dork magazine.

DM: What's your passion?

Hmmm. Dude, that’s tough. I need to get warmed up for a question like that. Lemme come back to this one.

DM: What keeps you motivated to pursue your passion?

Aw man, I gotta answer the first one for this. Fine!

DM: What’s your passion?

Making stuff. And as much as I love to create, I also love to absorb and build off of what others create. Intellectualism, spirituality, and humor work great for conversation fodder, but at the end of the day, I’m either lying in bed reading something, or painting in a dark corner of my studio.

I’m not really sure what keeps me motivated to pursue my passion. I guess I just feel that I’d be wasting my life away otherwise. The worst feeling is going through an entire day without producing anything.

I’m not a design expert, a Pulitzer-Prize-winning writer, or a gallery artist, but I think those are my gifts, and I love what I do. Just the fact that I can pay my bills off this stuff is motivation enough.

DM: Who are some of your inspirations?

In terms of our brand, Shawn Stussy, Rick Klotz, Xlarge, T&C Surf, Alyasha Owerka-Moore, early ‘90s skate companies (Acme, Underworld Element, Alien Workshop, H-Street, Fuct, SCS, Blind), Paul Mittleman, Alife (Tony, Rob, Arnaud), Greenlady, Dickies, A Bathing Ape’s marketing prowess, Supreme, and Nike.

In terms of art, Futura 2000, Barry McGee, Jeff Soto, Craola, Warhol, Stash, Disney, Pushead, Pollock, Tiffany Bozic, Bill Watterson, Jim Lee, Kaws One, Deph, Jim Davis, Frank Miller, Murakami, Matt Groening, Mike Giant, and the guy who drew those creepy graphite drawings for those “Scary Stories” books.

Writing-wise, it’s an endless list. C.S. Lewis, Steinbeck, Kafka, Salinger, Rilke, Nietzsche. As of recently, Malcolm Gladwell’s “The Tipping Point” and “Blink” were pretty good. But last night, I finished a book by Khaled Hosseini called “Kite Runner” that was just ballistic.

DM: Favorite Song?

Of course I’m not gonna choose just one.

Refused “New Noise”
Farside “Audience”
Drowningman “And Clean Getaways”
Rod Stewart “Maggie May”
Pennywise “Unknown Road”
Earth Crisis “Firestorm”
R.E.M. “Night Swimming”
Kurupt “Who Ride Wit Us”
Shelter “Here We Go”
At the Drive In “Initiation”
El-P “Delorean”
Lifetime “Ostrichsized”
Zao “Exchange”
Get Up Kids “Stay Gold, Ponyboy”
Mineral “Dolorosa”
Radiohead “Anyone Can Play Guitar,” “Everything in its Right Place”
Steve Miller Band “Serenade”
Gorilla Biscuits “Stand Still”
Weezer “Jamie”
Big L “Ebonics”
Avail (anything off “4 AM Friday”)
Jimmy Eat World “Clarity”
Operation Ivy “Take Warning”
Promise Ring “Red Paint”
Guns N Roses “November Rain”
DJ Quik “Down, Down, Down”
Mr. Lif “Status”

…ok, I’ll stop now.

DM: Favorite Movie?

Chasing Amy (actually, every Kevin Smith flick), Karate Kid I, Plan B’s Virtual Reality, The Outsiders, Back to the Future II, Return of the Jedi, Debbie Does Blockhead, Fight Club, Suburbia, Powell-Peralta’s Ban This, Requiem for a Dream, Life as a House, High Fidelity…

DM: One thing that you can't live without?

My Muse. Oh, and Thai food.

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peace. taj