PHOTOS: Greg Shewchuck
WORDS: Bob K

A couple of weeks ago I attended the first annual "Career Day", which you can learn about by reading the flier to the left.

it was a sunny Friday afternoon in Chinatown of Los Angeles and The Land Of Plenty (a non-profit company which you can learn more about here) brought together a bunch of art directors and industry folk from different skateboard companies and sat them down with about 30 or so young artists for face-to-face meetings. Some of the artists were still in high school, showing sketchbooks filled with sharpie drawings while others were about to graduate after years of design school boasting thick portfolios, still others actually worked in the industry and just wanted an opportunity to sit down with the art directors and rap, show their work, network and get some advice. What they all had in common was enthusiasm and excitement, and it was cool to be a part of it.

Industry folk/art directors in attendance included Grant Brittain from The Skateboard Mag, Andy Jenkins from Girl Skateboards, Andy Mueller from Lakai, Michael Coleman from Fourstar, Justin Regan from Altamont and... um... Bob K from Mumble etc... among others.

For me it was a rad opportunity to scope out new talent for a semi-secret project I'm working on while also just being there to be able to offer advice to people in the same position that I was once in. It was also nice to be able to rap with some old industry pals who I hadn't seen in awhile.

I can imagine how inspiring it was for the artists in attendance to be able to sit down and talk to the art director of Girl, a skateboard photography legend and the brand manager of Altamont all in one afternoon. Some came looking for jobs, others for advice, and I think all left with more stoke than they walked in with.

If you work at a skateboard company you should hit up The Land Of Plenty to see how you can be involved next year.... and if you're an up and coming artist who wants to get a foot in the door of the industry you should do the same.