What I Do For a Living (Wrestling craftwork)

[Rayne]

Got a bit inspired during some downtime today while watching some YouTube videos of professional wrestling when it was good, and came up with this.

Marty is definitely a bit underexposed here, in the moment that became a metaphor for his life, but that's a result of the technique I used on the original picture (dottrace, for anyone who's curious about the technical details.)

For those of you who have no idea what you're looking at, it's a disc (think Frisbee, except without the copyright) for disc golf. It's a sport much like golf, except with discs and metal baskets with chains that serve as holes. It's still a niche sport (especially in some areas, where it's virtually non-existent), but it's grown enough where I live that I've been able to gamble a bit and try starting my own company, which produces artwork on discs, tee signs, course design, targeted advertising, and in general any kind of service I think I can make money from. (You don't know what'll be successful until you try it!)

I'm treading dangerously close to the advertising line as it is, so I won't post a website or anything without an explicit OK from a moderator. And, moderators, if this is more of a Digital Arts post, or a Wrestling Spam post, my bad.

 

[JGlass]

Have you tried to organize your own league or something where you would be able to sell your products to the players? While it might be a lot of work, it seems like it would be a smart way to approach vertical integration by creating a demand while controlling the supply.

Also, where do you live that disc golf is so popular?

 

[Rayne]

Have you tried to organize your own league or something where you would be able to sell your products to the players? While it might be a lot of work, it seems like it would be a smart way to approach vertical integration by creating a demand while controlling the supply.

Also, where do you live that disc golf is so popular?

Central Massachusetts. From my apartment, there's currently twelve courses within a half hour's drive; the final National Tour event (there is such a thing) takes place on a course within (long) walking distance from me.

There are actually lots of leagues around in the area, pretty much one per course (two for the bigger ones), but that's proven to be an iffy way to market; I don't have the time to play league every day at a different place, and it's enough of a hippie sport that people frown on you showing up to try to sell them something, at least obviously.

What I did start doing last fall is sponsoring and directing tournaments, which is an excellent point of sale opportunity. I plan on offering tournament direction services for profit in the future, but I still have a bit of learning and development to do in that direction before I can do that.

Right now I sell most of my designs wholesale to shops, but I make about twice as much per disc selling to individual people, so that's obviously a market I try to develop.

This is a disc I just finished for probably myself, although it might turn into a gift, or a sale if someone offers me enough cash for it on my website. It's a disc from Vibram Disc Golf (who was kind enough to give my company props on their Facebook page last week):

The background material is the natural color of the disc- Vibram's thing is that they do molded rubber discs, instead of plastic ones. My thing, in turn, has been to turn those discs into awesome designs, which no one else in the sport is doing right now. (Wait a week on that, I got pretty good press. My Insights graph looks like the Grand Canyon.)

 

[JGlass]

Damn, that sounds wildly popular! I had no idea. It sounds like if you play your cards right and the sport continues to grow you can make a pretty penny off the venture.

 

[Rayne]

I recommend you try it out. You walk through the woods, you throw things, you drink and smoke (if that's your thing), and you scream obscenities unless you're playing in a PDGA tournament, and that only because it costs you a stroke.

Right now it's about positioning myself for three to five years in the future. I have another job, simply because paying for individual health insurance is LUDICROUSLY expensive.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

Are you still funding your venture with you own savings or have you found investors elsewhere? What would you do if you had a considerable amount of money to invest? How much money would that take? Is your company legitimately set up (paying taxes, EIN and all that)? Has anyone ever asked for a "Summer of George" disc? (Seinfeld reference)

 

[Ty Burna]

We call it Frolf around here, and it's becoming pretty popular. First time I played it was around 7 years ago when my cousin introduced it to me. Pretty fun game but I never became a regular player or anything like that. There is a course in the neighboring town but I've never gotten around to throwing on it.

Digging your designs though man, I like the second you posted in here.

