Meet Joshua Ariza, the creative genius behind Chomp Brand. We were recently lucky enough to collaborate with him and his company on some cool products (skateboard decks anyone?) and got to ask him a few questions about himself.
1. What's your story (tell us who you are, where you're from how you ended up where you are currently)?
I’m a freelance illustrator and designer. I’ve worked for Nike, RedBull, UnderArmour, Disney and some companies the like. Most of my career has been spent doing graphics for surf and skate apparel. I’m probably best known for designing the Star Wars socks for Stance (https://www.stance.com/star-wars-socks/ ). I like to draw and I like to make jokes.
2. What's the story behind Chomp?
I started chomp almost 3 years ago. At the time, Mumford and Sons were huge, people were dressing like farmers or whatever– and every surf brand had become "hipster". I felt like the fun was missing. I grew up with brands like Stussy and Santa Cruz skateboards. I wanted irreverence and illustration back on tees. Chomp is about the art and the fun. We have a shirt that says “FLAT EARTH” on it. Chomp doesn’t take itself seriously.
3. Which design from the Thread X Chomp collection is your favorite / is there a story behind it?
I LOVE the Dead Sexy graphic. I like puns. You get it.
4. Where do you get your inspiration from?
I do a lot of free writing and word association stuff to come up with ideas. But for art direction, I like looking at tees/posters from metal bands, skateboard graphics and if I think of anything pop culture related I’ll riff on. The “Text Me that Sh*t” graphic, for example, is a joke that's illustrated in the style of a punk/metal band tee.
5. Best advice you've ever gotten?
I heard Steph Curry say in an interview that he tries not to get too high on the highs or too low on the lows. I think he’s saying, stick with it. Don’t drink your own cool-aid and don’t get too down when things don’t pan out. I know this is good advice because I hate the Warriors.
6. Best advice you can give?
Nothing rewarding is earned easily. You likely won’t be good at something your first try. Stick with that thing for a bit before you give up. It’s OK for something to suck before you reap a benefit from it. The first comment I ever got on the chomp Instagram was “yo these tees fu*kin suck lol”. Now that’s our slogan.
7. What are you listening to right now (music, podcasts, books etc.)?
Music, Kids See Ghosts by Cudi, Daytona by Pusha, Head Over Heels by Chromeo and Steve Winwood. Podcasts: NYTimes the Daily, Reply-All and The Rewatchables. Books: anything Malcom Gladwell or Jon Ronson.
8. Favorites (Food, places, things to do)?
I’ve eaten at this place called Din Tai Fung 4 times in the last 3 weeks. Highly recommend. For fun I surf, ride motorcycles and lately, I’ve been training for a half marathon. It’s a nightmare and I don’t know why I’m doing it.
For more of Josh, his quick wit and cool designs, check out his Instagram, here.
You can also find him through his website, here.
