Next up as part of our ‘spotlight’ series is Brian Renke. Baby-faced Brian is the youngest member of the design team (based in the Cambridge studio). But don’t let that fool you, because behind that boyish exterior lies an extremely focused designer… with cat like reflexes and a taste for danger!
Q: Name please?
A: Brian Renke… a lot of people call me skanky, which helps to understand the pronunciation of my last name.
Q: Where are you from?
A: Sharon, Massachusetts
Q: Who are some of your favorite artists?
A: Kanye as a musician; I appreciate his boldness, taste, and ability to consistently make the top 100 despite everyone thinking he’s a douche. Claude Monet as an artist; I like impressionist painting, especially his paintings, because they capture a moment, similar to photography, but much more abstract and emotional. Darren Aronofsky as a director; film is becoming more and more important to me, and after seeing Black Swan, Darren’s ability to make me feel like I was going insane through dialogue, imagery, and sound was…insane.
Q: What kind of music do you like?
A: Anything that has a good rhythm, I have found at least one song in every genre that I like. If I had to choose a favorite it would be hip hop because hip hop artists, like designers, create their work by sampling from anything that inspires them, then reinterpreting those samples into their own creation.
Q: What are some of your favorite spots on the internet?
A: Gmail
Q: What is the best thing about working for Soldier?
A: Working so hard for a snowboarding company that I missed most of the snowboarding season, but then having the best possible snowboarding session with my bosses the second to last weekend of the season. It was the type of day that you wish wouldn’t end, but you have to stop that right away before you waste that perfect day worrying about it ending, just live it. Work hard, play hard…nuff said.
Q: If you could chose, what would be your dream project to work on at Soldier?
A: I am dying to get Soldier and Under Armour to collaborate and design a wetsuit together. I love surfing, I hate being cold; unfortunately, in New England the best time to surf is when the water is chilly. Under Armour makes sick gear, so one day I decided to wear Cold Gear under my wetsuit…I was like dude….this was a good idea.
Q: What is your technical set up like at your work space? What are the tools of your trade?
A: My command station consists of the new Wacom Cintiq 21UX and a 23″ Mac monitor. I can draw directly on the screen! I wear this little wool glove on my left hand when I use it because it helps my hand glide over the surface of the screen…people make fun of me about it, but watevs it works really well, I recommend it.
Q: You’re an ‘outdoorsy’ kinda guy Brian. Do you prefer snowboarding, surfing or skating?
A: By “skating” do you mean ice dancing? Im a surfer bro.
Q: Yes, I totally meant ice dancing. You’d look fantastic in a sparkly leotard and you know it. So how would you spend your perfect day?
A: Get up at 5.30am on a summer morning, surf for an hour and a half…I never make it longer than that, get to the studio by 9am (by bicycle), have a nice light but delicious lunch outside around 12 noon, put in some more work till 5pm, meet up with some friends for a couple brews around 6pm, ride my bike home, chill out and watch the news while drinking some water and petting Dave (my future english bulldog), take a shower, practice some mandarin chinese, take a snooze.
Q: Who would you cast as you, in a movie about your life?
A: Aaaagh thats a tough one….Leonardo DiCaprio, hes the man.
Q: We do a lot of eating here at the studio. Favorite food?
A: Could always eat pizza
Q: “Walk Like an Egyptian” by The Bangles was number 1 when you were born. You are not Egyptian… what song do you think best represents YOU?
A: Aqueous Transmission by Incubus
Q: A farmer wishes to make a straight barbed wire fence 80 feet long. He wants to have a fence post every 8 feet. How many fence posts does he need?
A: ….carry the 1…..mmmm 10. Is that a trick question?
Q: Nope, I’m sorry the answer was 11, because you need a post at the very start of the fence as well. What are two true things about you, and one lie?
A: I can put Big Macs down like nobody’s business, I like animals…..and I drive a white Audi R8 with black leather interior.
Q: If you had to perform at the circus, what trick would you do?
A: Double pits to chesty
Q: That sounds painful. Which came first, chicken or the egg?
A: Primordial soup
So there you have it folks. Our Brian!