Why would anyone cut up a perfect pair of sneakers to make a gas mask? What is the point of that?<\/p>\n
Gary Lockwood<\/strong>, aka Freehand Profit<\/strong>, is a hip hop junkie, sneaker enthusiast, and progressive artist all rolled into one. His passion for all things hip hop led to him down a path unpaved by anyone prior. The trailblazer has added another tool to his repertoire, as he is in works on his first book, The Army of the Undeadstock<\/em><\/strong>. We had a chance to speak with Freehand Profit, and get a glimpse into the amazing mind of a well traveled artistic renaissance man to discuss everything from his multitude of influences, his sneaker collection, and how creating gas masks came about. Be sure to check the last page for previews of some masks that will be in the book….including one you probably weren’t expecting.<\/p>\n Air Jordan 6 “Olympic” Gas Mask\n Snkrs Day: Let?s start with an introduction. We know you as Freehand Profit, but what?s your name and where are you from?<\/strong><\/p>\n Freehand Profit: My name is Gary Lockwood. I actually go by ?Freehand Profit.? That?s the name I started using when I was doing graffiti as a teen. The reason I continue to use it is because there was a famous actor by the same name who started doing art after his acting career had finished. So, for the longest time people couldn?t find my work.<\/p>\n I was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin but spent most of my life growing up in Northern Virginia right outside of D.C. and Fairfax County. It was a great environment – a great place – but I had to come out to a big city (Los Angeles). D.C. is a great city for politics and all that, but I was focused on art and music, so LA was definitely the place to be.<\/p>\n Snkrs Day: How did you get started creating gas masks? What was the inspiration to make gas masks out of sneakers?<\/strong><\/p>\n Freehand Profit: It all started because I began a doing a project called Mask 365<\/em>, which was a daily project in which I drew, created, and assembled a mask everyday for a year. I?ve always had a passion for gas masks. Part of that is being a graffiti head; part of it is being a smoker. Also, as a kid, my dad had a gas mask, and I used to play with it like a toy. Really what I was trying to do is customize gas masks. I wanted to paint these like I paint other masks I?m working on, but because most of the masks are made out of rubber or latex of some sort you couldn?t really paint them. The paint would crack or won?t adhere. I had to find a new way of working with these masks, and seeing as I was doing this everyday for a year, I was looking for new materials all the time. The first piece was actually made out of a Gucci handbag that my friend?s mom was going to throw away. I was like, I?m sure I can find something to do with it. I was thinking about combining it with this mask. In essence, wrap this mask in the Gucci material, and it worked out. I was really excited and liked the results, but I don?t really care for handbags. There?s that visual language that I was talking about in hip hop and hip hop style, but it wasn?t personal to me. I switched over to sneakers because that?s something that I cared about. Actually, the first sneaker mask was the Blazer ?Green Spark?. Those were a $20 find at the Nike outlet in Vero Beach. That kind of kicked it all off. As I kept working, I gained more confidence in the work, and became more confident that it can be done with any shoe as long as there is enough material. I just kept upping the ante, which is part of the artistic process. You start with basic material, like a pen and pencil, but hopefully you are working up to an idea that is a much more finished. It?s substituting standard art materials, things that I don?t really care about, with sneakers, material that I do care about.<\/p>\n Nike SB Dunk Hi “Cheech and Chong” Gas Mask\n <\/p>\n Air Jordan 11 “Concord” Gas Mask\n Snkrs Day: What is the selection process for the sneakers you choose to create gas masks?<\/strong><\/p>\n Freehand Profit: When it started, it was just using shoes from my hunts, and finding a great shoe, but something that?s affordable since I was doing it every day. Material cost was something that I had to keep in mind. Once the project (Mask365) was over in 2011, I had bigger budgets. So I started choosing shoes that, in all honesty, I had two pair of. I had one pair for the masks and one pair for me. The second pair was kind of a backup. Thankfully, I?ve only had to use the backup pair once, and that was for the ?Chicago? 10 mask. So I was choosing shoes that I wanted to buy anyway so that I would have the matching shoes for the photos. Of course after commissions, it became what materials would be a great mask, which colors would be a great mask, or the history behind it. When it?s all said and done, I want to have at least one mask from every serious Jordan release. I have the 1?s. I still have to do a ?2. I have the 3?s and 4?s. The 5?s are underway. Eventually, I will have everything because there is a certain character to every one of these shoes that comes out in the mask making process. They aren?t really planned ahead. The shoes are taken apart, and I see what materials I have in front of me and start piecing them together like that.<\/p>\n Air Jordan 10 “Chicago” Gas Mask\n Snkrs Day: Do you have a vision where you want the mask to go prior to creating it, or do you tear the shoe apart and go with whatever comes to mind?