the Euros there, we went over to Spain to watch a qualifier, we’re booking up to head out to Greece soon for the Nations League Play-Off. That’s the games I go to the most these days.
CK: What's the significance of the Garfield in your pics?
CM: I’ve always grew up loving cartoons - all the cartoons from the 80s, 90s and 00s. Scooby Doo, Looney Tunes, Tom & Jerry etc. I wanted to try do something a little bit different and try to combine the things I love to make it something more than just photos of me in football shirts. It was an experiment that people seemed to like and thankfully it’s managed to stand out from the crowd and has got me showcased with people like yourself or OffThePitchArchive. Or got to work with brands like Size? through the page and do a commercial for them as well as their Size?Collections. Which in commercial, we hid a Garfield in the background of the cafe we were shooting in as an Easter Egg for anyone.
CK: You clearly love football shirts – do you have a favourite?
CM: That’s such a hard question - the most sentimental shirt for me is Italy 2002 World Cup shirt from Kappa. That’s the first kit I ever wanted. That was the year and the tournament I fell in love with football and the first team I loved was Italy - mainly due to Francesco Totti.
I remember it so fondly - it was the summer holidays and the games were on so early and I remember my dads mate was Italian and with Scotland not being there, whenever they were playing we’d have a party. I’d bring all my mates round and we’d then go out and just play football from morning til night. I was never out of that Italy shirt. My Mount Rushmore is maybe 1996/98 NAC Breda Away, 1994/96 Rangers Home, 1997/98 St Pauli Home Shirt, 1993 Scotland Away. But then I’m missing Roma 90s bangers - I think they’re all so good that I can’t choose a specific one.
CK: What brand is really doing it right now?
CM: Umbro I think are killing it at the moment - they have made my favourite shirt of this current year, the Wimbledon Away Shirt. They are being so innovative at the moment and making every shirt feel special, not just a template in different colour ways. More brands should follow suit. I also think Kappa are another one that have continued to push the boundaries on football shirts and fashion. The Venezia stuff they were making in recent years was stunning. That gold shirt was a game changer. My other shoutout for 2024/25 kit is St Pauli home shirt - long sleeve. Unbelievable Puma. Please can someone link me with that shirt in long sleeve. I NEED IT.
CK: How many shirts do you have in your personal collection?
CM: I probably own about 200/300 shirts I think. It always changes, sometimes I’ll sell some shirts to fund some other purchases. Sometimes I’ll buy photograph and then sell. Other times I’ll buy with that intention and then the shirt arrives and I fall in love and struggle to part ways with it. There’s some clubs I try to collect shirts of, some specific kits of a team, sometimes I make a list of new releases I want and try pick them up over a season or wait til they’ve wound up in the sale. I’ve got so many shirts that I’ve not photographed or not photographed in a long time that I don’t really need to be buying excessively at the moment.
CK: Which team has the best kits
CM: Of all time? I think it’s hard. Rangers had unbelievable kits during the Adidas/Nike era of the 90s but no offence, Castore is not the one. I’m so glad of the news they’ve joined forces with Umbro again. Roma maybe? They’ve had a few spells where I’ve not been huge on some kits, but that’s because of how high they set the bar. Adidas, ASICS, Kappa, Nike and back to Adidas has produced some incredible stuff over the years. Italian clubs in general. Last few years it would have been Venezia.
CK: Worst kits out there?
CM: Honestly I don’t know if I have a kit I hate. Most things I try to see the good in it. I mainly just hate when a club releases almost the exact same shirt from the previous season, no imagination, no originality and then try to charge you £100 for it. That’s what makes the worst kits for me. It’s why a lot of the time I like clubs away or third shirts, clubs usually feel like they have a little more creative freedom with these.
CK: Best era for kits?
CM: 90s. No doubt about it. 90s. I think what made the 90s so great was there was so many kit makers that we were just seeing the same thing season upon season. Same template, different colours. A slight alteration on the template for the next season but pretty much same shirt, different season. 90s you had ASICS, FILA, Champion, Lotto, Reebok, Pony to name a few. Nike and Adidas were at the very height of their game. It’s why they are the most sought after.
