There are so many feelings, yet so few words to express what’s swirling around my brain right now. I suppose 16 years in any industry will fill you with more than your fair share of emotions. But this isn’t just any industry. It’s the sports design industry. The industry that raised me. The industry that took in a kid with nothing more than a bootleg copy of Photoshop CS and a dream of making it big in a world that he didn’t even knew existed yet. Heck, the industry barely existed itself. We grew up together, each contributing to the other’s growth and success over the years. I even learned how to do the Dougie. 

I’ve done everything I ever wanted to do in sports, and then some. While I stayed mostly on the Marketing side, there wasn’t anything in this ever-changing niche industry that didn’t come across my desk at some point. Some things we had to invent just to make it a thing. Others we repurposed from different industries to fit the sports landscape. I grew up and worked with some true pioneers. However small my contribution has been, it’s not nearly as influential and exciting compared to what’s going down these days. Seeing where the current creatives are taking the game is truly inspiring. I still plan on designing for a living, it’s the only thing I’m good at besides slamming down milkshakes and driving my wife crazy.

So…still designing, just not for sports. As great as this career has been, there are still plenty of reasons to jet. My DMs are open for any and all questions, or feel free to just catch me outside, how bout dat. I’ll still do the occasional FRIDAY DOODLES for my favorite teams and athletes now that I can be a fan boi again without any side eye from current athletic employers. Sports design is great. And it will be even greater to do it on my own time at my own pace.

So as I hang up my magic wand and put the pen tool back in the toolbox, I say thank you, sports. You’re in good hands. The next generation is legit. Who knows, maybe for the right client at the right time for the right price, the freelance lines on the bat phone will be open. And I’d love to collab with other designers for fun. So maybe this isn’t a goodbye, or even a see you later. Let’s just call it a…call me, maybe? This swan song can be as long and sweet as necessary as long as there’s a demand for such shenanigans. 

I’ve met so many great people and made some of my best friends here. Even managed to marry one of them. It’s been 4 presidents, 3 popes, 2 Batmans, 1 global pandemic and a thing called YouTube since I designed my first sports marketing materials. Over the years I’ve had the pleasure of working with some phenomenal designers and even better people. Special shoutout to all of you guys and gals who have made me better:

Zac Logsdon
This guy took a chance on me and let me blaze my own trail in this industry. I had never touched InDesign or Illustrator, much less his favorite program, Freehand, but all of those things were necessary for my role. With his patience he allowed me learn, grow and develop into the fella I am today. He’s like a big brother to me. A brother who runs down Main Street wearing nothing but a speedo for charity. I will always be thankful and appreciative for Zac. I wouldn’t be where I am today without him. Buy his books, listen to his podcasts, send him a Zima from across the bar with a wink and a smile and tell him thanks for everything. 

Robert Smith
Robert is that guy who is great at almost everything and somehow cleans up the rest by being pretty darn good at whatever’s left. Quality dude. He and Zac created a culture at Old Hat that I haven’t experienced anywhere else. He was always the good cop, but had devilishly good looks. I’d kill for his hair. Mainly for the hair, but now that I think about it I’d get interrogated by him, the good cop, so it’s a win-win. And he liked to scare my future wife. My man!

Todd Milligan
Goofball extraordinaire and taught me how to think differently about how I see the world. Mainly with fart jokes. Great designer who found his own way in this industry and has been killing it on his own for more than a decade. For some reason his name in my phone is Turd Mulligan. 

Dustin Schmidt
Talk about versatile. Started in print design, taught himself photography/videography, transitioned into web design and could down an entire box of donuts in a single sitting. There was only ONE person in charge at all of our photo/video shoots, and that person was Duffy. We had some great rick roll wars and he got me almost every time. He was the first one at the office on my first day, and he’s the last guy I remember saying goodbye to ten years later. He has one of the best nickname stories I’ve ever heard. Miss ya, Duff! Stay outta my biscuits, my biscaaats… 

Todd Adams
The most outgoing, friendliest dude I’ve ever met. Started as a designer, built and compiled all of Old Hat’s policies and procedures and was the best project manager I’ve ever had. He literally made my job easier every day. We were the only ones who listened to any sort of old school hip hop and r&b and could entertain ourselves for hours with the most random references and youtube videos. Todd is also a cinnamon roll connoisseur. Coworkers, roommates, groomsmen, buds.