<\/strong><\/p>\n Freehand Profit: It?s kind of a freestyle, I would say. The shoes get torn apart strategically. They aren?t just torn down completely. I?ll take the uppers apart. I?ll take the tongue off of that. I divide them into bigger groups, and see which cuts I need to make. I like to see certain pieces intact. There?s no sense in taking things apart that I would want to put back together eventually. So, there?s a little bit of planning ahead, but it?s more foresight than anything else.<\/p>\n Snkrs Day: People often complain about a dip in the quality of material used in recent releases. You working with materials as often as you do, have you noticed a difference in materials from the earlier sneakers to the ones now?<\/strong><\/p>\n Freehand Profit: There are certain ones that surprise me with the material. The one that I really noticed was the ?Cement? 4s. Once I cut it open, I was less excited about the shoe in my actual collection. Luckily, by the time I was done with the mask I was in love with the shoe again due to the design element. But looking at the raw materials, I was disappointed in the quality of the leather. On the good side of things, the LeBron Elites are ridiculous on the inside! They are just absolutely gorgeous. They are put together so well. It?s really a good example of design. Here?s one that surprises a lot of folks. When I cut up the Air Jordan Fusion 4 ?Laser?, those at the time were the best constructed shoes I had taken apart. <\/strong><\/p>\n Snkrs Day: That’s definitely surprising… Freehand Profit: Yeah. When I saw them from the inside, there was glue, but it was put in the right place. Everything was really neat, and you don?t always see that. It doesn?t have to be neat because it?s the inside of the sneaker and most people will never see that. For whatever reason, the Fusion 4 was really clean.<\/p>\n Air Jordan 4 Fusion “Laser” Gas Mask\n <\/p>\n Snkrs Day: Talk about the gas mask made from the?Snkrs Day New Balance. How did that come about?<\/strong><\/p>\n Freehand Profit: Basically, I am a huge fan of collaborations, especially the ones that New Balance does. The general release are great, but when New Balance collabs with somebody it is HEAT! The design of the shoe was great and the choice of materials was phenomenal, but I didn?t even know that going into it. The reason I chose to do it was to actually say thank you. Thanks to you guys, and in a way to a lot of the other sneaker blogs who have been instrumental in getting my work seen. That?s a really powerful thing for an artist, especially a visual artist. Garnering the attention of the community like that was really influential, and that was kind of my tip of the hat I?m really glad I did it because it ended up being one of my favorite masks. I think it has more character than a lot of the other ones.<\/p>\n Snkrs Day x New Balance 1500 Gas Mask\n Snkrs Day: Would you be interested in doing a collaboration sneaker? What would it look like?<\/strong><\/p>\n Freehand Profit: Oh yeah! Absolutely! I have sketches for shoes that I have designed, but there is a whole other skill set that I realize you have to have to step into the ring and say you design shoes. There?s product design and industrial design that I?m not familiar with yet. I?m always looking to learn new skill sets. I would love to do a collaborative sneaker, and I?m sure it?s around the corner. I?m really looking forward to it. It just wouldn’t have been enough to describe what I would do if I were to let loose on a collaborative sneaker. Snkrs Day: Going back to you being a hip hop head, and that leading to your love for sneakers, is the ultimate goal to carve your own lane in hip hop culture?<\/strong><\/p>\n Freehand Profit: To a certain extent. There is, of course, the artistic process and the ideas behind them that that were engrained in me from the beginning. I?m sort of on the fence with things. On one end I?m an artist. On the other end I?m a hip hop head. Unfortunately, those two worlds work completely different. What I?ve tried to do is approach my work as an emcee would when creating an album or making a track. The art world asks for more. They want to know why. Why are you doing these things? What does it all mean? So when I first started, I was really exploring the idea of hip hop fashion surviving the Apocalypse. As work continued, I found myself thinking about each shoe?s identity, consumerism in a world of war, or visual languages in branding and style. It keeps going because the work continues to bring up new questions for them. I don?t much go for art that thinks it has the answers, but one of my favorite parts of the work is finding the character that each pair of shoes takes on as a mask. The other side of it is exactly how absurd it all is. I think it?s important for art to be absurd. Actually, Tinker (Hatfield) said it best. He said, ?When you combine unlikely things together, you create something new<\/em>.? That?s extremely hard because everything has been done. It?s a whirlwind of all these other things, and I think it?s why it?s the body of work that has garnered the most attention. Also, it has really taken most of my attention. This is probably the biggest body of work that I?ve created to date. I think part of it is because there are so many different levels to it. It keeps me interested in doing the work. It keeps me wanting to do new work. Every mask presents new problems, and that?s what I get out of it on a personal level. I?m a problem solver. I like to take something and think ?there?s no way this is going to work? and then make it work. Each mask really does that for me.