WELD at Work: Stalk it features Nascar
WELD AT WORK: Stalk It features Nascar
WELDER: JerSean Golatt
Website: JerSeanPhotography.com
Interview by: Kristin Read
ARTIST SPOTLIGHT
Facts about JerSean you likely don’t (and need to) know:
JerSean is always looking for, or creating, both optimism and awkwardness.
Put simply: Nascar did not make JerSean a Danica Kirkpatrick fan. (Ask him for the full story.)
He is constantly writing jokes in his head, and envisions himself as a stand up comedian.
His favorite movie, to this day, is Titanic…judge away.
He isn’t a fan of the written word. (If he has the sudden urge to indulge, you’ll find him reading self-help articles to better explain our human weirdness.)
JerSean is the king of encouragement: If you’re ever feeling down on yourself or your craft, he’s the guy to turn to.
Given the chance, he’d eat Italian food all day, everyday.
PROJECT SPOTLIGHT
Aside from being the “go-to-headshot-guy” at WELD, tell us what else you’re known for, work wise.
I'm currently a full-time employee of Stalk It Longboards. I handle all their creative media — from photography, to video, graphic design, brand upkeep, and brand management. I've had the privilege of traveling to different longboard races, documenting both the experience and culture of those events, as well as designing the boards that are raced at these events. We started doing surfboards, stand up paddleboards, skis and snowboards, and now we're looking to expand our product line into new sports. It’s an exciting time of growth for our company.
As someone who doesn’t participate in those activities, how do you get into the mind of someone who does, in order to market to them well?
I read. I go to Barnes and Noble, study the history of that and similar sports, as well as the manufacturing companies who create their boards, see what is already being done to create and manufacture these boards, and look for ways to improve on them. It’s important that I’m constantly learning what gets people involved in these sports, what they interested in seeing, etcetera.
Out of all the projects on your docket, what is the most exciting thing you’ve been a part of recently?
Several months back, my boss just came up to me and said, "Hey, I think it'll be a good idea for us to jump into NASCAR to get Stalk It exposure," and I was like, "I've never wrapped a car for Nascar before." But I jumped on it anyways. We were such a time crunch that I couldn't wait for help, I just had to create! I asked for the template, and just ran with it. The driver loved it, the team loved it, and my boss loved it. It was a win all around, especially for Stalk It considering it was our first ever Nascar wrap.
It was one of the biggest things that's happened to me career wise up to this point —conceptualizing and designing a wrap for a NASCAR. It was incredible to see something I created literally go from my laptop into the arena of a sport that captured the eyes of millions of fans.
What was it like, going to your first Nascar race and seeing your own work?
It was crazy to be down there in pit row, watching your car going 200-some-odd miles an hour. And on top of that, it was a great race for the racer! It was his first top ten place in his career. Feeling as if you were some small part of that, was such an encouragement.
You were given a model version of the car you designed, correct? What was that like?
I was! They're called die-casts in NASCAR, and they create one for every car, it’s like a toy version of the car. As a designer, it’s incredible to own the piece, to see something I created come to life not only on the track, but also as something tangible I can hold.
Talk to us about the design that you chose. What was it like?
The main thing I got from the first race was what elements/conditions the car was up against over a course of 200 laps. I realized that the colors needed to be bold and vibrant in order to stick out, because from almost 150-200 feet up in the stands, observing a trick that’s about 2 miles around, we’ve got to grab and KEEP their attention. We kept the same design I created for the first two races, but decided to change it up a bit for the third.
What did being in that environment teach you design-wise? Did anything change throughout the season for your driver?
For the last race in Indianapolis, we had enough time for me to come up with a different color scheme, and we totally flipped it. For this race we created an off-white color scheme with blue accents, which popped. It was a major success as a team representing Stalk It. And with it being our third race, we earned a lot of credibility with the other racers. We proved that were serious about our work, and that we aren’t just a one-trick pony who was trying to capitalize on the fact that we bought a NASCAR. It just sent out a good message — one that we were proud of.
Is this something you’d like to do again in future seasons of Nascar racing?
Definitely. As of right now, we will likely stick with a design for one car/driver because of it is costly to wrap multiple cars. One is enough for the moment, but we do hope to expand to additional cars in the coming seasons.