What Is It?

People ask me all the time about what exactly is the FYA Brand mascot? Is it a football head? Is it a rag doll? Well, if I had to guess, I’d say it resembles a scarecrow. I created the original design way back in 1995. At the time, I just wanted to make something cool and different to embrace the cannabis culture in the Bay Area. I wasn’t even thinking about starting my own brand and marijuana wouldn’t be legal in Cali until the following year in ’96. Once I started drawing, I didn’t know where my imagination would take me.

I started the design with a round head. Oh, and a quick side note, I can’t remember if I was high or not, but anyway, back to the blog. I added a round nose, and then I added a side seam the length of the head. It was at this point that I added a few stitches. I intentionally wanted a few strands to pop out of his head to give it a more urban look. Once I added the large bandage eyes, and the gold tooth to his grille, I knew I had a winner. And how could I forget about the big ass spliff he’s smokin’? That was the final touch.

Now, mind you, I did the original drawing free hand, in pencil, and on a sheet of 8×11 lined paper. I then traced my drawing in black ink and had the image digitally scanned on to a floppy disk. Yes, a floppy disk. That allowed me to add color and text. And you may have noticed how generic the smoke looks. Well, that’s because I had to digitally add the smoke separately. I then added the three largest cities in the Yay Area, (I’m from the Town). And finally, I had to come up with a name. I initially called my clothing brand, ‘Fiend Gear’. Like, a pot fiend. LOL. Years later, I would change my label to ‘FYA Brand’ because being a fiend in the new Millenium just didn’t sound appropriate. So, now you know.