Happy dogo is happy!
What an awesome day (that ended at 2AM for me lol). So many faces I’ve not seen in 10+ years.
Thanks to all that came along. Seeing you guys wearing ZEN again blows my mind! Special thanks to Reggie for feeding us and Gi for running the ZEN shop.
I brought my camera, but as usual I failed to get any shots as I was talking too much!
Follow him: @csq.pic
Our Melbourne based ZEN contributor Curt is in town and Nick put him straight to work in the studio.
Meet him (he’s lovely!) at our next meet this coming Saturday 22nd at 183 Victoria Rd, Marrickville from 12-4PM.
I got an inbox from ATOME last week on Instagram and my day was instantly made. I’ve been a fan of his work since the Australian INfront days (a design community I used to run in the early 2000’s). He’s an OG who’s been writing since the 80’s. A true living legend and legit one of the most famous Australian Graffiti Writers of all time.
We talked cars, bikes and art and the opportunity to do a “Find Your ZEN” feature on him was too good to pass up. Turns out ATOME (AKA Minky) was finishing up an 11-piece series in Fairfield. He invited me out for an early 6AM start to finally meet face to face as well as grab some shots. What a champ, super chill, crazy talented, humble and no doubt about it the dude has found his ZEN.
Look out for his full feature on ZEN Blog soon!
We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.
For our second Find your ZEN Feature (where we feature extraordinary people who have found their ZEN) we shine the spotlight on Sydney based motorcyclist David Song.
Full Feature: https://www.zengarage.com.au/find-your-zen-david-song/
Perks of the job!
MAAP have just done an unlikely (but fucking awesome!) collab with Bleach Design Werks to celebrate their new BlackHeart Allroad AL bike. MAAP Ambassador Jennifer Kay got her hands on the limited edition chromed-out in pink gear early so we spent the afternoon with her taking some rolling shots (both stills and video!). Enjoy these behind the scenes shots and look out for the full feature soon!
Last night’s ZEN relaunch was amazing. My intention was to get in touch with everyone in attendance a week later to ask for feedback, but I got all the feedback on the night instead!
I’m a strong believer in good ideas come from bouncing off others. IE: I’ve never come up with anything great on my own and my best work has always come from bouncing ideas off others. This was in full play last night. I had a fair few people ask me what the goal was for ZEN this time around, and over the night my response to the question took form.
I felt the old ZEN Garage got too big, we were reaching over a million people on Facebook alone and grew so large that people were buying ZEN merch because they saw others wearing it. At its height we were banging on the door of getting ZEN in General Pants Co. And IMHO if that happened it would have been the end of ZEN for good.
There was a sweet spot though, where people who were wearing ZEN had found their ZEN and they knew what we were all about, so much so that if you spotted someone else wearing ZEN out in the wild there was no doubt that you could walk up to them knowing you shared something in common. This sweet spot is where I’d like to get back to, and once there I want to fight to keep it there.
The new ZEN is not a business. It’s a community.
Nothing at all against my previous business partners, I love them all and I’m truly appreciative of all the learnings. They taught me a lot about running a business and I was criticised for treating the business like a hobby, but ultimately that’s where it’s at for me. Those that know me know that I don’t do things in halves. I’m best when I go all out on whatever hobby it is that I’m into at the moment, and now I’m at an age and place where I can afford to do that.
Last night’s launch event and overwhelmingly positive feedback gave me so much fuel. I’m truly looking forward to both connecting and reconnecting with passionate people who have found their ZEN.
What an epic night! Thanks to all who came along. I appreciate it more than you realise. So many faces I’ve not seen in years, such great conversations. So much energy. Such good vibes! It’s so good to be back.
I’m so happy! I can’t wipe the smile off my face. Much love and respect.
Photos by Mark Pakula
Had the legendary Nippy Sign come out to install a huge Zen Garage roundel on the wall today! We’re getting there!