Stormstatic is me…
The name Stormstatic came from many years of riding mountain bikes, cycle commuting, surfing and snowboarding in Scottish weather. It’s a determination to get out there whatever the conditions and make the most of it.
During my school years I must have tried every sport going and loved to try new new things with youthful enthusiasm, I even had golf lessons. As I continued on my scholarly journey something was becoming apparent, I sucked! My first love was basketball and I could dribble, do layups, pass, sprint ok, I was tall for a 12 year old, it was more in the heat of the moment that problems would arise. I would fumble, miss and generally not rise to the occasion. resulting in scorn from team mates and dents in my confidence which only compounded the problem. In the mid nineties a mate from school introduced me to mountain biking, after I was slagging it off he said to come and try it. After a few hours of sliding around in the mud and flying into a few bomb-holes I was hooked and thus began a 25+ year obsession. I was much more suited to this form of individual expression where there was less pressure and I could figure things out in my own time. I also discovered my only ‘almost’ sporting talent which is give me something with wheels and I’ll get a tune out of it and generally give it a good thrashing.
From early days of messing around on basic bikes to proper downhill racing and that mate is Ian McIntosh who became a bit of a legend with race wins, a Scottish champs title and more. As for myself after a few rounds racing the SCU downhill series as junior in ‘97 and ‘98 (pre SDA) I had had a taste of it and fancied completing a full season of the mighty SDA series. During the art school years I mostly rode street around Dundee with no vehicle to get to races I made do. They were great days but also a bit grim on the biking front, pre Trailforks I remember taking my bike on the bus to Perth to find the Kinnoul trails, but after riding around for a while it got dark and I headed home having never found the trails. Once I started working things got a bit easier and after marshalling at a few events I was fortunate to compete in the 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008 seasons and loved every minute of it. Since then I’ve always tried to keep my eye in doing at least 3 or 4 races a year of various kinds.
When working my first design job in Aberdeen a work mate said I should come and try surfing (there’s a pattern here). With an armless wetsuit in the frigid North Sea I paddled into my first wave. It picked me up, sent me over the falls and slammed me off the sandy bottom, yep I was hooked, let me try that one again. Even before I caught my first proper wave I loved being in the sea, paddling around, sitting on the board, taking it all in. After working in Aberdeen for a couple of years I decided to travel around Australia for a year and continued taking lessons and visiting various surf spots down there. When I got back to Scotland I continued surfing and bodyboarding and love to play in stormy onshore conditions.
I moved to Glasgow in 2010 and thought that I’d properly get into snowboarding because I was further from the sea (even though the sea was closer than Glencoe) and wouldn’t be surfing as much. My first time trying to snowboard was in ’98 and every now and again I’d have a go when I had the chance but it was good to actually spend a few seasons boarding at Glencoe riding everything from slush, boiler plate and even powder. It’s all about making the most of the best conditions at the right time, if you have a few sports to choose from then all the better.
Weathering the storm has also been the story of my design career over the past 20 years. From being told I didn’t have the portfolio to get me into art school I stepped things up, made the grades and improved my skills to the point that I received an unconditional acceptance into Duncan of Jordanstone School of Art and Design straight from Secondary School. When I finished my degree with Honours I was equally determined to not be another statistic of art school graduates who don’t go on to a creative career. I came out of there like a bullet from a gun and commenced my first full time design job and few months after graduating. I’ve kept on the grind since then through recessions, pandemics and industry downturns, not always doing the most glamourous jobs but working to live, keeping the bike in new parts and the van on the road.
The Stormstatic thing started as a side hustle that gradually gained momentum. I had previously worked for an outdoor clothing brand working on product development, graphics as well as illustrations for their t-shirt range that had went down well with colleagues and customers. That gave me some great experience and a desire to keep drawing. Around 4 years ago I decided I really wanted to push my art again with a view to becoming a full time artist in the outdoor sports arena and gaining recognition. I started drawing more on weekends, after work and on the train home. After Banana Industries asked me to create a collab t-shirt range with them their enthusiasm and praise gave me the confidence to keep progressing and through them I was fortunate to be asked to create a cover illustration for Singletrack magazine that went on to win their ‘Image of the Year’ award in 2020. It’s been a wild ride and I am determined to continue as a full time artist and work with more interesting companies, organisations and individuals on epic projects. Have a look at my Noteworthy section for an in-depth look and my most interesting projects.