1 Kiwi, 7 days, 8 murals & 136 cans of spray paint.
Since the beginning of time, the BurgerFuel crew has been into anything and everything arty, from those back alley tatts we gave each other after a late shift, and the early graphic design jobs we did on Microsoft Paint, through to our store art and all those exhibitions we went to for the free beersies.
These days we’re a bit more slick Rick, with a team of in-house artists, hand painted BurgerFuel murals all over the show and a full arts programme called Creative, Sweet. Be it graffiti, illustration, graphic design, community art, videography or tattooing, we're all about it, and we like supporting other people who are too.
Creative, Sweet is headed up by our resident artist, Kairau "Haser" Bradley, who, when he's not working as part of our super talented Graphic Design team at BurgerFuel HQ, travels around the world doing amazing pieces for both BurgerFuel and his own graffiti crew, TMD.
To help celebrate the opening of the very first BurgerFuel restaurant in the USA, our resident artist Haser was in Broad Ripple, Indianapolis, painting around the clock to create custom designed murals, not only in our store but throughout the community! Here's how it went down:
SATURDAY
Despite being forced to carry three bags of 'marketing stuff' halfway across the world, and having them searched three times by my mates in customs, I've arrived, and I'm ready to eat some burgers and hit the ground running in Indy.
The AM: After some good old fashioned Google Map stalking to identify potential sites and a string of unsolicited emails to local businesses (where we tried very hard not to sound like weird graffiti creeps), BOOM! A bunch of awesome business owners around Broad Ripple had agreed to give us full creative freedom on a set of external murals. Great success. Site visits.
The PM: Flex the old typography muscles and personalise some custom prints of a drawing I did for our new store staff here in Indy. Head to the Indy 500 test run (living.the.dream). Chicken wings, more chicken wings. Jet lag, sleep.
SUNDAY
The AM: Fuelled with 200 chicken wings, and the sweet aftertaste of victory too much ranch dressing, I made a start on the big mural in the alleyway outside the BurgerFuel store, a celebration of the Broad Ripple community that I hope people will love for years to come. My ladder won’t reach high enough so one of our construction team brings his truck around and we make do. Health and safety minded people, avert your eyes.
The PM: New mates, new art - I hit the streets with Sacred and Cents from the FAB crew to paint another spot in BR.
MONDAY
The AM: Get picked up by the boss at 5.30am. Realise you can buy Starbucks coffee in a five-litre carton. Buy two. Go from zero to a box of fluffies real fast. Spend the whole day finishing off the BurgerFuel Broad Ripple alleyway - what a beast. By coincidence, the Broad Ripple Art Fair was on, so a lot of people walking past thought we were part of this (we weren’t, but we were stoked on the timing!).
The PM: Drop half my pay check at the Lids outlet store and help eat a few burgers as our crazy new crew finish off their training.
TUESDAY
The AM: Painting inside the BurgerFuel store this time – our signature BurgerFuel dagger and wings done in traditional tattoo style.
The PM: Gave the outside of the Alley Cat a Creative, Sweet going over. The crew there were cool enough to give me complete creative freedom, but I wanted to tie it back to the building and business, so it had a bit of context. Meeeeeeeeeow.
WEDNESDAY
The AM: All over the Bright Ideas wall, spent the whole morning trying to figure out what I was going to paint on it, when I got there I saw a Cardinal Bird (Indiana native) and decided to give it a BurgerFuel makeover. Got mad props from the owners, they were so excited they crashed into the wall trying to look at it.
The PM: Help fold 300 Doofers with the infamous Varun (aka. V-Dawg, aka V-Rod) for the BurgerFuel Pre-Launch party tomorrow. Got myself a sweet-as haircut and retired for the day.
THURSDAY
The AM: Paint 6 Corn Hole sets in full BurgerFuel theme and then hand paint every napkin tin in the store. No big deal.
The PM: Pre-launch party is in full force and I paint our biggest BurgerFuel mural live on the back wall of our carpark, throwing up a huge Indy 500 inspired graffiti piece while the party went on around me. Great burgers, great company, great times.
The PM-PM: Hit the dancefloor, everyone was jealous.
FRI-YAY
The AM: Get home at 3am after a massive night at the BurgerFuel pre-launch party.Up again at 7 and out the door to paint a final piece with the FAB crew. Today we're working under a pretty cool bridge, which also made a great spot for a quick power nap...
SATURDAY
One last one for the road before I fly out. This time the crew at Ossip Optometry let me loose on the outside of their building. Again I responded to the space and tried to paint a piece that said something about their store. Shades on ‘cause the future's so bright.
Thanks to the people of Indianapolis for being so welcoming, for letting me paint your neighbourhood, and for stopping to say hello when you saw me in the streets - hope to you catch ya'll again real soon. Thanks for all the social media posts - keep 'em coming!
Haser.
