One of the greatest pleasures in my five years as a pinstriper has been getting to know who Mark "Fat Daddy" Hagstrom is. The man is a rockstar to say the least, I say "to say the least" because saying he's a "rockstar" just doesn't do him enough justice. For thirty plus years the "Donut Boy" himself has been killing it, not only has he received social media and word of mouth notoriety, he has also been graced with the title "Licensed Rat Fink Artist", the highest of all honors in the kustom kulture community. Fat Daddy is one of the biggest allies to this community, with many years of amazing knowledge and advice that he is eager to give. This interview holds a huge place in my heart being Mark has been a mentor to me, even without ever meeting him in person I can still say his art and his generosity continue to inspire me every time I pick up my brush. This introduction was so hard for me to write because I didn't want to write it. The interview speaks for itself and I am just eager to share it with you without my ramblings getting in the way. So without further ado, I give you Mark "Fat Daddy" Hagstrom:
1.) First off, thank you Mark, for taking your time to do this interview. This interview means a lot to me being as I see you as a mentor. I hope your wife and daughter are safe and doing well. How have you been during this crazy time?
“Thank you Colin, it is my honor to be asked to share with you and others. My family are all doing well, healthy and happy!”
2.) I also must apologize in advance that my Bucs beat your Packers for the Super Bowl spot. My brother is such a fan of the Packers that literally on the first Tampa touchdown he threw his phone on the ground and it bounced up and broke the giant flatscreen at my parent’s house. My only response was “I guess we’re going to the super bowl dad” LOL.
“Well, I accept your apology my brother…hahahaha. I am a huge Packer fan; win or lose. Those athletes are amazing to watch. No Superbowl this year, but we will hope for next year!!! Go Pack Go!!”
3.) When did you first get involved with the rodding/motorcycle community? And how long after did you first pick up a brush?
“I born in Chicago and lived there till I was 11 years old, I lived just four blocks away from "Whitey's Pit Stop & Chopper Corner." I would go there every weekend to see the cars and bikes! I was amazed at the paint jobs, colors, and pinstriping work! The guys that worked there would laugh when I was there drooling at those rides. They would sometimes give me stickers for my radio flyer wagon! Hahaha…I was hooked!! My Dad was an excellent mechanic and loved cars and Harleys. And, as we grew up, my family became very much into building and rebuilding cars, bikes, and hot rods while I was focused on the paint and pinstriping! I have always been into art and drew cars with monsters driving them. It would end up being the mid 80’s before I would try pinstriping for the first time.”
4.) How did you come to create that crazy awesome signature style of yours? I can only assume that you have some knowledge of symmetry as well as art theory to be able to make such sharp, edgy and well blended pieces. The way the colors compliment and blend with each other creates almost a neon light affect that I find to be so breathtaking. It’s a very Art Deco style, if we were to put a name to it.
“My signature style is called “Donut Boy” scroll style and it was a result of being bored with just doing the Von Dutch traditional hot rod style typically known as “Dagger Style.” I had been working in the scroll style too, and that’s when I had a happy mistake happen…LOL. I was working on a panel in Dagger style when I thought about putting some swirls and curls in the mix. I really liked the results! Continuing forward, I would also add the feather type tear drops shapes. I was inspired by Steve Chaszeyka, who is extremely prolific in scrolling style along with Steve Kafka and a few others. The “Donut Boy” name was coined by my friends as I love to eat donuts!! It’s common to see my studio desk with a donut somewhere near by!! As far as colors, I use 1 Shot Lettering Enamels exclusively and they offer a vast array of colors, which are easily mixed to create the vibrancy I love to work with. I also use 1 Shot products to enhance the life and brightness of my paint.”
5.) While skimming your website, it started to make sense how your pinstriping pieces look so elegant. As of lately, you haven’t just been pinstriping but have actually done some pretty outstanding abstract painting. How long have you been painting like this?
