For what started out – almost on a ‘dare’ – has been an unimaginable ride!

For a non-hockey guy, to have made such an impact with the creation of the Armadilla Mask, bordered on the impossible.

It went against every previous business example as ‘what to do’ and ‘how to do it’. It didn’t start small/local and work up.

Coming from a lifetime of involvement in auto racing, the ‘clean sheet’ approach allowed me to pick from the cutting edge materials and processes already in play in motorsports – undiscovered in the hockey industry – and create a fresh design for the mask structure. Lighter, stronger, safer. Core concepts that were targeted were exceeded.

The first Armadilla started at the top – with the NHL – and worked back to local. Running parallel to the NHL exposure, the Armadilla was the first ice hockey goaltenders’ mask of its type to be granted CSA approval. These two ingredients were certainly major contributors to having the Armadilla available for retail sales for recreational goalies, young and old alike.

Once the structure of the mask, and its manufacturing process were dialed in, the realization hit that I had just created the canvases for my art.

From the first napkin doodle that spawned the trend-setting original San Jose SHARKS mask, to experimenting with paint finishes, and the first chrome mask shell, to decades of creative imagery.

Once it was time to set the manufacturing aside, I circled back around to motorsports and gave my attention to the design and refinishing of driver and crew helmets.

I’m genuinely amazed and grateful that this path has exposed me to people, running the gamut from ‘incredible’ to ‘douchey’, taken me to places and made available experiences that the younger me could never have thought possible.

Thank you to all those in every discipline who have wandered with me along this path! The great times, challenging times, groundbreaking accomplishments, and the thousands of images created would not have been possible without you.

My books are currently closed while I pursue other personal interests that I have now moved to the front burner.

Don’t need any praise / recognition / exposure. Just be nice. Just be fair.