ZINES
I’ve always been sparked by print and analog media, growing up with skateboard magazines and product catalogs showing up at our doorstep monthly, I simply couldn’t get enough of it. Print was more accessible and in your face until the ever-evolving revolution that is social media gained demand and viewership. I, myself included indulged in video stemming a career path from it. Still, there is something personal that comes with shooting film photography, zine making, and the simple act of creating something you can hold, especially in the digital world we live in today.
ZOOM
In the late summer of 2014 going into my senior year of high school, my step-great-grandfather on my mother’s side passed away, and to my surprise, a box of cameras was brought to my father’s home. Shocked by my curiosity I was thrilled for this new outlet of opportunity, and the unknowing tale of my late great-grandfather’s hobbies of artistic expression. His Canon AE-1 Program is one of the many cameras within this box and it opened something in my life right then and there. In December 2014 I graduated high school and made the move to the suburbs of Chicago, I remember taking my last high school final, walking out the door, and immediately driving to my mom’s house in Illinois. Zoom Zine is the collection of my favorite photographs I shot within the remainder of the year, a testament to this massive milestone in my life’s history of the first step taken towards a dream, and the first time I put anything together of my work in a physical form sparking a love for print and analog media.
UNCUFFED
2015 was filled with many milestones and life hammers to my young creative endeavors. Graduating high school, getting my first full-time job, taking my first solo trip to Portland, Oregon, visiting Vienna, Austria, and uprooting my simple, midwestern, corn-fed life to the sunny, palm tree-lined streets of the “dreams can come true” place that is Los Angeles without prior visitation to embark this filmmaking journey. Unfortunately given the nature of an 18-year-old “starving artist” in Hollywood I wasn’t able to print this one, but it sure had its space on Tumblr. There wasn’t too much promotion revolving around its release, I would say that this zine is mostly something for myself
Doing America
2016 had one of, if not the biggest breaks in my life and my filmmaking and skateboarding career by joining the Zumiez Best Foot Forward Contest Series Tour, stretching over four months and forty stops, traveling close to the entirety of the mainland United States (and a few parts of Canada). This is one of my greatest experiences, and documenting the fast times we were living in is extremely gratifying. Nothing beats looking back at what I did over the summer when I was 19 traveling with legendary and professional skateboarders, as well as, meeting and befriending the next and future generation of skateboarders.
Another Day In Paradise
Another Day in Paradise revolves around my second year on the Zumiez Best Foot Forward Tour, expanding to other countries and continents with a few new star players joining the tour, as well as, myself gaining new and more responsibilities within my role and title. Seeing old friends from previous stops and having new friends join on the tour with the sponsoring team, there were a lot of great experiences and opportunities that were at our fingertips for the taking. You always wanted to seize any and every opportunity in a new city with new people, especially if you’re only there for less than twenty-four hours.
Another Day in Paradise 2
The second installment of Another Day In Paradise from my third and final opportunity for the Zumiez Best Foot Forward Contest Series Tour. I am the most proud of this zine for its photographs, layout, and illustrations. I pushed myself to create something different visually trying to incorporate a more ‘scrapbook’ like format and style to bring more of a personal touch to it rather than solely photographs.
Let’s connect and create!