Episode 5: Tyler La Flamme

If I had the foresight to name these episodes from the beginning, I would have called this one The Underdog. Designer, skater, surfer, and owner of Wildwood Design Co., Tyler La Flamme would take no offense to the moniker, even proudly referring to himself as an “underdog scrub” while we chatted on the phone earlier this year. And the label is deserved. Tyler took himself from guttersnipe skater to designing for reputable brands like Iron & Resin and Guild Guitars to owning his own design studio — all self taught, all while supporting a family at a young age. You won’t meet a nicer, more humble dude too. Always heartwarming when good things come to good people.

In this episode, we focus more on boards with wheels instead of fins, although he spends plenty of time surfing around his home break in Ventura. Tyler also recounts the story of scrapping his way into a successful design career and how skateboarding instilled in him a sense of gritty determination. A mindset of: if I don’t land this 360 flip the first time, try try try again. Please enjoy and be inspired.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

I realized this morning, I never actually asked you if you surfed. I just assumed you did because of your work. Kind of stupid of me.

[Laughing] Yeah, I actually do surf. I live in Camarillo, which is just south of Ventura so I’ve got some of the best surf within 30 minutes to an hour. It’s a really good spot to be centrally located, outside of LA so not tons of crowds. But it’s definitely growing out here. I’m primarily a longboarder since most days here are three-to-four feet or lower. Occasionally I’ll take the mid-length out on bigger days.

That’s one of the questions that I’ve been asking all interviewees. I usually wait till the end, but it’s a good place to start. What are you riding right now?

I’m riding a 9'6". It’s a log shaped by Josiah Morris. He’s a local shaper from Ventura, goes by the name of Morin Surfboards. He’s a local dude who’s been shaping for Channel Islands, Campbell Brothers, and a bunch of pretty big surf names. Now he’s doing his own thing, shaping for himself as well as a few other brands.

But you said you were also riding a mid-length?

Yeah, Josiah also shaped a mid-length for me last year so I’m kind of stepping down. I’ve been surfing for about six years. I got into it a little later in my 20s. I did dabble in my teen years, but never got good and kind of just messed around during the summer months. But I’m primarily a skateboarder. I’ve been skating for 20 plus years. So those are kind of my two biggest hobbies at the moment: surfing and skating.

Well, I’m interested to hear how you think surfing and skating overlap, and how they influence your design.

They’re definitely the same thing in a way. I think it’s just, one’s on land, one’s on water. I got into skateboarding when I was 11 or 12, and skating’s one of those things you can do anywhere. You can do it in your front yard or you can go down to the local spot, and hang out with your buddies. It’s easy, anyone can do it. But I didn’t get into surfing until later because that’s when I got a car and was able to go out on my own.

For some reason I didn’t get into it at a young age. But when I got older, I thought, “I got to start surfing because I’m getting older and there’s all this epic surf around here.” I’m also friends with all these guys that are surfing and I started working at Iron & Resin, which is a surf apparel company. I was like, man, I got to get into it.

I’d say definitely skateboarding and surfing were a big reason why I got into design as well. I think in the beginning it was all about the cool skateboarding graphics and t-shirt companies that were out at the time, early 2000s. I just wanted to do something that was creative and thought there was a viable career in art and design.

Instead of trying to be a fine artist, I wanted to be more of a commercial artist and do work for brands as well as myself. It seemed like a better opportunity. So, that’s kind of what lead me towards design. In my late teens and early 20s I got into graffiti too and that also influenced my love for design and typography.

Have you always been creative?

To an extent. I’d say I started getting more creative when I was in my teenage years. As a kid, I would draw like any kid, but I wasn’t a prodigy or anything. I got into it later as a hobby and then I was like, “I want to take this further.” I never wanted to grow up and do a standard, boring career job. No offense to anyone that has those jobs, but I wanted to do something different, fruitful, and creative. Then I kind of stuck with it and did what I could and learned as much as I could.

I also did a lot of self-teaching. I did go to community college for design; Moorpark Community College, which is a local spot down here. I didn’t go to a four-year university or anything like that. I didn’t have the money. My parents weren’t loaded, they weren’t going to send me off to school. So I did what I could and ended up learning a lot from it and it was a really great experience. Definitely goes to show that you don’t need a four-year degree at a fancy university or art school to make it in this career.

