Today we’d like to introduce you to Scoobs.
Scoobs, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
The government knows me as Alex Tomaszewski, but everyone else calls me SCOOBS. Falling victim to the Saturday morning binge-watch of cartoons like every other 90’s baby, I watched a lot of Scooby Doo (and still do). It didn’t take long for my Mom to peg the nickname and it just kind of stuck. I spent my childhood in Manistee, Michigan – a small town resting in the pinky in the Mitten State along the coast of the lake. It sounds like it would be a pretty and quaint existence, but aside from a couple of stoplights and a K-Mart there isn’t much to do or see. My high schools graduating class couldn’t have exceeded more than a couple of hundred kids…It was living in this bubble for so long that pushed me, made me want more.
For as long as I can remember I’ve been creative – drawing, painting, finding trouble in-between the lines. So, when it came time to choose colleges I knew Art & Design school was the next stop. I wasn’t sure what Art & Design school, but truthfully I didn’t care as long as it got me out of Manistee. I ended up at Kendall College of Art & Design in Grand Rapids, Michigan – not a huge city by any means but when compared to where I grew up it was a whole new world. I received my degree in Digital Media with a minor in Illustration. Prior to graduating I worked at a few boutique style agencies, was an independent contractor for Amway Global, and a patent illustrator. However, it was the personal and freelance work I was doing that brought me the most happiness – and it was thanks to this work and the internet that I would eventually begin working with SuperDuper KYLE.
While in college, some of my work posted to Twitter caught the eyes of SuperDuper UGLY (KYLE’s brother) and Nolan Smith (KYLE’s manager). Shortly after this, I began working on all things SuperDuper Crew, and once college wrapped up California became home. I would eventually live with the crew for ~2 years becoming the lead designer and creative director for SuperDuper KYLE. Following this I would become the creative director at indie-pop management and independently popular (indie-pop’s record label and joint venture with Atlantic Records) servicing clients like: Theophilus London, SuperDuper KYLE, DJ Carnage, G-Eazy, MadeInTYO, 24hrs, The Martinez Brothers, and Yuna to name a few.
My passions are music, art and design. Having been afforded the opportunity to blend them all together and make a living is truly a blessing. It’s a rabbit hole I’ve fallen into and love continuing to explore the space. Now, both inside and outside of the music industry I continue to pursue my artistic endeavors through my companies Mystery Machine Studio and SCOOBS Supply.
Has it been a smooth road?
It definitely wasn’t a smooth road, and it hasn’t necessarily become smooth sailing either. Life doesn’t get easier, you just get better. The initial move to Los Angeles was nothing short of what you would expect from your typical “moving to California” story. My girlfriend and I packed up everything we could fit into her Pontiac G6, I sold my car and left the rest of our things 3000 miles behind us. We slept on an air mattress and lived out of our suitcases for the first two years while living with the SuperDuper Crew.
Currently, over the past year I’ve been dealing with some pretty serious health issues. It’s been an unfortunate occurrence but has given me a new perspective and appreciation for life and work that I wouldn’t trade for the world. I’m inspired to create more than ever before and that’s super exciting.
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
I’m a Creative Director, Artist, Designer, etc. etc.
Between my experience and an impulsive need to learn new things, I’ve never met something I couldn’t make and make at the highest level. Practiced in all forms of digital media, as well as being a classically trained fine artist, has allowed me to create without boundaries. This freedom lets the most important and pivotal part of my creative process, the idea, remain king. While I take great pride in my abilities to push pixels, smudge graphite, spread paint, and even hold a camera – I receive the most gratification from formulating a great idea and leading a team of creatives to make something we can all be proud of. It’s with these skills and philosophy that I’ve founded both Mystery Machine Studio and SCOOBS Supply.
Mystery Machine Studio is a new endeavor and one I’m quite excited about. Myself and longtime childhood friend, Cole Black – who comes from a background in music management – have created the company to fill a massive gap in the needs of today’s musicians and changing landscape of the industry. For the sake of brevity, we’re a full-service advertising agency catering to the music industry. Everything from creative direction, content creation, merchandise design, live visuals, web design/dev, media strategy and ad buying – we’ve got it covered. SCOOBS Supply is my creative outlet for everything else, unrelated to the music industry.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
The energy here is unmatched and the resources available to you are practically unlimited. To live and create here almost feels like a cheat code – L1, Circle, Right, Up, Down, Circle, Right, Up, Square, Triangle – If you know what that’s from, we can probably be friends. As for what I don’t like, it’s the traffic. Only in LA does it take an hour to go 10 miles.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected] OR [email protected]
- Instagram: instagram.com/scoobssupply
- Other: behance.net/scoobssupply
Image Credit:
© Mystery Machine Studio, 2019
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