“My styles and designs are always evolving!! As with any artist who practices constantly, you can’t help but grow. You must ALWAYS be willing to listen and learn from your peers. I get a great deal of info by studying the works of the masters of this craft, but I also study the works of the new guys and gals coming into the art. As far as my process to make a design, it all comes from my mind. My focus is to create a flow from top to bottom. I start by finding my centerline and add a teardrop shape to start the design and just let it happen. I believe there hasn’t ever been a line not recreated by an artist. I was once told by my mentor, Jack Lindenberger, that, “We all borrow from each other.” I don’t have formal training as an artist, so I consider myself blessed that I can produce a pleasing piece of art.”
6.) I came to discover you through Jeff, aka Von Dago, who recommended you to me. You and Jeff are very close friends, and it makes sense that the both of you would become huge inspirations to me because of that fact. Not only that, but because of your guys’ art and because of your guys’ kindness. You guys took me under your wings even though you would never come to meet me in person and that truly means a lot to me. When did you and Jeff first meet and how did you become such great pals?
“I am honored to be in that position, Colin. We are just guys who LOVE this craft and want to share it with those who are like-minded. We are always here to help and answer questions and give humble advice. Von Dago…what can I say, he has been a very special brother to me for a few years now. I was first introduced to him thru his awesome brushes. I got a Pro Series 000 pinstriping brush and I immediately loved it and it became my weapon of choice. I wrote to him and expressed my satisfaction and I spent time getting to know him. He would later include me in his “tester” crew for his new products and would ask for honest feedback. I was deeply honored and humbled to participate! We grew even closer as he also became one of Krazy Paint’s partners. If you look into Jeff’s history in the art, you will find he owned and operated “Jeff’s Place” in southern California. His shop was one of the most famous paint shops for many years, having painted a vast number of vehicles for big time customers. Magazines showed his styles and he being highly sought after in the industry. I was surprised to learn that he was the paint shop that painted the famous “Denim Van” in the red, white, and blue flame job for a giveaway in Car Craft. Von Dago genuinely loves his craft and his 50 years spent trying and trying again to bring top quality “Tools of the Trade” to all us artists shows his dedication and his true character. Thank you, Von Dago for everything you have taught me, I will pass it along as you are doing.”
7.) What were you doing before pinstriping and when you came to it, what were the first few years like for you? Did clientele come easy or was it a constant search for work?
"My life before becoming a full-time artist was owning and operating a trucking company. I started trucking in 1983 and hauled many products over the years from logs, general freight, steel, petroleum products and heavy haul, lowboy work. I successfully traveled over two million miles before I was diagnosed with sleep apnea which took me for a ride when I fell asleep at the wheel and ran off the road and launched down a 50-foot ravine. Thank God, He was with me and I received spinal/back and hip injuries which ended my driving career. I sold my company to my brother in law and sister and became the manager/dispatcher for their company which still runs successfully to this day. I am very proud of my trucking days. Being gone was never fun. I missed my wife and children greatly. But it gave the backbone of who I am today. When you own a business, if you don’t work it every day – holidays, weekends - you will never succeed. I put in over 24 years working up to 100 hours a week. During my trucking years, I had done lettering jobs on my equipment using 1 Shot Enamels. It was back in 1988 and my brothers and I loved our snowmobiles. They said, ‘Hey Mark, we want you to pinstripe our sleds.’ I was like, ‘I don’t know the first thing about that.’ I mean, I knew about pinstriping but not how to actually do the work. Back then, there were not any guys “sharing” the secrets of pinstriping. Just ask any of us who have been doing this pre-internet. You would ask a question, but no one would answer! I looked for books and finally found a book by John Hannukaine who would become my inspiration and would be the mentor that I never met. He, along with many other masters, were just starting to share some of their knowledge. I am grateful for that start. His book would give me enough info for paint, brushes, thinner, and muse to practice. He was the first to drill into me that if you are not willing to practice every day, it will be very hard to succeed. My advice is PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE! My clientele has always come from word of mouth. Yes, I will tell you it is hard to get work. But patience, practice honing your craft and people will ask. Remember my friends, as artists, we each have a style or skills that someone needs and wants. With many artists to choose from, it will be the perspective customer who will like your style or not. Don’t be offended if they choose someone else. Be true to who you are in your art.”
8.) What has been some of your most popularly requested work?
