Goaltender turns passions for hockey and artwork into enterprise
He makes helmets for goaltenders on youth groups, membership groups, NCAA groups {and professional} groups. He was thrilled to see his helmets on nationwide TV, when the College of Massachusetts Amherst received the NCAA Championship final season.
TAMPA, Fla. – On the desk of Kyle Konin’s workspace sits a Tampa Bay Lightning hockey helmet with an image of Yoda from Star Wars on it. The helmet is an ideal illustration of Konin’s passions and his business.
“I by no means thought I’d get to mix two issues I really like probably the most,” he mentioned.
Konin is lifelong hockey goaltender. Final 12 months, he achieved a dream by attending to go well with up because the emergency goaltender for Amalie Enviornment because the Lightning hosted the St. Louis Blues.
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Konin can be a lifelong artist.
“I’ve at all times needed my masks painted, and all of the NHL goaltenders have theirs painted, so I someday began portray my very own after which associates needed them after which associates of associates, and it simply grew into an entire business,” he defined.
That enterprise is NUJAX Airbrush. He’s misplaced monitor of what number of he’s created in whole however estimates that the quantity is round 500-1,000. The helmet is first taken aside, sanded, base-coated after which hand-painted, utilizing a mixture of hand portray and air brushing. He finishes by making use of an costly clear coat to guard the helmets.
“My aim after I design them is we positively need it to be readable from a distance, so if somebody’s watching you play, you need them to have the ability to inform what the design is,” Konin mentioned. “You then additionally wish to have some cool stuff that is up shut, the place you stroll as much as the helmet, and also you see some actually cool hidden particulars.”
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Two of Konin’s present tasks are extra prime examples of blending hockey and artwork. He simply completed a helmet that options Lego characters trying out breweries in Michigan. He’s wrapping up a helmet that options the top of the robotic dinosaur Grimlock, featured within the Transformers film franchise.
He makes helmets for goaltenders on youth groups, membership groups, NCAA groups {and professional} groups. He was thrilled to see his helmets on nationwide TV, when the College of Massachusetts Amherst received the NCAA Championship final season.
“Was only a actually cool feeling to see that my work is, you understand, on the market nationally,” Konin mentioned.
As Konin enters the summer time, his workspace fills with extra clean helmets. He mentioned summer time is the busiest a part of the 12 months, however he welcomes it.
“It helps my course of when there’s a number of going at a time,” he defined.
