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Tuesday, December 21, 2010

ANDROID


One of the last things I worked on before I leaving TapouT was the Android project. Basically the deal is this, they have 10 artist that are chosen to design artwork for the company mascot. Unfortunately this was during the time Authentic Brands Group bought the company so I'm afraid its never going to see the light of day. What a waste, oh well...

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

10,000 Miles

Over the weekend  I flew to Canada for some work at the Tapout Training Center in Gatineau. I arrived into Ottawa airport around midnight after a long flight(2,500 miles). When I got to Customs they asked for the purpose of my visit and I responded naturally with "I'm here for work."  Well let me tell you something, if your a foreigner and you say "I'm here for work," get ready to pack your shit and return wherever you came from. They allowed me to pass but I had to return to airport at 4pm and take a plane back to Los Angeles. They held on to my passport and told me I would have a warrant out for my arrest if I didn't comply.
After returning to Los Angeles with 5,000 miles under my belt, I gave it another shot...silly Custom Officers, they don't call us Mexicans border jumpers for nothing! This time around the purpose of my trip was business. "What kind of business you say?" I needed to inspect the artwork and murals painted in the gym. For some reason Customs thought I was going to paint the murals here, how they got this crazy idea is beyond me. I can barely draw stick figures. Overall I would have to say I had a great time up there, made some friends and "INSPECTED" lots of artwork.
If any of you plan on going to Gatineau, Canada or live nearby check out the gym. They have an amazing staff, awesome facility, and a big event coming up this Saturday. Tapout crew and Dan Hardy will be there signing. For more info, check out the link.
http://tapoutworldwide.com/gyms/gatineau/

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Angels and Devils

Before ending my Vegas trip I stopped by the Truesport office to finish this piece. Unfortunately I forgot to charge the battery on my camera so I had to settle for a picture on my cell phone.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Out with the old

After almost 10 years, I finally resigned from TapouT. I left due to the direction the company has taken. Technically I resigned from ABG who bought TapouT after Marc “Fat Disco Fuck” Kreiner drove it to the ground. ABG is a newly formed licensing company in New York that bought TapouT and some lesser-known MMA apparel brands.
They kept a handful of employees after purchasing TapouT but after working a little over a month for these guys I couldn’t help but look for the nearest exit. I realized working here any longer would result in a company policy vasectomy. On top of that the loud mouth running this operation says “MMA is just another word for Karate.” The poor guys completely clueless but still decides to jump in front of a camera and do interviews. They want to change the image, logo, slogan, and just about anything else that distinguishes the TapouT brand. They say they want to make the new TapouT “Soft and Sexy.” In the end I felt it would be disrespectful to Charles “Mask” Lewis” if I continued to work there. Charles Lewis was the founder of TapouT and what I see now isn’t the vision he intended for his company.
This change couldn’t have happened at a better time though; lets see what kinda trouble awaits in 2011.