The World of T-Shirts Experience

“ Think Your New York City Vacation Can't Get Any Better? Think Again

Book Your East Village and North Brooklyn Tour Inspired by @worldoftshirts on TikTok

New York’s Only Multi-Borough Walking Tour

” — The tour's official website

The World of T-Shirts Experience is an unlicensed (illegal) guided "tour" of New York City, created by and hosted by Joshua Block.

Background

The first tour seemingly took place on March 11, 2023; early tours were accompanied by Michael Quinn, and cost $40 per person. Josh reported making "$300 in one hour".

The Tour

“ You will learn about the charming history of The East Village Neighborhood of Manhattan. You will get to taste an authentic New York City Egg Cream only available in the NYC Metropolitan Area. You will take a journey down St Marks Place New York's Hippiest Streets. You Will Learn about the History of Abraham Lincoln and his encounters in the East Village. You will also get to experience some of NYC's Most Famous and Iconic Businesses along with my Life Changing Encounters in the East Village. Best of All Ill Give A Sing Along of New York, New York By Frank Sinatra. You Will Tour The Charming area of Williamsburg and Downtown Brooklyn. You will have the opportunity to Try the Famous Juniors Cheesecake The Most Fabulous Cheesecake in the World. You will then learn about the World Famous Hoyt-Schermerhorn Subway Stop Then You Will learn about the music industry and gentrification of Williamsburg Before A Live Singing Performance of Beastie Boys No Sleep Till Brooklyn Wrapping up with a Complementary Drink at World Class Bar. ” — Official Website

Unlike what is advertised, the tour can more accurately be described as walking around with a drunken Josh bar-crawling.

Logistics

The logistics of the tour are very unprofessional, with multiple posts citing Josh abruptly giving a location to meet less than an hour before the tour is supposed to begin.

Free Tours

It's possible to easily get onto the tour for free, because Josh has little way of enforcing payment aside from making a scene in the streets. TTS donations on Mr. Based's streams have confirmed that Josh (unsuprisingly) hates the idea of people not paying to attend the tour.

Notable Incidents

• Mr. Based's earliest appearances in the World of T-Shirts lore involved him stream-sniping Josh's tours.

• During the "Make it Stop" Incident, Josh's tour guests even had to go find him at Mr. Based's apartment as he was unresponsive from being passed out. In this instance, the guests attempted to make him give the tour, but Josh failed to make it past stumbling down Based's apartment steps, at which point the guests just left.
• On an October 4, 2024 tour, a Vice camera crew was present.

Legal Status

In New York City, operating paid guided tours without proper licensing is illegal. The city's Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) requires all commercial tour guides to obtain a Sightseeing Guide license, which mandates passing an exam on NYC history and landmarks and paying a fee. Joshua's World of T-Shirts Experience is in direct violation of this order, but so are hundreds, if not thousands of other guided tours. As such, while Josh's tour business is techincally illegal, the city won't enforce it.

Waiver

In an attempt to cover himself legally, Josh created a "liability waiver" (which he possibly types out every single time), covering inherent risks of navigating the streets of New York such as "rat bites" and "community related violence". It's unlikely that this waiver would even hold up in any legal situation.