1 on 1 with Artist Freehand Profit

Why would anyone cut up a perfect pair of sneakers to make a gas mask? What is the point of that?

Gary Lockwood, aka Freehand Profit, is a hip hop junkie, sneaker enthusiast, and progressive artist all rolled into one. His passion for all things hip hop led to him down a path unpaved by anyone prior. The trailblazer has added another tool to his repertoire, as he is in works on his first book, The Army of the Undeadstock. We had a chance to speak with Freehand Profit, and get a glimpse into the amazing mind of a well traveled artistic renaissance man to discuss everything from his multitude of influences, his sneaker collection, and how creating gas masks came about. Be sure to check the last page for previews of some masks that will be in the book….including one you probably weren’t expecting.

Air Jordan 6 “Olympic” Gas Mask

Nice Kicks: Let?s start with an introduction. We know you as Freehand Profit, but what?s your name and where are you from?

Freehand Profit: My name is Gary Lockwood. I actually go by ?Freehand Profit.? That?s the name I started using when I was doing graffiti as a teen. The reason I continue to use it is because there was a famous actor by the same name who started doing art after his acting career had finished. So, for the longest time people couldn?t find my work.

I was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin but spent most of my life growing up in Northern Virginia right outside of D.C. and Fairfax County. It was a great environment – a great place – but I had to come out to a big city (Los Angeles). D.C. is a great city for politics and all that, but I was focused on art and music, so LA was definitely the place to be.

Nice Kicks: How did you get started creating gas masks? What was the inspiration to make gas masks out of sneakers?

Freehand Profit: It all started because I began a doing a project called Mask 365, which was a daily project in which I drew, created, and assembled a mask everyday for a year. I?ve always had a passion for gas masks. Part of that is being a graffiti head; part of it is being a smoker. Also, as a kid, my dad had a gas mask, and I used to play with it like a toy. Really what I was trying to do is customize gas masks. I wanted to paint these like I paint other masks I?m working on, but because most of the masks are made out of rubber or latex of some sort you couldn?t really paint them. The paint would crack or won?t adhere. I had to find a new way of working with these masks, and seeing as I was doing this everyday for a year, I was looking for new materials all the time. The first piece was actually made out of a Gucci handbag that my friend?s mom was going to throw away. I was like, I?m sure I can find something to do with it. I was thinking about combining it with this mask. In essence, wrap this mask in the Gucci material, and it worked out. I was really excited and liked the results, but I don?t really care for handbags. There?s that visual language that I was talking about in hip hop and hip hop style, but it wasn?t personal to me. I switched over to sneakers because that?s something that I cared about. Actually, the first sneaker mask was the Blazer ?Green Spark?. Those were a $20 find at the Nike outlet in Vero Beach. That kind of kicked it all off. As I kept working, I gained more confidence in the work, and became more confident that it can be done with any shoe as long as there is enough material. I just kept upping the ante, which is part of the artistic process. You start with basic material, like a pen and pencil, but hopefully you are working up to an idea that is a much more finished. It?s substituting standard art materials, things that I don?t really care about, with sneakers, material that I do care about.

Nike SB Dunk Hi “Cheech and Chong” Gas Mask