"I have just finished up on Coriolanus at The National Theatre, directed by Lyndsey Turner with David Oyelowo playing Coriolanus. I’ve also just wrapped on doing the voice of the new character in Overwatch 2, Hazard. The 42nd hero in the Overwatch franchise. Both have been two of the most incredible experiences of my life."
CK: What do your friends and family make of your obsession with football kits?
CM: Usually they say “not another one,” when the postman arrives. But they are used to me collecting things - I usually become quite fixated on the things I love and buy in abundance. During lockdown I was buying wrestling figures like it was going out of fashion. Maybe wrestling 90s t-shirts will be the next project. I think there could be a nice crossover in there somewhere. Both peaked in late 90s, early 00s.
CK: You're an actor – what may we have seen you in?
CM: I have just finished up on Coriolanus at The National Theatre, directed by Lyndsey Turner with David Oyelowo playing Coriolanus. I’ve also just wrapped on doing the voice of the new character in Overwatch 2, Hazard. The 42nd hero in the Overwatch franchise. Both have been two of the most incredible experiences of my life. You can also catch me in BBC’s The Control Room and I pop up in Season 2 of Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power series.
CK: Incredible, we'll keep a look out for you in those! How long has the @ratboiiiiiiiiphotos
CM: It’s been going for about a year now, maybe just less with the current vision of the page. It’s grew quite considerably in its first year of being established which I think comes down to producing quality content and doing it most days of the week. I was treating it like a job at times. We started out using 35mm film but sometimes the wait for photos and then having issues with the quality not always being as good as I’d have liked, I moved onto shooting both with film and digital which has been a game changer. I’ve just sort of put the content out there and thankfully it’s resonated with people. Hopefully in 2025 we’ll continue with the same and maybe put a new spin on how to showcase my love for football shirts, cartoons and photography.
CK: What do you think of the current trend in football shirts?
CM: Do you mean the current trend in the popularity of shirts?
CK: Yes, what do you make of the way they seem to have taken over popular fashion?
CM: I think it’s good, it’s nice to see them becoming far more mainstream. It was nice to go to the Euros and see so many retro football shirts. A beautiful sight. I’ve managed to get a lot of my mates on the trend by buying them old Scotland shirts for Christmas and birthdays. They’ve bought me some special shirts in return. Obviously it comes with negatives too - the price increase is never nice but it also means my collection is worth more so swings in roundabouts. However the amount of fakes that have been appearing is shocking. I beg people to buy second hand and buy off sellers with a decent reputation.
CK: It's a battle isn't it. Even for suppliers – the danger of the fake is increasing!
CM: Spend that bit extra for the real thing, you’ll not regret it in the long run. Especially if you’re buying an old retro shirt. I’ve been stung with fakes twice recently, it happens to me who knows a thing or two. Luckily I’ve been refunded both times, but if you are worried about the authenticity, reach out to someone who knows.
They might be able to point you in the right direction. I do understand the increase in fakes, given the amount of shirts clubs are pumping out nowadays I think is shocking. Some teams are producing 4 kits a season. If you’ve got two kids and with the current price of kits and the demand to have current kits - it’ll bankrupt a family. Some people aren’t in the position to drop that kind of money knowing they have to do it all again next season. I bought a Rangers shirt last season, my favourite of the Castore era (not hard) but the orange and navy striped. Think we wore in once. What’s the point?
"Rangers had unbelievable kits during the Adidas/Nike era of the 90s but no offence, Castore is not the one. I’m so glad of the news they’ve joined forces with Umbro again."
I see kids retro shirts on vinted, Depop, sellers going for £20-30 a lot of the time. Buy them. Your kid will look a million times cooler running about with Manchester United 02/03 shirt with Beckham 7 on the back. Maybe seeing more adults with them at games will encourage kids down a similar route.
As for the current trends - as I’ve said, I just hate seeing the same templates being used in different colour-ways. I think it’s cause the game is dominated by two manufacturers then when it comes to the Euros - it felt like it was just the same shirt on repeat. It’s why when something a bit different or a club takes a risk, it goes down a treat. We love it. It goes far beyond the fans of the club buying the shirt - but collectors all over adding it to the must have list. Not always, can’t say I’m a fan of the Nike tick on its side hahaha.
Leave a comment