It’s been a little while since we took a Funky Field Trip
but this one is definitely worth the wait… We headed down to the San Clemente
Surf Ghetto and popped in to see Drew Brophy.
Drew welcomed us with open arms and lots of story. As we walked through the door prominently
displayed was the Foam E-Z 20 Year Anniversary board that Drew painted as a
present for us. My first thought and
feeling was of all the colorful paintings on the walls and other Brophy
paraphernalia perched throughout his studio.
As we entered he showed us his studio where all his amazing
paintings get created. From there we headed
into Maria’s (Drew's wife and business partner) office/meeting room, this is where all the Brophy product samples get
QC’d, and the business ideas come to life. In this room were Converse Allstar
shoes, skateboard grip tape, IPhone cases, water bottles, skateboards, body
boards, motocycle helmets, and more, all with Drew’s art displayed on them. Pretty amazing stuff for someone who first
hit the seen as the artist who did “pen art” on LOST Surfboards. As we made our way through his building we
came to a kind of “catch all” room where the Brophy’s keep their inventory,
stretch canvases and pack and ship stuff.
Last but not least we were invited into Drew’s office. The walls were layered with some of most
brightly colored and unique artwork I have seen. Not to mention the size of the original
pieces, some had to be 4’ by 6’ or bigger, simply overwhelming to the eye and
brain. In addition to the artwork Drew
had his computer where he answers emails and does all of his computer stuff.
As we meandered through the building Drew talked about his
business, the inspiration for his different art pieces, the history of how he
got to where he is today, his motivations behind his artwork, his amazing
travels, and basically chatted about all things life. Drew told us stories of the early years of
painting the LOST boards and how it helped influence a number of today’s
surfboard artists. Drew and his family
travel quite a bit for work and play often spending time in the mountains as
well as taking surf trips.
I really want to thank Drew for taking the time to show us
around his shop. Also, thanks for the
incredible 20 Year Anniversary paint job on my board. That was an awesome field trip, I'm still trying to get my
head around all the amazing artwork!!!
