Back in 2022, we were looking for a talented painter to take on the monumental task of painting The Rolling Stones logo on the infamous Nude Bowl for the launch of our collaboration. Little did we know that we weren’t just being introduced to a painter, but to someone who would become a true friend of the brand.
Damin Lujan has since worked on numerous Nixon projects with us, including the life-size Ripper box that Dylan Jaeb skated for our ad in Thrasher magazine.
Recently, we sat down with Damin to catch up, get some behind-the-scenes insight into his painting process, and hear about what’s coming next.
What’s your name, what do you do, and where are you from?
My name is Damin Lujan, and I’m a painter from Santa Ana, CA.
Have you always lived there?
No, I was born in Culver City/Torrance, CA in '79 and lived there until about '93. That’s when I moved to Santa Ana, and I haven’t left since. The skateboarding history here, the art scene, the lowrider scene—there’s just so much here that I love. It’s got the best of everything.
How did you get into painting?
So, I was born in Culver City, and growing up in my area we were always skateboarding everywhere we went—down to the Santa Monica Courthouse, all those surrounding street spots, and especially Venice Beach. Everything about that place was the best growing up: the skating, the art, the graffiti, the music—it was everything to me. That was the first time I remember really being mesmerized by the art scene.
Your first project with us was for the Rolling Stones collab out at the Nude Bowl. Tell us about that.
Oh man, that’s actually a crazy story. I’ve known BK (longtime Nixon sales rep) forever, and he was the one who tapped me and said, “Yo, Nixon needs someone to paint the tongue logo on the Nude Bowl for the Rolling Stones. Are you down?” And I was like, “YES!”
The issue was, I help out with the motorcycle show, Born Free, which was happening that weekend. The guys there were like, “Dude, you HAVE to go do that.” So my wife and I drove out there the night before and started planning it all out. We had to wait until dark to use my little projector to get the outline going. We got it sketched out pretty quickly, thankfully, and started painting the next morning.
The weather app said it was going to be like 101°F that day, so I figured we’d get it done while it was still bearable. The one thing I didn’t expect though—rain! Just as I finished, these super dark clouds rolled in and it poured for a bit. I mean, there was like a foot of water in the pool instantly, but since I used spray paint, it dried and held through the rain.
Later on, once it dried up, I got to witness the heaviest session of my life—Hosoi being shot by Grant Brittain for the Rolling Stones, with a brand I grew up idolizing?! You can’t even make that stuff up, man. Once it wrapped, we drove straight back to Born Free and I was back to helping lug port-o-potties to get cleaned. One day you’re painting for your heroes and the Rolling Stones, and the next day you’re hauling portable toilets. That’s just how life is, haha!
Read More: Nixon x The Rolling Stones: Fast & Loud at Nude Bowl
How about the Ripper box project? Were all those lines a challenge?
That was a really fun one because I love when projects bring products to life. Seeing the box with the watch in it, and then having Keen Ramps build it to scale—unreal! Since the lines were so detailed and fine, I had to hand-paint them, which is fine, but it definitely took way longer than when I use spray paint, haha! Being able to see it in Thrasher as an ad with Dylan skating it was crazy. Such a fun one.
Check out The Nixon Ripper.
How about the Woodward mural? What was that experience like?
Man, that was incredible because I got to bring my kids with me. We flew out to PA for the week, and I spent the first day sketching out the mural. What was super rad was I got to involve the kids at the camp by letting them paint by numbers to fill it in.
I loved doing all of the old music gear tie-ins with the stacked speakers. It brought me back to my early days of first discovering music. Once the kids were done, I went back in and tightened everything up. What’s so rad is that it’s inside their indoor skatepark, so it’s going to be there forever. Like, if I get to go back with my kids one day again, it’s awesome to know it’ll still be there.
What's next on the horizon for you? Any projects coming up?
I’m driving out to Boise Idaho this week to go paint for a movement/company called the Whosoevers. They just got a building for their HQ. There’s a small skate park in there that will also have bands playing shows in that room. That’s getting a fun skateboard influenced mural on the wall. There’s another big room that will be the main room for some punk, hip hop and hardcore shows. I have two walls in there to paint. Last I have a long wall for a mural in the office spaces. There’s also a HQ store and coffee shop that will get a smaller mural. It’s going to be a fun week. I also have some fun stuff coming up for OCVibe at the Honda Center. Then I have 5 walls in Chula Vista at a place called Cota Vera, then a couple big ones in LA. Lots more but those are what’s next.
