2021-Current
I have spent half my life contributing to the social media monsters that be and have spent my entire life believing history while being programmed to choose between Mcdonald’s and Burger King or buy Polo and Nike cause its “cool”. These last few years have made me adjust and refocus my energy as I have realized I enjoy life itself more than material things, not the digital hype machine and commercial propaganda programming.
The human interaction, traveling, experiencing moments, talking out an issue, even waiting for something to arrive or release for months. Things like that are taken for granted and while I have taken a step back I have enjoyed getting back in touch with these simpler ways of life. I have started to seek other advice that traditional methods and have more questions now than ever. I look forward to the next chapter of this journey and hope you enjoy my evolving biography.
2011-2020
This decade started about the same as the last, 2 major losses of loved ones, opening and closing my first solo storefront and having to move back home to rebuild. At the time, these days were tough and I thought I would never get back to where I had been, however in hindsight I was about to find myself and figure out life for the first time enabling me to grow into a great space mentally and physically.
When I moved back to the Chambersburg area I was able to reconnect with an old friend and rekindle my love for making music as we produced a few albums under the name Artisan Idiom. Also during this time I met a wonderful woman and started the best relationship of my life as I also found a profession in sales to help me become financially stable. As long days at a desk took their toll I started to inline skate again and have been growing the local skate community in the DMV with Dem Hombres.
2001-2010
I moved to Philadelphia to help good friend open a store on South St. called Pedestrian. We opened in November of 2005 with a bang and rode the wave until the recession crushed us in 2008. Through PEDX I met a ton of amazing people while experiencing unique access to the city and hoping bars with the homies on fixies. As Pedestrian closed I transitioned to a new role with local screen printers Fresh Melt Water to help in growing the brand with a storefront and retailers like Urban Outfitters. We printed thousands of shirts over the next few years and even had a hit with Urban and printed 15,000 units of a shirt all because Lil’ Wayne wore it!
1991-2000
As I entered my teenage years I started becoming more open minded and explorative with the help of skating and hip-hop culture. I had a variety of friends that were into different cultures and believes which opened my eyes to a new world.
From about 93-99 I traveled with my friends to Silver Spring, MD to ride the metro to skate street in DC all day. All I did was skate and watch skate movies, morning, noon and night. Those days shaped my interest in art, fashion, music and style. On through High School my focus on fashion, art and Volkswagen started to take over as new friends brought about a new sport in snowboarding to keep me active. My first car was a 1984 VW Rabbit GTi 5 speed that I broke and rebuilt with my dad before I graduated in the spring of 2000 and moved out with a few friends that summer as we rebuilt an old house and partied every day. I started building pools in the summer and working ski lifts in the winter at Whitetail Ski Resort.
1981-1990
Born on December 1, 1981, at The Chambersburg Hospital to Vicki and Nick Papoutsis, I lived in a trailer in St. Thomas, PA until I was 3, then we moved to E. Liberty St. in Chambersburg, PA. As a kid I enjoyed riding bikes, WWF, playing organized sports and video games. I grew up with Jordan’s on my feet, Guns and Roses in my walkman and Star Wars in the VHS player. I had a middle class up bringing, both my parents were very hard working to make ends meet and support us. We had Italian family diners on Sundays and TGIF Pizza nights but home cooked meals were on the table every other night.
As a kid I enjoyed drawing much more than reading or writing, I liked playing outside and running around town with the older kids getting into our little bit of trouble until the street lights came on. As my older friends started going to school I met more kids my age and started to get into clothing, hip-hop, comic books and Magic the Gathering before my teens this started to get me away from organized sports and find my own personal interests.
