Nice Kicks: So, the gas masks serve as a type of symbolism?
Freehand Profit: Right. You?re staring at it, and it?s going to remind you a little bit that the world is kind of messed up right now. We are at war on our own soil with protests and fighting. In a country that?s governed by fear, and fear has become such a tactic in government, not here, but probably all over the world. The gas mask symbolizes that. There?s an irony to it, too, because people fear the gas mask. There are feelings of fear that are brought up when they see that because of all these other issues that surround it, but it?s actually a protection device. So, it?s kind of like fearing the vest instead of the gun.
The masks are intended as art pieces. They bridge the gap. They are an art piece. They are a collection piece for the sneakerhead. Hopefully, we?ll continue to make waves on the art scene because the art scene is sort of afraid of hip hop. It took them how many years to warm up to graffiti? So my goal is to be a hip hop artist in the sense of how ?Futura??was and like Tinker is. My inspirations are drawn from such a wide variety of sources. It?s Nas, Rakim, and Jay(-Z), but it?s also Tinker, cats from the design world, and graffiti artist.?My favorite (graffiti artist) was Daim?(pronounced Dime), which is a German cat that uses these wild 3-D graffiti styles. I think a lot of the way he used lines I find in the sneakers. So I think that was probably a big influence for me.
Nice Kicks: That is indeed a spectrum of influences.
Freehand Profit:?Stuff like Marvel comics were a huge influence. Arthur Adams, Jim Lee, and all those guys I take inspirations and influences from, and it comes out weird [laughs] because it?s such an influx of information. I feel like we?re all dealing with that in today?s culture. We have everything just flooding in from internet, radio, and TV, especially the generation that?s coming up that has never lived without the internet. It?s a total flood of information, so we?re all trying to figure out how to exist with all this information. So my stuff is that outlet. That?s what the world is putting in, and this is what I?m putting out.
Nike LeBron P.S Elite 9 “South Beach” Gas Mask PreviewNice Kicks: That?s really smart, especially the idea of ?surviving the Apocalypse.? At first glance, many asked why a guy would make gas masks from shoes. They didn?t get it but thought it was a dope idea. It makes sense now. Was that the inspiration that lead to the book The Army of the Undeadstock?
It is. I wanted to release a book that would feature the masks and new masks as well. A buddy of mine from San Diego, Beselah?writes Haiku poetry, and he?s a sneakerhead and hip hop head as well. He said, ?Man we need to team up and put this book together. I?ll write the Haikus, and you got the masks. Let?s make it happen.? I was thinking, ok let?s do it. We were originally aiming for a summer release, but I have some masks now that are in the works that HAVE to be in there. There are about 20 masks that I?m hoping to have done in time for the book. There will definitely be ones that folks have never seen before. It?s going to be mainly an art book to display the photographs, but there is also going to be a little bit of writing there from me about the work and his (Beselah) Haikus to tie it all together.
The real spirit behind it is, if we are going to be sneakerheads, ROCK THEM! Don?t just let them rot on the shelf because they?re just going to die there. That?s kind of how I came up with the idea for the title, The Army of the Undeadstock.?It?s for the ?heads out there that are rocking their kicks and letting them be seen.?You know what I mean? Walk right and take care of them, and they will last for years. I?m actually looking forward to wearing mine when they are all beat up. My boy gave me a pair of ?Grape? 5?s that were just beat to s***, and I have to stop myself from rocking them every day because they?re broken in. To me, there is nothing better than a pair of broken in 5?s. Pre-orders will be available in November, so that they are shipping out in time for the holidays
Nice Kicks: How can people get their hands on the book, and where can they find out more about Freehand Profit?
Freehand Profit: The book will probably be available through www.Profitink.com. It?s going to be independently published, so I may have a way, once my inventory is gone, that it will be available through Blurb or something like that.
The best place to find information is www.Freehandprofit.com. I also sell masks, t-shirts, and sticker packs through www.Profitink.com. My twitter and instagram are both @freehandprofit. My Facebook is www.facebook.com/MASK365.
Christian Louboutin Gas Mask PreviewStay tuned to Nice Kicks for upcoming information on a giveaway from Freehand Profit.