Dane Heins
Often the subject of Zac’s abuse on Old Hat’s “abuse the intern” series. This dude is a VIBE. Some of my favorite work moments were our conversations between me, Dane and Todd in our little cubbie. He has a gift for music. I often find myself playing his Samurai Conquistadores album just to vibe out. He was also the main culprit the last time I laughed so hard I almost peed my pants. Late night car rides, fake laughs and animal noises: a reci-pee for disaster. 

Jake Schwartz
J-Boogie! Straight outta Cali. My main man for NBA lockout games and OU Basketball mini plans. Not too shabby on the court himself. Glad I was on his team all those times for our noonball lunch runs. Jake did a little bit of everything around the office including fighting Dane with a broom. 

Luke Atkinson
Good vibes all day. Luke was built to do so much more than sports posters and that’s starting to show now. He just gets it. Good human being with more interests and hobbies than bubbles in his homemade kombucha. Love watching all your adventures, dude! He’s well on his way to changing the world for the better and imma ride with him till I can’t no more. 

Brian Hostetler
BHoss pushed me when nobody else would. “Did you try this, what if you did that. It needs to be more fundamentally sound.” Grateful to have crossed paths with someone who challenged me. Something that is often lacking in so many of these young designers making their way up in our world these days – by no fault of their own. Someone who knows design inside and out and knows how to get the best out of his peers. He never let me get stale, and just like his favorite sport (baseball) really focused on the fundamentals. He loves the Texas Rangers, which makes sense because he was always right there working, protecting and serving with me all those 70-80 hour work weeks during busy season. His fishing and wildlife shirt was incredible too. 

Brian Gundell
Or Gordie as we called him because there was already a Brian in the office. I would watch in amazement as he thoughtfully planned, organized and executed his designs. The process was just as important as the final result. He really helped spearhead the branding division of the company with his excellent logos. So happy to see where his career has taken him and he deserves every bit of it. Still salty about all the Fifa Ls he handed me but his BBQ chicken is still the best I’ve ever had TILL THIS DAY!

Joe Crall
Joe started a few months after me and basically founded the web department at Old Hat. I still have no idea what he did, or does to this day, but he must be really good. The NBA came calling and he never looked back. I can still hear Zac yelling the same question over and over because Joe had his earbuds in with the volume turned way up. Music on, shoes off, boogie down, Thunder up!

Deb Livingston
ALLSTAR. That’s the tweet. JK JK. But for real. Similarly to Joe, Deb started shortly after me and founded the video department where she scripted, directed, produced and sometimes even edited some of the best sports videos in the world. That hype moment before your favorite sporting event…Deb did dat. That on-court projection video that blew your socks off and gave you slight vertigo…Deb did dat. She’s all that and a bag of sass and I’m HERE for it. She kept me sane most days with outrageous gifs, 80s music references and A League of Their Own quotes. I could go on and on but I have seen enough to know I have seen too much. You’re welcome for that extra-special glimpse into her life. Just keep swimming, Debo!

Becky Carman
Becky is the peanut butter to Deb’s jelly. The space to Deb’s jam. The real lady to Deb’s marmalade. They worked on lots of video projects together and might as well been called the Admiral and the Mail Woman because they commanded the show and always delivered. The dream team. Becky kept me sane at work as well, with slightly less outrageous gifs and the presence of her pup at the office every day. Hands down the best writer I know. Local reviews, national interviews, OKC Thunder live-tweets. She has the right amount of smarts, humor and sass to have her own series of some sort. And by her own, I mean just for her because I’m pretty sure she would hate that. ¿SoRrY fOr the atrocious grammar; and punctuation on this blog?

Mike Mitra
Mike was a big ball of joy. If I remember correctly, he started as an intern and worked his way into a full time spot where he held his own doing all the heavy lifting on layouts and publication projects. Over the years his photography skills have blown me away from what I’ve seen on instagram and his amazing trips around the world. Nobody could take a pie to the face like Mike Mitra. 

Seth Rexilius
All time great dude. Seth was, and still is, one hell of a designer and was always one step ahead of the trends. He would go simple in an age of “more is more.” Clients didn’t always see the value at the time, but when they did, they were some of my favorite projects to see go out the door. The only D1 football player I’ve had the privilege of working with. Seth was the resident long distance football thrower, arm wrestling and indoor office mini hoop slam dunk champion. 

