JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Mystery solved! The artist who designed a skateboard bought at a Jacksonville Beach pawn shop a few weeks ago has been found. His name is Ryan Kaefer-Spradling.
Matt Southworth was searching for the artist who designed it and wanted to give the skateboard back to him. First Coast News tracked down Spradling and sat down with him.
"A lot of people wouldn't think you could make art with a sharpie or on a piece of cardboard but I did like that kind of mentality of making something out of nothing," artist Spradling said.
Spradling puts his creative touch on items like guitars, skateboards, and just pieces of paper. He credits his designs to his experience as a tattoo artist.
"I love art," Spradling said.
Spradling says he started bringing in items to Beaches Jewelry and Pawn on Jacksonville Beach when money was tight.
"We actually ended up having to live out of a storage unit. I would draw on some of my items that I didn't really need and realized that there might be a few bucks off of them at least just to help with gas or a meal here or there," Spradling said.
Earlier this month, he pawned a skateboard. His intricate design on the bottom caught the eye of the buyer who called it 'a work of art'. Matt Southworth posted a photo of the skateboard on Facebook looking for the artist. The post was shared over 800 times. He thought the artist went by 'The Jax Beach Ripper'.
"It was more a name for the board itself. I don't know why it just came to me but 'The Jax Beach Ripper' sounded cool. So I put it on there. Really that was it, there was no real thought process into it," Spradling explained.
First Coast News helped track down Spradling with the help of Beaches Jewelry and Pawn owner Chuck Jubran.
"Me and Ryan had been doing business together for about a year or two. He's always trading skateboards, guitars and stuff like that. The artwork was just icing on the cake. It’s like someone got a bonus when they brought the skateboard because of the artwork.," Spradling said.
Spradling says he wants the buyer to keep the skateboard and even though he's never been one to share his artwork publicly, he is now interested.
"I definitely would like to be able to reach people and connect with people that have a similar love of art," Spradling said.