I completely agree. So what happened after that?

After about my mid-20s, I started taking design a lot more seriously because I wasn’t really hitting it hard before. I kind of was figuring it all out and learning and honing my skill. I never really had a mentor or friends that were into this, I was always kinda going at it alone.

I come from a suburban town where design isn’t really a big thing and not too many people are in the creative field, so I didn’t know much about it. I’m very self-taught in that way. So I was working at Whole Foods Market as a grocery employee for many years as I was going to school and just working and supporting the family. And then I got a sign maker position at Whole Foods, which was basically my first graphic design job. That gave me the confidence to say: Okay, I can do this. I’ve got this.

I did that for about two years and then got sick of it because it was not creative whatsoever. It was just a lot of boring grocery store signage work and advertisements for the local store. I knew I wanted to get into something more creative, something that was more fulfilling. So I put my head down, started grinding and making a ton of pretty detailed work. It doesn’t look anything like what I do now, it was more skateboarding graphic influenced, super detailed, and a lot of line work. I was doing that for fun on the side, getting better, and figuring it out. Eventually I got laid off from Whole Foods and that’s when I thought, “All right, I got to make this shit happen. It’s now or never. I can’t go back to another lame design job. I’ve got to get a cool one that’s creative that I feel passionate about.” Then I eventually got an internship with Iron & Resin.

They’re based up in Ventura, which is 20 minutes from where I live. And the co-founder, Jackson, invited me over and I started interning for about three or four months. Then eventually they hired me on as a full-time designer and apparel designer and illustrator. That’s kind of where I’d say my big break came from.

I learned a ton from that job. Jackson taught me the ropes as far as apparel design goes, because I had no experience in apparel design. I hadn’t gone to any schooling for that type of stuff. I just learned it on the job and picked it up as I went. That was a super great opportunity. I got to design things from jackets and flannel patterns and repeating prints for button up shirts. I got to design t-shirt graphics, headwear, patches, accessories, all that good stuff.

I did that for about four years. I was freelancing as well on the side for other small brands and small companies in apparel as well as some craft brew and stuff in the cannabis space. A lot of outdoorsy work too. A lot of outdoor apparel brands started hitting me up, small indie companies. I was kind of freelancing on the side for them while I worked my day job at Iron & Resin.

Then the pandemic hit and they had to streamline the whole crew which meant I was let go. That was a bummer, but we could see the writing on the wall. Luckily they got things going back again so that’s good.

After that, I decided to really hit freelancing hard and start my own creative studio, which is Wildwood Design Co. It’s just me. I just started doing that and it’s kind of been snowballing from there. So, basically I’m doing freelance full-time now, unless I find another day job that’s a good fit, but for now I’m happy just running my own creative studio.

What have been the upsides of being your own boss that you particularly enjoyed?

I would definitely say you get to pick your own work and hours. You get to call the shots more and pick and choose what projects you work on. If they’re passion projects, you can work on them. If it’s something you don’t want to work on, you don’t have to. And I enjoy being independent.

I feel like nowadays being a designer in-house somewhere can kind of get monotonous so you’re doing the same thing every day or working on the same type of work for the whole time. With freelance I get to work on all kinds of different projects anywhere from surf graphics to branding for a local brewery. So that’s kind of what I like about it is the freedom of choice and the freedom to work on different types of projects.

What about Guild?

Oh yeah. I’ve done some freelance work with Guild Guitars. They’re a local Oxnard company. They’ve been making guitars in the USA since the 1950s. That was a cool opportunity and I got to work with them on a few projects.

I like that your work establishes a specific feel. With Iron & Resin, it feels a little bit more motorcycle inspired. Then, the Guild stuff feels like old Western tattoo work. I’m wondering, are you influenced by those things or is it something that you felt the client wanted?

Both. I’d say most definitely all the work I do I have some sort of connection to the imagery or the elements in the work. I enjoy drawing them and enjoy what they look like or the culture where it came from. And that’s the work that I’ve fallen into as well.

