I wanted to post an update to the Keep Drifting Fun Logo/PFD situation. After I made my initial blog post, it spread like wild-fire, and quickly reached the powers that be over at PFD. I was contacted by the president, Andrzej Witkowski, and while I won’t go into specifics, I will say that he was very apologetic, and agreed to stop making/selling the shirts.
Thanks to those that passed the post along through various social media outlets… especially Facebook (for which I do not have an account).
As a creative, I have been ripped off more times than I can count. I’m sure it happens to all creatives at some point. Sometimes the would-be thieves appropriate it in one way or another… altering it from what was originally created. Sometimes they take a slogan and create their own design around it, or just half-ass a rotten knockoff altogether. It happens all the time.You can imagine my surprise, when a kind fan from Poland e-mailed me inquiring about the usage validity of the Keep Drifting Fun logotype on t-shirts by the Polish Federation of Drift. Imitation is supposed to be the most sincere form of flattery. In this case, it is outright theft.
This is the original logotype I designed in 2009.
The “OR ELSE” was later dropped, so that Will Roegge and Joshua Herron could use it (with full rights/usage permission) for their grassroots documentary, aptly titled… you guessed it… KEEP DRIFTING FUN. Here, you can see Lieze in front of the KDF van with the guys (May 2010), sporting the first run of orange KDF tees. Look familiar?
Meanwhile, in Poland…
Out of all the times I have been ripped off as an artist… this instance infuriates me the most. It violates the entire ethos surrounding what the logo means, and I cannot for the life of me understand the lack of moral code involved to think that it is perfectly fine to plagiarize like this. They even went so far as to conveniently drop my Slide Style™ logo from the sleeve in lieu of their PFD logo.
In addition to printing the logo on shirts, they also chose the same shirt colors, and made printed collateral/pop-up displays to show off ‘their’ line? The internet has made the world infinitely smaller than it already is… and has made the drift community even smaller at that. I cannot fathom how someone would do this and think it would not make its way back to me. Had I been contacted me in advance, I would have been happy to work together to make something happen. Especially since the message is so important to me.This is not what KEEP DRIFTING FUN is about.
In this age of digital media, it is always rad to see your work in printed form. Ryan Tuerck was recently featured in the August issue of Inked Magazine wearing the American Steel Tee that I did for Drift Alliance.Just about every time I wear this shirt, someone says “great shirt… you ever seen them live?” I always reply “yeah, many times”… even though I’m talking about Drift Alliance, and they are talking about Judas Priest!
I had the pleasure of designing some t-shirts for Gardella Racing. The first tee was a ‘signature’ tee for Ryan Tuerck.
The second tee was specific to Gardella Racing utilizing the logo that I created for them. I think both of these turned out awesome! I’m definitely stoked to be working with Gary and his team! Keep an eye out for more rad stuff from the Gardella camp in the near future!
I had a chance to design an AWESOME shirt for Drift Alliance. The idea was to make a throwback ‘tour’ shirt that showed everywhere that drifting has taken them. Tony ran this idea by me in passing… and it was just too amazing not to be made. For those of you unfamiliar with Judas Priest… it is a tribute to their ‘British Steel’ record cover.
I’m super-excited how the design came out. It was a lot of fun to work on, and I learned a few new tricks to make vintage-looking graphics. I can’t WAIT to see these pressed up!
I had the pleasure of working with Ebisu Circuit on this collab tee for MotorMavens. These shirts really turned out great. They are available NOW in the MotorMavens Online Store! Don’t sleep on these – they are going FAST.
A tee-shirt I designed for MotorMavens with some hot-rod styling to it. Available for $15 in the MotorMavens Online Store. Support the movement, and pick one up today!
Jacob from Everything Drift sent me a picture from Formula Drift Las Vegas of some new tees that I designed for them. We’re working on some crazy designs and crazier prints… so keep an eye out for more soon.
The guys over at Unnatural Inc. hit me up to rock a t-shirt design for their Drift Invasion series. I wanted to run with a similar style to the flyer I designed for them… but I also wanted to make a print that guys and girls could both wear. I can’t wait to see the printed product!
After an eternity of waiting… the new batch of Slide Style™ tee-shirts came in. Some of the all-over prints turned out amazing…
especially on the girl tees – pictured here:
I launched the new Slide Style™ website today. Since I have been stuck in bed unable to do anything with my shattered collarbone, it gave me a chance to get everything up online. It’s awesome to see a complete catalog of the things we’ve made over the years.
Check it out:
www.slidestyle.us