“My most requested art is my traditional hot rod, old school work, typically known as “Von Dutch” style. I also get highly requested for my style of Rat Fink art and Von Dutch flying eyeball art. Then, my “Donut Boy style” which continues to grow as more people follow my work. I also do my version of scroll pinstriping and my angular “Edge style” pinstriping which features using only straight lines in the design. It’s quite unique and I often use it in my Southwest Native American style.”
9.) When did social media hit your radar as an idea to share your work? And how has it helped you reach the Kustom community?
“I first discovered “Pinhead Lounge” in 2003, I believe. It opened up the world of pinstripe artists around the country and abroad! I also started selling my art on Ebay at that time. That is where my customer following began to grow. Then, I joined Myspace for a short time till Facebook hit the scene. It was great to put faces with names and being able to talk shop with these guys was awesome. That’s really when the craft was shared along with ideas and different creations could be displayed. I am now on Instagram.com as/FatDaddyLines, on Pinterest.com as /FatDaddyLines, and on Facebook.com as /FatDaddyBrand, with a store on Etsy.com as /FatDaddyLinesDesigns.”
10.) You have been passionately involved in the Krazy Paint panel jam for charity. How did you get involved with this charity and what’s your favorite thing about this panel jam?
“I was introduced to Krazy Paint by John “JC” Carollo, and Dave “Cooz” Cusimano. I was living in North Canton, Ohio and we were not aware of each other. Cooz was the one who saw me on Facebook and mentioned to JC, “We need to get this guy to come to the show.” I was then contacted by JC and added to the ranks. As Krazy Paint grew, the three of us were very involved and passionate about Krazy Paint with our focus on the ARTISTS! Without them…you have nothing. We continued to adjust, plan and get companies in the industry involved such as 1 Shot Lettering Enamels, Von Dago Brushes along with Mack Brush Co. These folks have been great partners and we are incredibly grateful to have them involved with making Krazy Paint one of the top Pinstriper Panel Jams in the world! Our motto is “KRAZY PAINT - Hot Rod Art for Kid’s Charity.” My job is artist registration and communications, and then at the show, I head up the custom artwork table where folks can bring items to be pinstriped or lettered! I love it. It gives me a chance to share with those customers what we are about and how all the money raised goes to kids in need.”
11.) There’s a lot of competition in the community within the past few years, especially when it comes to the younger dudes trying to out-do the older pros, or the vets trying to stifle the progress of the younger guys who seek out their help. I’ve also noticed that there’s a lot of information the vets want to give these guys, but they just don’t want to listen. I was guilty of this when I first started out but have come to accept the wisdom of the older cats, but also have experienced the older pros trying to sabotage my progress because they want to stay the best. What do you think the problem is? If you could sit the community down and give them a pep talk what would you say? Our passion is a dying art that has been coming back to life in the past decade, but it will die if we don’t work together, how could that be achieved?
“This is a very sensitive subject and has a huge amount of opinions and connotations to work through. Sure, competition is always there, I personally don’t see my fellow pinstripers as competition, more as my peers, mentors, and where to get advice if I screw up…and believe me, we all have! That’s why pursuing quality lines and great design work along with proper color theory is what will set you apart. If you can only stick weld two pieces of plate together, does that make you a Master Welder? No, you need to know all the aspects of welding to be that Master. As far as guys trying to stifle someone’s work, good questions just mean they need to keep looking for answers. I am sad that if a vet does that to another artist it’s not cool. Still…there is no specific person to point the blame at. From my experience at Krazy Paint, where we see all levels of talent, there’s room in this industry for everyone to get along. Where we see problems is when a new pinstriper just getting started in this craft sets up a booth, prints business cards and T shirts, and presents himself as professional without knowing everything that can make them a Pro. Now, there are a few artists who rapidly learn the skills and understand color theory. But overall, there are a lot of pieces to this pinstriping puzzle. That’s where the vets come in with their experience. The conflict comes when new artists think they know it all. Remember the old phrase, ‘You don’t know what you don’t know?’ That applies here. This is not about ego. Yes, you need to be self- confident, but ego will slap you upside the head. Meaning if you start way too soon, you will get a bad name….and once that happens, you are done. I paint every day of the week! No joke, and I still wipe off lines when I know I can do better. Never be afraid to learn and wipe off your work if it is not good. You will gain more respect to do that than to paint a terrible piece of work and then show it on the internet and think that you are going to hear “great work”. Now that I have shared all that, we need to look at the harshness some vets may use. First off if you can’t take a critical assessment of your work, then question your own motives. These vets have dedicated their lives to pursuing top quality work that makes them proud. They are also looking to protect the craft. If they get cranky about someone’s attitude, it is because they have seen this before and watched it fail. Remember, when we practice this art, we are representing all of us in the pinstripe community. We all need to be patient, lose the egos and just learn and paint! That’s how it will continue. Share your love of the craft. All of us need to respect the craft, too. I am personally very cautious when I am about to paint on someone’s $80,000 Hot Rod, or even if it’s a $8,000 ride. 99% of the Pro artists only want to help the new pinstriper/artist to push themselves to achieve Pro quality. I have always said, if you would not pinstripe for free, then it’s just about money and not for the love of the art. I never charged a customer till I had been practicing for four years. I just wanted to do it, give my customer top quality and to do my best work. I believe the craft will continue to grow and we will not let the art die. I personally have seen over the many years I have practiced the art that of 50% of the guys who start never go past five years. They do it for the wrong reasons, but they have to ask themselves about that. Too many just look at this art as “beer money” and that’s not what the passion for the art is all about.”
12.) When did you become an officially licensed Rat Fink artist to Ed Roth? That must have been one of the greatest honors of a lifetime to know you are up there with Ed himself as well as Newt.
“It is one of the highest, most humbling and honoring moments of my art career! However, I do not consider myself as being up there in this craft, more as a “Junior” in the craft and that’s why I practice so much. When my family moved to Northern Wisconsin in 1971, I did not have the opportunity to attend car shows. My dream would have been to have met Ed "Big Daddy" Roth! He was such an inspiration growing up drawing monsters and hot rods! I admired his vision and his art, and truthfully, I am STILL inspired by Big Daddy and his family! In June of 2014, I became a Roth-approved "Official Rat Fink Artist.” I love to support the Roth Museum in Manti, Utah, and I will attend a Rat Fink Reunion in person soon. Ed’s wife Ilene is an incredible lady and she continues on with sharing his artwork! “Thank you so much Ilene!” I love to collect model cars, Rat Finks, stickers, and Odd Rod collector cards!”
13.) In the 30+ years as an artist, has there been anyone you wished you could have done work for, or to have worked with?
“Good question! I would have loved to just be around guys that I have followed and looked up to in their craft. I am so humbled by the fact I have worked alongside of MANY of my favorite artists and I have become great friends with them. I had the honor and privilege of painting alongside of my friend, Ryan Evans from Counting Cars, at different panel jams. He is a very cool and down to earth guy who loves the art as much as I do.”
14.) What were some of the magazines that you were blessed to have been published in?
“I have had the honor of two features in the international magazine called “Pinstriping and Kustom Graphics,” one feature in “Speed & Chrome” and a feature as of this past month in the magazine “Rodding USA”. I am also proud to say that “JC”, owner of John Carollo Asociates did all the writing. He is a professional writer/photographer of NASCAR and motorsports fame and has been published in countless mags himself. Check out his works.”
15.) Is there anything you would like to say to the world right now to pick them up during this hard time?
“My best thought is this..."Yesterday ended last night." Make all you can of each day and share your life with others. Help them along the way and support their dreams. I am truly blessed to be able to do that every day. Yes, I do have down days...believe me. But I choose to get back up and keep going. Practice every day whatever it is you love to do, and you will always be happy! Many thanks to all of you who are in my life and I send blessings and love to you! I look forward to meeting many more people and becoming good friends! My favorite slogan is “If it’s Perfect…It ain’t done by Hand.” God bless you all….all my best, Mark...Fat Daddy”
Please check out all of Fat Daddy's media pages here:
Instagram.com as/FatDaddyLines,
Pinterest.com as /FatDaddyLines,
Facebook.com/FatDaddyBrand,
Etsy.com/FatDaddyLinesDesigns.
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THE ART OF MARK "FAT DADDY" HAGSTROM
Great interview! Mark is a gem!
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