Interview by Emily Hessney Lynch.

Published November 1, 2018.

Where are you originally from? How did you end up in Rochester at this time in your life?

I’m Rochester born and raised. We lived in the 10th ward area when I was younger, and moved to Greece when I was six years old. I went to RIT for graphic design and lived in Germany for study abroad. At first, after graduating, I felt like I had to move out to grow up, like move to Boston or NYC. Then I realized I hadn’t done everything Rochester had to offer. Once I started to get more familiar with my own backyard, I realized I wanted to be here, near my family.

What is your favorite part of living in Rochester?

In 10 minutes, you can be downtown, on a beach, in a cornfield, or in the suburbs. It’s a microcosm of everything you could want. I tend to think of things from a movie perspective—you could make a Cape movie at the lake, or an urban one downtown. We have so much variety, so many new places, and just an explosion of good things. You don’t need to go to California or New York City for those things.

What are some of your favorite Rochester spots? 

I love Ugly Duck, I go there every week. It’s my favorite place to hang out. The Little Theatre is another big one—we have our Saturday Night Rewind screenings there every month. Pop Roc is just fun—you can mix and match all the cereals from your childhood. Owl House is one of our favorite places to eat out. Record Archive is a great one, too. I could go on and on.

What's the most unique or interesting event you've attended in Rochester? 

I love the Jazz Fest—my brother goes every year; I don’t go as intensely as he does. I love the Fringe Fest too. The craft beer festival and cocktail revival are great too—we try to make it to at least one of those every year. I don’t get out quite as much now that I have kids.

What are some of your favorite local nonprofits to support? 

The Little, for sure. Open Door Mission—I support them when I can. I probably spend most of my time and energy at The Little though.

If you had $100, how would you spend the money in Rochester? 

I’d go to Record Archive and spend some money. Then I’d head to Pop Roc and have cereal, get a cigar at Santiago, and grab a drink at Nox.

Best place to get a garbage plate? 

The Gate House plate is my current favorite—it kicks a normal garbage plate up a couple notches, and feels slightly less bad for me.

What is your personal coping mechanism for cold/gray weather? 

In the past, skiing. I like to go sledding with my kids, too. I also hole up and watch movies, and just become a homebody. In the summer months when the weather is nice, you feel like you have to get outside, but it’s okay to hibernate in the winter.

What is your favorite Rochester memory? 

When I was a really little kid living in the city, my godmother lived down the street. We would take the bus to Midtown and go shopping right around Christmas. I remember riding the Midtown Monorail at age 12 and realizing that it was so rickety. It feels very old fashioned to go to the mall together as a family, but it’s such a classic childhood thing. Those Midtown visits sparked traditions in our family.

What makes Rochester unique? 

It’s got a big city feel with a small town personality. It’s Midwestern in a way, but has an urban feel too.

What do you think could be improved? 

Things like Parcel 5 and the Inner Loop—it seems like the City has ideas but no follow through. Projects just languish in development hell. They start tearing into stuff without a plan, and then it disrupts lives for a vision that only goes halfway. It impacts a lot of people.

If Rochester was a movie, what genre would it be? 

It would be a coming of age movie. Everything we have here that I love is suitable for all ages. The Strong Museum is here—you can take your children, and enjoy summers at the beach, plus we have coffee shops and bars. You can spend your entire life here—there’s something for everyone and every age. It’s a perfect little ecosystem, and it’s not overwhelming.

What's the spookiest or scariest place in Rochester? 

Mt. Hope Cemetery is a great place. The White Lady’s Castle at Charlotte—I love to go there in the fall and walk around. The whole aqueduct under the bridge is spooky. I consider all of these places more peaceful than scary, though.

What's your favorite campy movie? 

Sleepaway Camp 2 is silly and ridiculous and has everything to love about it. Prom Night 2 is another great one. I host “Terror Tweets” regularly on Twitter, where we pick a movie and everyone starts streaming it at the same time and tweets along. It’s a lot of fun!

Tell me a little bit about FRIGHT-RAGS and how it got started. 

It all happened by accident—I started it on a whim. I was looking for something else to do in addition to my day job; I wanted to do something more creative. I was reading these forums, and I saw people making Michael Myers masks. It inspired me to combine my love of t-shirts with my love of movies and mock something up. Someone loved it and said, “I would totally buy these.” As soon as someone sends you money for something you made that you love, it makes a connection.

What we do is incredibly niche, and the internet enables it. Whenever I got an order from Rochester I thought it was the coolest thing ever. Someone I exchanged emails with years ago now works for me! I’ve been running FRIGHT-RAGS for 15 years now. We celebrated that milestone around Labor Day weekend.

What have some of the high points been over the years? 

We were featured in 30 Rock, and This is the End, where one of the characters wore one of our shirts for the entire movie. Connecting with all the fans is awesome. Growing up a horror fan in the 80s felt isolating—we didn’t have the internet. We were all in silos. But now, looking back, everyone has the same memories, like watching Halloween on TV. I love fueling that with FRIGHT-RAGS. People wear shirts we create to conferences and conventions—it’s like a billboard, and they’re ambassadors for our brand. It feels good, like you’ve made a connection.

Halloween is my favorite movie of all time. We held a screening last year with PJ Soles in attendance, and I’ve gotten to know her as a person and as a friend. It’s crazy! Selfishly, that’s an amazing thing. Being a fanboy is a jumping off point, but you can build up a deeper connection with all of these people. It’s ironic that the springboard is these movies of murder, violence, and mayhem.

What are some of the challenges you've faced? 

Innovating, staying ahead of the curve, and exciting people is tough. We now get licenses for all of these properties, and sometimes it can force you into corners. You want to do stuff the right way, and fans want certain things. The limitations with licenses can be prohibitive but also inspire creativity. You have to rise to the occasion. The worst day of doing this is still awesome—it gives me perspective. We have such a vision and want to do the best we can.

Do you have any advice for up and coming entrepreneurs in Rochester? 

Start. Jump in and figure it out. Learn as you go. Networking is key—so many good things come out of connections. It’s a web, and being part of it in Rochester is the coolest thing. It feels good to work with other people in your community.