FUTURA THE GRAFFITI GRANDDADDY

Craig Metzger went to school hiding a hammer in his sleeve while growing up in the Queens neighborhood of Jackson Heights. He went on to earn a college degree in criminal investigation, but when he realized that managing his local skate shop would pay him twice the salary of your average bullet–dodging detective, he decided to turn his passion into a career.

Fast forward 10 years: The 31–year–old is rising through the skate–industry ranks like Tony Hawk out of a halfpipe. As brand manager at éS, he’s in charge of everything from the company’s star–studded team—with heavies like Eric Koston and PJ Ladd—to the color scheme of the spring 2006 line. Aside from piloting that industry–leading ship, he also runs Instant Winner Skateboards—a new skate deck company that’s making waves with things like 3–D graphics. Meanwhile, his work as an artist and graphic designer is finding new audiences across the country with shows like the recent “Friendmakers” and his enduring online project, enginesystem.com.

“Having influence—that is power,” says Metzger. “More powerful even than money. When you can come out and say, ’Yellow is this year’s black,’ and everyone follows suit, that’s hot.” Which begs the obvious question—what is this year’s black? Metzger just laughs. “That kind of information comes with a price tag.”

Home // CELEBRITIES // COMPLEX MEN // Captains of Cool // Futura