Interview conducted by: Duane FernandezFor leftfieldproject.com featured designer / artist series
Where have you been these days?
I have been working on lots of projects this year, film, animation, home essential design, fashion, paper goods, jewelry, a lot of painting and traveling.
In the last 12 months I got married, launched a bunch of new brands, and traveled a bunch. Art shows, speaking engagements, creative presentations in Las Vegas, Barcelona, Sydney, Brisbane, Hamburg, Atlanta, New York, Philly, Chicago, Virginia Beach, Orange County, Los Angeles, Hawaii. Next month I am in Buenos Aires for a live painting and interviews, and in December Ginger and I go to Malaga Spain for another show.
Highlight of the year?
Getting married to the most wonderful woman on the planet (and hottest), Ginger Che.
I consider you to be one of the most progressive / entrepreneurial minded people I know - How many companies have you founded or co-founded? Can you name them all?
Hmm...How about brands? Because some have fallen under the same corporate umbrella.
Fluid Motion
New Deal
Underworld Element
Element
411 Video Magazine
Zero Sophisto
Sophisto
Girly Things
MTN
Freedom Video
Rowdy Industries
Imagewerks
eggprojects
Un1versal Mind
Better Chemistry
Hollywood Starlet
Daydream
In Crowd
Paradigm
Study Hall
Cheesebooger Monarch
ZeroPop
Sea Of Sound
Howell
Hypernaut
Bronto Billy and His Prehysteric Pals
Useless Wooden Toys
Board Buddiez
I am sure I missed a few in there somewhere...
What's one thing you have learned along the way?
Always listen to that unique thought or idea as it is coming through. Like channeling, keep the pathway clear for creativity, that's what works for me. I have all these ideas coming through all the time. I used to try to force only the ideas I wanted to produce at the time, and a lot of times I would get blocked or have the idea just feel rushed or something. Listen to that knowing, I always tell myself. That's how it works, a lot of times I am a little early on the ideas, more recently I have learned to just draw them out , write them down and sit on them til the time is right.
I Love the book - and DVD's. "Art, Skateboarding and Life" How was that entire experience? From creating to publishing, to presenting it to family + Friends + the public…
It was an amazing, wonderful, tedious, arduous process. If I hadn't had Paul Hutchison (Hype Type) doing layout, Ted Newsome and Laban Pheidias (American Misfits) as Director of DVD and Interviewers, and Amely Greeven (co-writer) I would not have been able to pull off that whole scope. 2 full length DVDs, 304 pages of content, over 2000 repro photos of artwork and stuff, it was pretty crazy. It started as a request from publisher to do a paintings retrospective book. I was not into doing the same old art book, so I wrote down a few of the stories. It was pretty interesting, so I did an outline and timeline of my life (so far) and told the publisher at the time that I wanted to do this more in depth look at the life experiences of a skate punk who flipped the script on the system and went the DIY route. Because of the generation I came up in of skating, graff, art, and the advent of punk and hip hop during that time, it really started to become a cool kind of history book. I found what I actually wanted to create a book that would connect with my generation and inspire future ones to break out of societal confines and take the road less traveled, whatever it may be. When I was coming up, there was no living to be made in skating, and the art community and general public didn't even acknowledge street art or this newer hybrid movement that has emerged. It was all very underground. Well, once I started putting the written part of the book together I realized I was telling a bigger story, told along the timeline of my own life, but actually intersecting with a lot of the other people who have been really influential. If the reader didn't know my whole history it kind of came off like I was claiming all these things that are an integral part of my own history. So I called up all the people that I mention in the book, and asked if they would allow my writer to interview them and be included in the book. All of them agreed, and the resulting flow of the book is even stronger because it feels to the reader as if he/she is actually sitting in a room with all these people and me telling this story together.
Last time we chatted, you were extremely pumped about your gorilla trek through Rwanda. Rather exciting, any new wild stories?
Well, when I first met my wife we talked to each other in complete sentences in our minds without any words. I fell in love with her in the first 5 minutes. It was a conscious simultaneous realization we had, where we just knew this is it. Talking without words went on for the first few days - non stop. We are soulmates, I have never even heard of the same thing happening. I married her 7 weeks later. We just had our first anniversary yesterday and I love her more today. It’s the best thing that I have ever experienced.
Where do you see yourself in 15 years?
Overlooking Waipi'o Valley in Hawaii on 100 acres of forest and streams and valleys. Horses, peacocks, sheep, a huge studio where I can make sculptures out of massive pieces of wood using a chainsaw. Collaborating with Ginger on projects, and 3 children. Surfing, making films, traveling. Children’s films and books, keep checking off my master list of experiences.
What music have you been listening to lately?
DJ Spinbad “Rocks The Casbah”, Miles Davis, Mozart, Courtney Pine, Chet Baker. John Lennon, Lots of big thinkers, pioneers.
What do you think of the bombardment of pharmaceutical commercials?
That is a whole book in itself. In the early 20th century the pharmaceutical conglomerates formed the American Medical Association so they could manufacture Cancers. Since then they have created Health Care, Health Insurance, and a new disease for every new drug discovery they make. 'Dis' 'Ease' is the result of not listening to your body, of not respecting it. Change living patterns, don't take pills, they just numb the pain. That's the most basic lie, a simple lie that has become the greatest marketing campaign ever, 'If you don't feel well, you need drugs.' and as a culture we have been taught not to listen to ourselves.
It goes really deep, it’s a corner stone of modern capitalism.
You have mentioned before that you would like sailing and would like to get your skipper's license eventually - if I remember correctly..
Yes, I do want my skippers license, and my helicopter pilot cert.
Where is the first expedition?
Sailing Between the Hawaiian islands.
Fast, give me your 3 Favorite old school Skateboards: (personal boards excluded)
Gonz' first board
Tony Hawks first board
Rob Roskopp creepy hand series.
What's the best question anyone has ever asked you during an interview?
Yours have been good.
'what is love?' would be a good one.
What's the answer?
The purest form of energy, absence of fear, clarity.
Andy Howell, as always, tremendously inspiring to chat with you. Thank you. for spending your time with us. We'll talk soon.
You too LFP... - A
For more information on Andy Howell or any of his (many) side projects, please visit his websites at:
www.andyhowell.com
www.eggprojects.com
www.better-chemistry.com
www.un1versalmind.com
www.militree.com
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