If you haven't seen the edit of BIg that dropped last week... well, then you've probably been out actually snowboarding and not on the internet. Check out the interview below and watch that edit again, and again. Take off you're shirt and read on! Spring break is almost over. Viva La Zeach!
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DWD - Yo Big!
Big Mike - Aloha, Mahalo for the questionnaires
DWD - You just had an art show down at Spedelli's. How'd it go?
BM - It was easy as pie! There were a lot of crusty homies that I was excited to see, but to be honest, I thought a few of my pieces were kinda cheesy. We all got sauced and it was nice to get a little slice of notoriety in the local Salt Lake scene.
DWD - For those that aren't in the know, what is the story behind Zeachman?
BM - Well one summer at HCSC, Bode Merrill came up with this great idea to make a blog and post Harsh Zeach to Scorpions. We needed a header for the blog so I used my character Furball to illustrate a Harsh Zeach to Scorp on a hundred dollar bill. People started recognizing him as the Harsh Zeach To Scorpion character so it was natural to re-name him to Zeachman. Then after all the publicity the blog was getting I had to keep going with Zeachman. It was the only way people would recognize me as an artist now know as Zeachman.
DWD - How has it evolved since you first started drawing and painting him?
BM - Well, usually artists find their own style of painting or drawing and that’s what they are known for. I didn’t want to have one style or one way of painting or one style of drawing. I just wanted to keep exploring different ways to paint and draw. So the fact is that people recognize Zeachman so no matter how I paint or illustrated people recognized Zeachman. The iconic pose for Zeachman would have to be him sitting with his arms wrapped up around lurking. That was the repetition I used in each piece before he was known as Zeachman so I just stuck with it. I would just draw him all different ways. I could make simpler art pieces for friends that just wanted to have a Zeachman piece and for me not to have to spend 40 hrs on the painting. But then I also found ways to create his fur in a way that would take me for hours and hours to complete. So I guess it was a nice feeling to finally have some that however I illustrated or painted it people would know who he was.
DWD - Is Breachman Zeachman's alter ego, or are they different dudes?
BM - I started working at Surfer Magazine about one year ago. Mike Yoshida came up with the idea that I need a new aqua character now that I would be working in the surf industry. So he came up with the idea of Breachman and he could be breaching his ass out of the water.
DWD - What's next for Zeachman?
BM - Either global domination or a boner or catching his toe edge and scorping.
DWD - Do you have any other side projects on the go? What's next for you?
BM - Yes. The first annual North Beach Art Walk in San Clemente. It’s a monthly art show at the local watering hole Kuckleheads Bar. Going back East for two weeks during the holidays to see family and friends, film snowboarding as much as possible, having a full-time job in an area where it doesn’t snow 360 days a year.
(DWD - as an end note to this interview, we'd like to assure you that Big is fuckin' killing it in first 365 of full summer... as you can tell from the most recent Sunday In The Park edit. Look out for more Big Mike art on next season's BOGART pro model and more in progress.) Thanks Big!
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The Biggest Mike Ever Full Part edited by Harry Hagan
ZEACHMAN x A-LOWE x HARRYHAGAN aka the biggest mike ever full part from steve perry on Vimeo.
and here's a link to the Sunday In The Park