The opportunities I’ve been given, like working at Iron & Resin, reflect that. I gravitate towards motorcycles and Americana and classic California surf. So naturally that seed that was planted when I first started there and kind of naturally grew and morphed into more of that work. I started making that kind of work and then people were like, “Oh, I love that. Let’s do something like that.”

And those are definitely things that I kind of relate to in a sense. I’m not a country dude, but I definitely enjoy country and western music — the classic stuff. And I’ve definitely been inspired by that classic Americana stuff too. I’m not designing it because I think it’s trendy or whatever, it’s just kind of these timeless graphics that are always fun to work on.

That’s interesting to hear that these places where you’ve worked have all, in some way, inspired your personal style. Is that right?

Yeah, most definitely. And my hobbies and lifestyle are very outdoorsy too. I surf and love old classic stuff. I love the nostalgic feeling, like old stuff from the 60s and the 70s and old cowboy stuff, it really inspires me. I don’t know why, but there’s just a sense of it. I dig it.

I think that comes through and I’m most definitely a sucker for that stuff as well. What about hip-hop? I noticed an MF DOOM graphic you did and some work for The People Under the Stairs. How does that fit in?

Yeah, so I’m way into hip-hop music. I’ve always been a hip-hop head: classic, old school, just real good hip-hop. I don’t know if you’re into hip-hop music or not, but there’s a lot of lame hip-hop out there that’s kind of more like pop/rap. I’m not really into that stuff. I’m more into the really lyrical, well-written, and well-produced classic hip-hop.

I got into that in my teen years and it’s always been something that I’ve loved. The culture of it definitely interests me and is the reason I got into graffiti. It’s also a reason why I got into design — it’s all kind of similar in a way.

I grew up skating as well and hip-hop was definitely something that just came along with the culture. It’s how I learned about Dr. Octagon and all those other underground rappers, through skate videos like 411.

That’s exactly how I got out into it too, dude. Because of those skate videos. They turned me on to so many different new types of music that I wouldn’t have heard anywhere else.

With skating then, do you see elements of skate culture throughout everything you do? Seems like it must be there since it’s been a major part of life.

I definitely think it does influence me whether I know it or not. It’s kind of one of those things that’s ingrained in my DNA. There’s no escaping it. It’s always something that’s influenced me and it’s always influencing my work to some extent. That DIY skate mentality, like “I’m going to land this trick no matter how long it takes.” That’s kind of the way I approach design and this career. I keep focusing on it and if I don’t land it the first time, I’ll get it the next time. And that’s kind of what’s gotten me this far.

That’s fucking great, man. That’s a really good way to put it. I think maybe in skating more so than surfing you have this mentality of: “I’m going to keep trying this one curb or trick until I get it.” That’s a really interesting take on it.

What I’ve learned in skateboarding has definitely made me who I am. And it’s transcended to other parts of my life too. If I didn’t skate when I was younger, I don’t know if I would’ve had the guts to try this design career out because I know it’s a very difficult one and it takes a lot of persistence and it’s a very long game. You have to keep at it. You’re not just going to get what you want right off the bat. You have to put in the time and pay your dues.

That’s really inspiring to hear your story going from a Whole Foods employee to school to getting a design job at Iron & Resin, which was essentially your dream gig. That’s huge. Such an awesome story.

I feel like I’m an underdog scrub. I’m just a blue collar dude from the suburbs who didn’t have much handed to him. I didn’t know much about this career either. It’s not like I had mentors telling me this is what you need to do to get here. I kind of figured it out by trying and failing and obviously doing lots of research as well.

The internet has been a huge tool to my success. I can listen to podcasts and there are tutorials online to teach you what you don’t know. They don’t hand you all that information in college, like how to start a business and how to run a business and how to charge for designs. That’s all stuff you have to learn along the way.

Totally. There’s a level of tenacity that I feel that people like you have that other people who went from high school to art school to whatever stable design job don’t have. They didn’t have to work for it.

Right. I have a lot more appreciation for my story. Also, one thing I didn’t mention really is that I became a father at a super young age. I was 19 when we had our son.

Oh, shit.

So during that whole time I was raising my son, being a young dad, and trying to make all this happen. That was also a big push for why I wanted to do my best and give it all I had.