 

[Rayne]

Are you still funding your venture with you own savings or have you found investors elsewhere? What would you do if you had a considerable amount of money to invest? How much money would that take? Is your company legitimately set up (paying taxes, EIN and all that)? Has anyone ever asked for a "Summer of George" disc? (Seinfeld reference)

Finding investors is the Great Difficulty of the sport. Right now, a lot of people view it as this sport that should be free to play everywhere, that people should donate their time freely to designing and upkeeping courses. That does take place on some public park courses, and it's a thing the game needs to have, but it's not a sustainable business model for Growing The Sport (a cliched phrase in disc golf.)

There is something Very Big in the works, but it's so early in negotiations that I can't really discuss it without fear of jinxing it, or worse, actually directly fucking it up. From the perspective of this board it probably won't seem like too big of a deal, but within the niche of my sport, it's a game-changer. This would knock the whole investor thing for my personal business a-kilter (and probably result in its closure or absorption), and without knowing the results of the Very Big thing, I can't move forward too much in my own direction.

I have a Massachusetts Sales Tax ID, but don't make enough to register and get an EIN, which has to happen this year in lieu of the Big Thing, because I will. I'm going to be finding out soon if I'm a business this year or still a hobby.

Setting up as a business, with the registration and what not, that's a this year thing. Last year I didn't make enough money (I should be able to 'prove' a loss) to have to worry about an EIN, although I do enough for the Massachusetts Sales Tax ID. I am, quite honestly, a babe in the woods when it comes to business taxes, and "accounting classes" are on the list for the future, although "hire accountant" will probably be on that list every year.

And no, no one has ever asked for a Summer of George disc, but I could make it happen.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

From a mainstream standpoint, that Seinfeld episode is the most famous frisbee golf reference I can think of. It maybe a design you want to try and sell. Of course you will probably be breaking a bunch of copyright/trademark laws.

Thanks for the info, I admire anyone with the balls and organization to put in the effort of starting your own business. I don't have that part of the brain (or maybe nutsack) to take a chance.

On a visit home I took my wife and kids to Chestnut Ridge Park south of Buffalo, NY this summer. The park is kind of beat up but they have a disc course (formally a golf course) that looked pretty cool. It starts down a giant sledding hill with an amazing view and then takes you through the park. If you are ever travelling that way I recommend you check it out.

 

[Rayne]

Heh, if you're obscure enough, you can get away with copyright issues. Discs used in the sport aren't allowed to have applied raised surfaces, so you aren't allowed to actually *paint* them, beyond materials which the plastic will absorb. I use a technique in which I cover parts of the disc with sign vinyl (think bumper stickers), so most of the designs aren't overly sharp and in 2-4 colors, usually resulting in things that aren't copyright violations. I could say "Summer of George" with a picture of a screen capture, but a "Seinfeld" logo is a no-no.

I found this out the medium-hard way last spring when the Boston Bruins sent me a nastygram. I can put a guy in a "12" jersey making a pass, but I can't do a Patriots logo. (That could have been a lot worse- as it turns out, I got a lot of word of mouth advertising and growth, so, won out there.)

 

[George Steele's Barber]

Send the naked lady design to the Partners Television Council and all those other "decency" groups. That should lead to some nice word of mouth.

Or better yet, do a design that references "ass to mouth". They love that stuff.

 

[smizzy]

Rayne, I love your work, man. I still want to give you some business. Once I get another build up going in the bank account Ill send you a PM and we'll get in contact. We have our new course opening here in February and it's looking fantastic. Can't wait for the weather to warm up to go throw some more rounds.

 

[Rayne]

Send the naked lady design to the Partners Television Council and all those other "decency" groups. That should lead to some nice word of mouth.

Or better yet, do a design that references "ass to mouth". They love that stuff.

Hah, I see you saw that before I took it down, after I started getting a lot more press and figured maybe that wasn't as good of an idea as it used to be.

