Interview with Designer Christian Acker

Originally form Central Jersey, Christian Acker was raised on a healthy diet of Soccer, Skating and eventually Punk Rock and Graffiti. From an early age he knew he wanted a life in the visual arts. Christian currently is an art director for Zoo York and does his side work through Adnauseum and Handselecta. Christian also art directed our Zoo York x Mike Giant x Stoked Deck & Tee and is an inspiration about overcoming obstacles. We’re pleased to have him speak to us.

Stoked: What are you Stoked about these days?
Christian: Right now I’m really stoked on early animated cartoons. Like 1930’s to 1960’s stuff. Betty Boop, Popeye, stuff like that.

Stoked: What is your definition of success?
Christian: Doing what I love everyday. Loving what I do everyday.

Stoked: What inspires you to do what you do?
Christian: So much. I don’t think I ever considered doing anything else. Design and art are just the means by which I think and process the world around me. Design is a way of communicating and connecting with people and that’s really inspiring. It’s a communication and it often takes place within communities or even creates them.

Stoked: How do you get motivated to take on major challenges?
Christian: I guess I see life as a long series of major challenges. It’s more of a fight or a battle than a test though. Life isn’t easy. Anyone who thinks it is, hasn’t been faced with its coldness yet. Every breath is a subconscious strike in the battle we live everyday. A year ago I was diagnosed with cancer. I was subsequently operated on, treated and fully recovered. I’m not yet 30, but have a wife and 2 small children that I had to seriously consider that I might not be there for them one day. But that is the reality of everyday. The illness made me come face to face with the reality that we ignore on most normal days. But life isn’t in our control. No future is certain. My faith in God carries me through the hardest challenges I’ve ever endured. Knowing that I am never alone. I have a deep belief that there is no way I could suffer alone, knowing that God is with me in all things and nothing could separate me from his love. Not even death.

I am pretty interested in the world of tattoos (I’ve collected quite a few over the years) And sailor tattoos have so much meaning in them, which made me start to study some of that world. The wild thing about a sailing ship is that when you hit a big storm on open water, the worst thing you can do is try to control your ship. You batten down the hatches, prepare in advance, tie up the sails, but let go of that wheel and let the ocean take you where it wants. You weather the storm. And I guess that’s the way I see challenges coming in my life now. Be prepared, but don’t deny it. Don’t fight it. We are frail and at God’s mercy. And the best we can do is what we can with what He gives us, wherever He puts us. We’re not getting out of this life alive. So do what you can, where you are, for as long as you’ve got.

Stoked: How important is it to have a supportive community within your field of work?
Christian: Incredibly important. Within my work, as an artist, as a father, as a husband, I have been very lucky to have talented and wise people around me most of my life that I can count on when I’m struggling with something. Whether it’s a creative or artistic problem or a personal/life problem. Finding people who see life like you do is no small thing. Cherish them as real friends.

Stoked: Who has played an important role in your life/career? Any mentors?
Christian: A ton. Currently they are my coworkers, some of whom I have been working closely with for 4 years. At 8+ hours a day, we see each other more than we see our families some weeks.

I was really lucky to have had experienced a “Commercial Art” class while in high school, my teacher Christine Stockton really encouraged me to keep following my passion for art, and helped me find the avenue I ended up in: Graphic Design.

In college I mostly became friends with my teachers. Soaking up everything I could from them. One in particular challenged me in my weaknesses. One prodded my strengths, but the combination of the two made me grow tremendously.

Stoked: Any life lessons you’d like to pass on to our youth?
Christian: Follow your interests. Find a way to pay your rent doing what you love. The world has enough boring people doing boring things to make a lot of money. Pursue what you want for the love of it. Not for what it may get you. Try things out. Our lives aren’t quite as broad experienced as we tend to think they are. Travel as much as possible. Try different foods. Walk a block you never walked. Carry a camera. It’s funny how you’ll notice things you never noticed before.

Stoked: What have you learned from action sports?
Christian: It ain’t easy. It might look that way from the outside, but it takes a lot of practice. And if you can’t get in that zone of enjoying where you are at the moment you’ll constantly be frustrated with the gap between where your skills are and where you want to be, whether it’s on a skateboard, snowboard, in your art, or amassing your wealth. We can always be envious, if we can’t focus on just loving where we are at the moment and committing ourselves to whatever we’re doing. The growth comes when you look back. You never notice it in the moment.

Stoked: Why is it important to support a program like Stoked?
Christian: Stoked helps expose people to things they might not experience on their own. It makes these sports accessible. But more than that, it connects people who might not otherwise. For the benefit of both the mentors and the mentees.