I liked the idea of using my name in my "thing". And yet you would meet some busybodies who were a "company" and they would play the part. And I used all the hours, weeks, months and years to fight hard to make something out of this stuff.
Questionable Words From Questionable People
The thing about Aaron Draplin is this: he's a boy from Michigan who washed dishes on trains in Alaska. Having sat next to this man for over a decade, I can confirm that he is the real deal.
Growing Up
A beautiful small town upbringing.”
Humble Beginnings in Detroit, Growing Up in Central Lake and Then Plotting
I had thirty kids in my class all the way from that first day of kindergarten in 1978 until I left in the spring of 1987. And then I snapped when I looked him in the eye and called his bluff. his.
High School
Leaving the Nest
Move somewhere wild.”
That day in Wyoming, there were a couple of young girls in a Saab that passed Bry and I.
Moving Out West
Down the hill to catch Bry at his home on Pine Street and further west. We bought our season passes, which guaranteed us access to the mountain, and that was all that mattered.
Reveling in the Analog
My Summer as a Carny
Our down time on the road was spent reading, drawing, tossing between ports and sweating nights out in the fifth wheel. It put smiles on the faces of the mushrooms and maybe, just maybe, made them feel like someone told them about their plight. Accusing us of "making Rose clean up after us" - which was nonsense; we always cleaned up the place, as we were supposed to - and by "not caring anymore". He was getting closer to the latter, as our pay remained the same with days at work that were more and more every weekend.
At the end of the night, we were "trained" to put pant hoses on the discharge drain and then discharge the waste water into the grass or dirt, trapping all the dirt in the pant hoses, then removing them and closing the drain back up. This was against the law, as waste water should be discharged into a state-approved container. We stormed out and walking to the wagon the next morning, we were.
Once we were on the road, we bought the guy some smokies or a big Dew or something and he drove us all the way to Escanaba, down by the lake.
Four Summers up in Alaska
Dishwashers are at the very bottom of the kitchen food chain and always get the crappy end of the spray nozzle. I poured a small splash of milk into each of the servers' range coolers, which meant that during final inspections, they had to pull everything back out, clean up the milk, and put it all back in. These are chefs who stayed with me until the end every night, helping until the last dish was finished.
I remember riding my bike to that screen printer four times to return all the t-shirts. I had been working on washing dishes for this moment for five months and was so excited for the delivery. You can leave him, but he will never leave you.” Something so poetic and I remember rolling my eyes and counting down the hours until I would hop on that flight back to the Lower 48.
At the end of April every year I still get a little anxious when I think about going back to the train.
Digital Explosion
Minneapolis College of Art & Design
I just had to spend a summer in Alaska and then I was going to Minneapolis to start school in the fall. From my first graphic design class to those final couple projects, the process was something that seeped into you. In several projects, Jerry taught us not only how to look at a single sheet of paper in a new light, but more importantly, how to design our own lives.
It quickly taught you how to enjoy every little letter shape, and how important each piece was. I'd run a big batch scan and then explore the archives, peek into Todd and Chuck's cubicles, or go down a floor to eavesdrop on Aaron Dimmel in the photo studio. Even though I was mostly self-taught, I knew school would be good for me.
I learned so many tactile things at MCAD: welding, building things out of wood, metalworking, sandblasting, screen printing, publication design with Jan Jancourt, book binding with Jody Williams, and the power of the graphic novel.
Gainful Employment
My First Job out of College
I told them I would do two cycles of the spell and was determined to clear any issues. With the new team assembled, it was an opportunity to restore the magic, ditching the clichéd writing, photography and design styles. We had some intense battles to cover, inside with our team, and then with the ball.
This is the one place on which the higher people would weigh; all the analysis and cover tricks would kind of be forced on us. Design school taught me how to listen, weigh the options, and then show solutions to solve the problem. Summers were intense, but there would be a lull after Christmas where all the writers and photographers would hit the road and scramble to gather content for the coming year.
Here's what I'm most proud of about my time at Snowboarder: These guys were my brothers, and it was up to us to make it work.
Cinco Design Office
I put in my notice, started shopping for a house and made plans to strike out on my own. My original idea for the Dork was sketched on a barf bag on the way back from Encinitas, all excited after a big Nixon product meeting.
Independence
Going out on my own.”
Getting Ahead By Any Means Necessary
I always tried to buy the best computers I could afford, careful to cover every transaction. Each month I filled out the check, put it in the envelope, stamped it, and sent it off, worrying about its delivery and subsequent considerations about my balance. I remember freaking out over the possibility that my envelope would get lost in the mail and it would be some kind of "ding" on my account and credit.
The girl on the other end chirps a tinny "Oh, it's for twenty-thousand-something-or-other-dollars." It seemed a bit high. There's something to be said for frugality, and, hell, not really knowing any better. I remember reading some quip about how the author was "the freest I've ever been when I could fit all my contents into one backpack." It stuck with me all these years.
And sure, it's a bit obsessive, but I know that these small steps have gotten me to where I am today.
Coal Headwear
Eventually we would use action photography, and when we did it was our perspective and not from the latest movie or clique. He calmed down, told me what he was thinking, and I said, “Hey, put that in.” I prefer his voice. That's important, because there's nothing more damaging than elevating a brand above the people who will use it.
They showed me the close, friendly relations we had between the people who make the coal, shoot it, organize it, sell it and. And, my favorite of all, it's a nice test to see a friend with a great sense of design, photography and organizational skills who is willing to work long hours to make something big out of something. Small.
Coal Headwear Advertising
Coal Logo Vault
Starting a Snowboarding Magazine
To get us all in one place, we had to focus and use the time together. We would have seven to eight days to build the magazine, with files released to the printer on the twenty-fifth hour of the last night. The debates were always about making good decisions or choosing the best shot on the front page.
About three thousand pages later, we've scrapped seven years of the magazine, at least enough to pay them all. We put it all on the line and the first couple numbers earned the trust of the brands that would eventually be the magician's success. We sold it to the Freeskier group in Boulder in 2011 and the warehouse just hit its eleventh season.
It would begin the night before the files were due, with debates and arguments raging through the night.
Snowboard Magazine Spreads
Union Binding Co
And you know, you get off the plane, rush to Colica and Martino puts you to work. Next time you're in Colic, check out the guy's roof and you'll know what the hell I'm talking about. We were notorious for having problems, for leaving the lights on because Italy was buying their electricity from Libya.
On one of my last visits to Colico for work, George and I had an early flight back to the US from Milan. The guy woke us up early and we were already on the windy road back to Milan. He was muttering something to us in Italian between puffs of cigarette smoke and who knows what the hell this guy was.
We somehow got to the Milan airport, unloaded our shit, and as we were saying goodbye and shaking hands and shit, I said, “If you ever come to Portland, I'm going to kill you.
Union Binding Co. Catalog Spreads
Grenade Gloves
Matt could sell sand to a camel and the industry loved his enthusiasm and crazy energy. The line grew, the stores that had the stuff lined up, and the stuff got better and better every time I checked in. People were leaving, people were coming on board, and I'll never forget sitting across the table from one of the scariest people I've ever dealt with.
It's my favorite snowboard brand I've worked for because it embodied a youthful "don't give a shit" attitude, didn't take itself too seriously, and made cool shit for the wild kids.