BUT. That was the second most awesome dye-job I've ever done, because that wasn't a design, that was an image created from a picture. A customer who was a friend-of-friend-of-friend asked me to make a series of disc of her for her boyfriend. The technique I use relies on shading to calculate a monochrome image, so if a source picture is of uniform brightness, an image can't be calculated from that. Short of explaining that, I suggest people submit a few pictures that I can work from when I put them on discs.

So she sends me a folder of naked pictures.

This wasn't as unbelievably awesome as it sounds; she's a bit north of 40, and not in that 'still looks young' way. I had to do some substantial editing. Michaelangelo couldn't have been more proud. A funny coda to the story; I created three discs, two non-nudes and one nude. He loved the two non-nudes, but had to be talked down out of giving me a threatening call because I had naked pictures of his girlfriend. (Which I deleted- I do have a moral side.)

You might ask "what was the coolest job then", and that was a design I did for Ron Jeremy earlier this year. I have a design I put on a disc model called a "XXX", which is basically Ron Jeremy's face. I went to get one autographed while he was in town promoting a brand of rum (Ron de Jeremy- surprisingly good, especially in a rum collins.) He said "You know, my lawyers might have a problem with this, because it is my face and all. But I love it. Could you send me one? I'll send you some DVD's in the mail or something." (They were horror movies.)

Rayne, I love your work, man. I still want to give you some business. Once I get another build up going in the bank account Ill send you a PM and we'll get in contact. We have our new course opening here in February and it's looking fantastic. Can't wait for the weather to warm up to go throw some more rounds.

Oooooh, new course! I'm actually going to send you a PM about tee signs- they're great for new courses, as the advertising you can sell to local businesses pays for the cost of the signs and then some. I'm actually running out the door right now to go throw a round, so I'll send that PM when I get back/remember.

Here's one example of a tee sign I've designed. The big white space at the bottom is the advertising space, the red circles are marks for drill holes for mounting on poles, and the elevation is a "?" because I'm still waiting on the people at that course to provide me with surveying information.

 

[SD619]

Seems like something that you can pursue as a part-time career (or are you considering full-time?).

One thing, how exactly do you get the design on the disc?

 

[The 1-2-3 Killam]

PM me the deets for your business. I live in Oregon, and we have some pretty sweet disk golf courses. There's one my friends went to that's really up high and overlooked Mt. Hood that I've been wanting to go to. I'm terrible at it, but my friends all have tons of disks and would probably pay for some sweet custom stuff.

 

[Kermit]

I would pay some good money for that Barbershop disk.

 

[shattered dreams]

I would not have guessed Rayne was a pothead.

 

[justinsayne]

I'd buy a "Summer of George" disc, in fact send me some info on your business or direct me to a website & I'll probably buy a couple discs from you in the coming months.

 

[Rayne]

Seems like something that you can pursue as a part-time career (or are you considering full-time?).

One thing, how exactly do you get the design on the disc?

Full-time, eventually. Disc dyeing is a foot in the door and a great way to get exposure, but it's pretty hard to charge a price that people will want to pay while still deriving enough income from. Right now, it's about setting myself up so that I'll be able to do this full-time in the future. (I definitely work full-time hours at this, but don't quite get full-time pay yet.)

I get the design on a disc through a masking technique. I take sign vinyl (think bumper stickers), and have a machine called a vinyl cutter (think drafting plotter, but with a knife). I create a vector design on my computer, send it on over, peel that off to create a negative, and then place that on a disc. The disc goes upside down into a pot of dye, and comes out later looking awesome. People usually get into this with an x-acto knife; it's easy to get into, but you can go nuts if you invest some time and money into it.

I would pay some good money for that Barbershop disk.

It's actually for sale. I'll PM you the info.

I would not have guessed Rayne was a pothead.

