Tell us about how you got into skateboarding?
I do not exactly remember the first time I picked up a skateboard, but I do remember my brother always having a board laying around the house. I was always intrigued looking at it for sure, the grip being written on and cut lines always caught my eye as a kid. I really got into skating more towards mid-late grammar school when some of my friends were doing it often. I was skating before and after school all the time on DIY ramps, rails, boxes etc. (basically anything my friends and I could find we would make into something skate able). Surfing came around the same time (since I live by the beach in NJ). The two were always something I picked up when I was not in school or had sports going on.
How did you come up with the name Space Bat Killer?
The name Space Bat Killer was based off a painting I did of a bats head on one of my surfboards around the time hurricane Sandy hit the coast in NJ. The bat had big eyes, small nose and large sharp teeth and mouth. I made it more of a psychedelic/odd looking animal with some lines and shapes connected. I have always used my normal name as an artist, but felt I needed to change it up a bit and went weirder with it. The name SBK stuck with me for a few years and I decided to turn it into my artist name and IG handle, people seem to always dig it.
Is it hard to build a team ? What does it take to be part of your team?
My team consists of myself. I never could see things the same as anyone else I tried to work with in person. I am not too much of a social person in general and have always done my own thing with working, spending a lot of time in my studio space when I get inspiration. I have been pushing my art for so many years now (10 + at least), I have it down well.
With the industry being flooded with new pros that we never heard of from smaller brands. What is your opinion on that?
I sort of like the up-and-coming smaller brands just because the riders always seem to be a bit more diverse in style. Usually there is a lot more creativity going on from the smaller guys and you can see the passion for the brand/rider pushing their limits with totally different street skating. To me a lot of the big names out there can sometimes tend to look remarkably similar and the skating can all fall in the same boat at times.
What makes Space Bat Killer different than other brands out-there?
It is just me here, I have been experimenting with different techniques for my illustrations/collages for years. Underground and small. I finally have a good thing going for myself and like what I am doing, it has taken some time to figure out the right path with my works. I do not have to try to impress people because I never wanted that as a person. My drawings are all done with sharpie markers and my collages are all hand chopped up, I think my stuff will always stand out in the pack. People always seem drawn to my work, both the drawings/collages inspire me to keep pushing myself, been digging the brighter colors and wildness. Nothing will ever be the same.
Do you or do you have someone come up with the graphics/designs ever?
I do all the graphics myself, especially for when I have stuff printed onto apparel. Hand-drawn illustrations and all analog collages, like I said above. I work with so many companies out there and always seem to have an overflowing amount of work stocked piled in my art studio. I have had a few artists over the past few years contribute for my little side clothing line @evilparadise, but for the most part it is always all my own stuff. People can buy pre-order shirts I have available, art prints, stickers, socks and during winter/spring I usually hit the goodwill stores in NJ and buy thrift to be printed on and re-sell with one off designs of mine.
Do you think it is hard from being from NJ to get your brand out-there compare to some brand from Cali?
I have already shown I can get my work recognized out internationally and in the west being from where I live. I think for anyone living in CA it could be more convenient if you were looking to work for a major skate/surf company because they are mainly out there. We do not have much on our coastline here, just smaller brands.
Let us say: I am a shop owner, you come to my shop & you want me to carry your brand. How would you get me to carry Space Bat Killer in my store?
In the past I used to sell my gear in small surf shops locally, did a ton of pop-up shops during summertime at coffee shops and businesses. It has always sold, and people really were drawn to my work, but I never reached the level where I genuinely wanted to keep pushing gear into shops. I like doing it more hands on and here and there, instead of having it produced in abundance and thrown into tons of major stores. I want to keep going into pushing my stuff in limited runs, as always, especially the one-off thrift I find and sell. It is cooled to see how different each design I pick out translates DTG printed on the items I pick out. I only sell through my big cartel site – www.evilparadiseco.bigcartel.com.
What is Space Bat Killer’s day like?
I am much busier during the wintertime; it is when I push my work the most and reach out or have companies hitting me up to work with them. A normal studio day would be checking my email or DM and starting new drawing projects, scanning work, and putting it into photoshop. Days can be exceptionally long or short, really depends on how motivated I am feeling to get work done. I like to work heavy on my collages at times then switch back to drawings and vice versa. Summer weather now has been great for skate/surf, so I have been trying to get on it while I can, it gets brutally cold in NJ during winters.
Thank you for talking with us & wish you the best of luck with Space Bat Killer. Is there anything you want to say to someone that wants to start their own brand?
All I can say is you really need to hustle and put in the time before u decide to dive into your own thing. I experimented with so many different mediums and worked with so many different brands, it comes easy once the years move on. Just keep at it and you need to want to do what you do, or you will end up getting lost in something else.