Walter Colindres
Walter was another talented utility guy I got to work with. Started in print, gracefully slid over to web. This guy put together some of my favorite micro sites. Did a little bit of everything else including giving me a hard time about my Knicks. Walter could squat circles around Jane Fonda and her 80s workout videos. 

Aaron Villalobos
Aaron was a hoot and a blast to work with. He really brought me out of my shell. My guy was a great designer who was incredible at thinking outside of the box. Aaron was one of the tweeners who was hired to design but had a wealth of in-house marketing experience. That really helped bridge the gap between the designers and the clients. This dude has some pipes too. Vocals for days. It’s been amazing watching him join some of the best choirs and musical productions all around the country. He literally scared a toot out of me one day at my desk.  

Kris Bazen
What an inspiration. This dude came in as a designer and boy did we get more than we payed for. Kris basically took over as the director of branding and designed some of the dopest logos I’ve ever seen. His personal work was just as amazing. But it was off the court where he really shined. This dude had jokes for days and would drop some of the most thought provoking knowledge bombs my brain has ever had the opportunity to process. Kris kept the mood light but always had his priorities in order. There are more important things in your life than work. That really rubbed off on me. I remember he was designing a poster using a photo of a close-up hand with a finger cropped out and Kris casually just drew the rest of the finger back on. NBD. Miss your booming voice, Big Baze!

Jared Stanley
Jared is one of my best friends, and just like a new pair of socks, I’m glad he made his way into my life. The highest compliment a man can receive. The best designer you’ve never heard of. And similarly to me, he probably prefers it that way. According to Myers & Briggs we have the same personality type which is to lay low, but his work speaks for itself. He was responsible for all things print and digital but really pushed the limit of creativity with his logos. Illustrator swag on a trillion. We had an incredible run of branding experts between Milligan, BHoss, Gundell, Kris and Jared. He’s my go to guy for all the weird podcasts, ancient history, philosophy and unexplainable things in this world. So we basically just talk about my wife. He’s the only one in my time at Old Hat to have designed a regular season schedule poster for a NCAAF national champion. 

Douglas Wilson
My time working with Douglas was short and distant before socially distancing was a thing. He worked for Old Hat a thousand miles away on campus at the University of Utah. So I only saw him once a year at our staff retreats. Charming son of a gun who is really good at art. Like real art. There’s a saying that goes “Utah, but I’m taller.” But I’m pretty sure Douglas is taller than me so he isn’t DougLESS, he is DougMORE.

Tanner Naeher
Tanner was the developer of the bunch and spent his time digging through code all day. His sites were cooler than cool. Ice cold you could say. But not from Sonic, because they make you pay for ice water, which Tanner REFUSES to do. If there’s one thing in this world I’d pay for, it would be to see this guy sing karaoke. Show stopper.

Justin Wollard
Great dude who had his hands in a little bit of everything. From killer posters and publications at work, to being the PA announcer at big time sporting events around town after hours. Super low-key and chill which made him easy to get along with. A wizard with photoshop actions which I assume is because one of his favorite teams is the St. Louis Cardinals and they had a wizard of their own. Never seen Justin do a backflip though. 

Traci Fuller Jimerson
There’s an “E” in team but not in Traci. However, she was the ultimate team player and did a lot of publications at work. We bonded over silly animal pictures and roasting Luke and Dustin into oblivion. At her wedding she said in front of everyone that her soon to be husband was the weirdest person she knew, which was like a huge weight being lifted off my shoulders. You can probably hear my sigh of relief on her wedding video. Maybe we didn’t bond as much as I thought. 

Scott Matthews
The swollest designer I know. He could probably bench more weight than there are pixels in a .psb file at 300 dpi. He always looked out for his designers and really stood up for us. He’s been holding down the fort and making my favorite athletic teams look good since before I can remember. It was fun helping him out for a couple years working on graphics for NBA draft picks and Heisman campaigns. It’s only going to get busier for him and his crew. BOOMER!

Alex Eisbrener
An up and coming designer who has probably already arrived if we’re being honest. Dope ideas with the talent to back it up. Her OU posters and graphics had me like WOAH. But her illustrated vector car graphics are some of the most amazing pieces of art I’ve ever seen. Thanks for being the messenger all those times I couldn’t hear Scott from my office.

Joshua Gately
Josh is one of the photographers that shoots for OU and is the best doing it today if you ask me. I hardly saw him or worked with him outside of photoshoots but he was always fun to be around. We know some of the same people in the industry and it was fun to share battle stories. He made my job easier working with such great photography. People like to take pictures of him taking pictures and post them on social media. 