Hey, now, let's not be harsh here. I'll forgive you for not knowing, but pothead is a pretty derogatory term which implies someone who sits on their couch all day getting stoned. I work hard, and smoke marijuana since it helps me relax- there really isn't much better I've found for that than a blowjob, and you can't always get a blowjob. Also, the blowjob costs more.

THAT being said, one of the problems with disc golf is that right now it's perceived as a stoner sport- which unfortunately is fairly well founded. Ball golf has the same issues as disc golf at the casual level; the same smoking/drinking, the same urinating in people's back yards (ugh), but it also has a much better image. The image problem is something everyone in disc golf is working on. The PDGA requires a dress code and has a strict no drugs/alcohol rule for tournaments, for example.

 

[Rayne]

Kill this post please, it was supposed to be a PM and I am a spaz.

 

[Rayne]

Send the naked lady design to the Partners Television Council and all those other "decency" groups. That should lead to some nice word of mouth.

Or better yet, do a design that references "ass to mouth". They love that stuff.

If you're looking for "gleefully offensive", this is probably the most horrible thing I've ever done. You probably won't wonder much why it isn't on my business site.

 

[JGlass]

Kill this post please, it was supposed to be a PM and I am a spaz.

Must be all them funky cigarettes.

I would imagine my frolf game would take an immediate downward spiral should I indulge in any of the vices that come with the territory of the sport (PEDs they are not), but I suppose that's half the fun. How far east do the courses in MA stretch? I'm in Boston, and I wonder if I could put together a group of friends that would want to give disc golf a try.

 

[Dowdsy McDowds]

Ball golf has the same issues as disc golf at the casual level; the same smoking/drinking, the same urinating in people's back yards (ugh), but it also has a much better image.

I hope that's not a new term you over-the-ponders are using for soccer. The smoking/drinking/pissing stuff certainly sounds soccerish for the casuals.

 

[Rayne]

Must be all them funky cigarettes.

I would imagine my frolf game would take an immediate downward spiral should I indulge in any of the vices that come with the territory of the sport (PEDs they are not), but I suppose that's half the fun. How far east do the courses in MA stretch? I'm in Boston, and I wonder if I could put together a group of friends that would want to give disc golf a try.

Well, now, don't go thinking that marijuana and alcohol are part of the enjoyment of the sport, or heighten enhancement of it. If you want to talk about marijuana enhancing things, there's an idiot over in The Prison who'd be happy to have an audience.

There's an awesome course finder located at Disc Golf Course Review. I haven't played the two nine-hole courses nearest you (one in Needham, one in Burlington), but there is an absolutely excellent one in Easton, which is probably a half hour south of you. And, should you wish to make a trip of it, you can always come out to the Worcester area and I'll give you guys a tour.

I hope that's not a new term you over-the-ponders are using for soccer. The smoking/drinking/pissing stuff certainly sounds soccerish for the casuals.

Rep for you sir! No, that's just a term disc golfers use to differentiate between disc golf and ball golf. If you say golf around a group of disc golfers, they're going to assume you mean discing. I'd normally refer to ball golf as golf when talking with people who don't disc golf, but since disc golf is the topic of discussion, yeah.

 

[shattered dreams]

Hey, now, let's not be harsh here. I'll forgive you for not knowing, but pothead is a pretty derogatory term which implies someone who sits on their couch all day getting stoned. I work hard, and smoke marijuana since it helps me relax- there really isn't much better I've found for that than a blowjob, and you can't always get a blowjob. Also, the blowjob costs more.

THAT being said, one of the problems with disc golf is that right now it's perceived as a stoner sport- which unfortunately is fairly well founded. Ball golf has the same issues as disc golf at the casual level; the same smoking/drinking, the same urinating in people's back yards (ugh), but it also has a much better image. The image problem is something everyone in disc golf is working on. The PDGA requires a dress code and has a strict no drugs/alcohol rule for tournaments, for example.

I was mostly just joking about the perception but I think we all know there are lazy stoners and there are those hypercreative stoners that build crazy shit while they are high.

Are you any good at the sport?