<\/p>\n Air Jordan 4 “Cement” Gas Mask Preview\n <\/p>\n Nike LeBron 9 “Summit Lake Hornets” Gas Mask Preview\n Snkrs Day: So, the gas masks serve as a type of symbolism?<\/strong><\/p>\n Freehand Profit: Right. You?re staring at it, and it?s going to remind you a little bit that the world is kind of messed up right now. We are at war on our own soil with protests and fighting. In a country that?s governed by fear, and fear has become such a tactic in government, not here, but probably all over the world. The gas mask symbolizes that. There?s an irony to it, too, because people fear the gas mask. There are feelings of fear that are brought up when they see that because of all these other issues that surround it, but it?s actually a protection device. So, it?s kind of like fearing the vest instead of the gun.<\/p>\n The masks are intended as art pieces. They bridge the gap. They are an art piece. They are a collection piece for the sneakerhead. Hopefully, we?ll continue to make waves on the art scene because the art scene is sort of afraid of hip hop. It took them how many years to warm up to graffiti? So my goal is to be a hip hop artist in the sense of how ?Futura??was and like Tinker is. My inspirations are drawn from such a wide variety of sources. It?s Nas, Rakim, and Jay(-Z), but it?s also Tinker, cats from the design world, and graffiti artist.?My favorite (graffiti artist) was Daim<\/a>?(pronounced Dime), which is a German cat that uses these wild 3-D graffiti styles. I think a lot of the way he used lines I find in the sneakers. So I think that was probably a big influence for me.<\/p>\n Snkrs Day: That is indeed a spectrum of influences.<\/strong><\/p>\n Freehand Profit:?Stuff like Marvel comics were a huge influence. Arthur Adams, Jim Lee, and all those guys I take inspirations and influences from, and it comes out weird [laughs] because it?s such an influx of information. I feel like we?re all dealing with that in today?s culture. We have everything just flooding in from internet, radio, and TV, especially the generation that?s coming up that has never lived without the internet. It?s a total flood of information, so we?re all trying to figure out how to exist with all this information. So my stuff is that outlet. That?s what the world is putting in, and this is what I?m putting out.<\/p>\n Nike LeBron P.S Elite 9 “South Beach” Gas Mask Preview\n Snkrs Day: That?s really smart, especially the idea of ?surviving the Apocalypse.? At first glance, many asked why a guy would make gas masks from shoes. They didn?t get it but thought it was a dope idea. It makes sense now. Was that the inspiration that lead to the book The Army of the Undeadstock<\/em>?<\/strong><\/p>\n It is. I wanted to release a book that would feature the masks and new masks as well. A buddy of mine from San Diego, Beselah?<\/a>writes Haiku poetry, and he?s a sneakerhead and hip hop head as well. He said, ?Man we need to team up and put this book together. I?ll write the Haikus, and you got the masks. Let?s make it happen.? I was thinking, ok let?s do it. We were originally aiming for a summer release, but I have some masks now that are in the works that HAVE to be in there. There are about 20 masks that I?m hoping to have done in time for the book. There will definitely be ones that folks have never seen before. It?s going to be mainly an art book to display the photographs, but there is also going to be a little bit of writing there from me about the work and his (Beselah) Haikus to tie it all together.<\/p>\n The real spirit behind it is, if we are going to be sneakerheads, ROCK THEM! Don?t just let them rot on the shelf because they?re just going to die there. That?s kind of how I came up with the idea for the title, The Army of the Undeadstock.?<\/em>It?s for the ?heads out there that are rocking their kicks and letting them be seen.?You know what I mean? Walk right and take care of them, and they will last for years. I?m actually looking forward to wearing mine when they are all beat up. My boy gave me a pair of ?Grape? 5?s that were just beat to s***, and I have to stop myself from rocking them every day because they?re broken in. To me, there is nothing better than a pair of broken in 5?s<\/a>. Pre-orders will be available in November, so that they are shipping out in time for the holidays<\/p>\n Snkrs Day: How can people get their hands on the book, and where can they find out more about Freehand Profit?<\/strong><\/p>\n Freehand Profit: The book will probably be available through www.Profitink.com<\/a>. It?s going to be independently published, so I may have a way, once my inventory is gone, that it will be available through Blurb or something like that.<\/p>\n The best place to find information is www.Freehandprofit.com<\/a>. I also sell masks, t-shirts, and sticker packs through www.Profitink.com<\/a>. My twitter<\/a> and instagram are both @freehandprofit. My Facebook is www.facebook.com\/MASK365<\/a>.<\/p>\n Christian Louboutin Gas Mask Preview\n Stay tuned to Snkrs Day<\/strong> for upcoming information on a giveaway from Freehand Profit.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Sneaker inspired gas masks? Must-read…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4653,"featured_media":234766,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[618,51],"tags":[1225537,1210224,199,1225503],"cultivate_rss":[],"class_list":{"2":"type-post"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
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\n(Freehand sent the example below of his collaboration vision)<\/p>\n Freehand Profit’s Ideal Collaboration vision\n