Brent DePaepe
Brent is one of the best dudes that I’ve ever had the privilege of working with. He persuaded this old dog to move 500 miles away from my only home and I couldn’t think of a better guy to be around. Our time at work was socially distanced by the pandemic, but he always made sure to check in on me and my family. When times were good, Brent was there. When times got tough, Brent was there. And when Times (New Roman) needed to be kerned, Brent helped do that too. 

Tricia Rogers
Last and most importantly, my wife. My second favorite project manager, but my first favorite person ever. We met, she bossed me around at work for 4 years, started hanging out at the zoo, I let her beat me at skip bo all those times, then she seduced me like a Disney live action remake of The Odyssey. Except this time Odysseus is like “oh you can’t really sing but your home-cooked meals are bangin and you put up with my jokes and make me a better person so imma ignore all the warnings and marry ya, you enchanting siren.“ You’re the best partner in crime I could have ever asked for and I bet Mocha •AKA• The Mocha Monster •AKA• Mocha Zeta Jones •AKA• Mocha Meowzers loves you just as much as I do. I don’t know where this journey is taking us, but I wouldn’t want to do it with anybody else. But you better believe I have some beeswax ear plugs for when the singing pops off. It appears this is the quirkiest blurb, but fitting considering the people involved. Me and you, with the emphasis on you. The strongest person I know. My pork connection. My brave little toaster. My babe. My weird, weird babe. Love you. 

To all my other coworkers, friends and clients I’ve worked with along the way, no matter the extent: I love yall too. Special thanks to Mike Minyard and Rich Tortorelli for allowing me to freelance my first ever projects for ORU and OCU – all from my bedroom at my parents’ house. You guys opened my eyes to a whole new world and convinced me this was what I wanted to do for a living. To the koolest Kevins I know: Kelly and Hanley. You guys brought me joy both on and off the noonball courts. Kevin Kelly, I love how you are just as organized as me. I still use your beef stroganoff recipe you taught me. Kevin Hanley, one of the chillest dudes I know with one of the meanest appetites for funky music. Hannah “handstands” and AGK. The most optimistic and positive people I’ve ever worked with. A-Town put up with an unbelievable amount of pranks from Robert, and Jessica “juicy fruit” George’s nickname had me totally jealous. Tracie Hitz might be the most networked person I know while Garrett and James could code their tails off. I believe James previously worked with some aerospace clients. Again, jelly.

Kelby could plan and organize the heck out of NACMA and 5Ks, and Bethany kept some of our biggest clients happy. I overheard Stevie and Deb brainstorming on a weekly basis and couldn’t stop myself from giggling with their wild convos. Taylor was part time when I started, then went full time, and when she left, her personalized notes to everybody on her way out really taught me how far being nice to people can go. Somewhat of the inspiration for this.

As one of the twenty-first century’s greatest philosophers once said: “If you admire somebody you should go ahead and tell em, people never get the flowers while they can still smell em.” My wife says we’re #teamtaylor now tho. #Swifties stand up! To everybody else in Marketing, Digital, all the SIDs, Admins, Coaches, Ops guys and gals, Ticket Sales and department heads…if we worked together, I just want to say I appreciate ya!

Maybe I was wrong at the beginning of this. There are a lot of feelings and even MORE words. Words like shenanigans, reci-pee, doodles, kombucha and #Swifties. Now they’re swirling around in YOUR brain. 3,851 words to be exact. If you’ve made it this far you’re either my mom, mentioned above, a super trooper or a glutton for punishment. My wife didn’t even make it to this point. Either way, I’d like to take this time right meow to thank you too.

So now that I’ve pushed my last profitable pixel in the sports arena and bored you with the instant replay, I proudly walk away on my own terms to focus on more important things in life.

For now, this magic carpet ride comes to an end. As I disembark, I look forward to seeing where this business sails off to, and how the brilliant creative minds adapt and steer the ship. I’ll be on the poop deck until further notice, watching from Jafar. I hope to keep in touch with everybody, old and new, so be on the lookout for this Riffraff and his goofy wife. Appreciate you all! And to the sports design industry that kept me afloat for 16 years, thank you again. It’s been a wild ride but I wouldn’t want it any other way. So until we meet again – so long, sports.