When I began my web design career I didn’t do any design work. It was all programming.

Since Marc and I were three years old we have been wearing helmets (who knows why……). Helmets fueled my passion for racing (I often wonder if my blood is in fact petrol) and even when I began racing at the age of 14 I made sure that, despite my shoddy suit and 2nd hand kart, I had to have the best looking helmet. Natrually I always used to dream of being able to design my own helmet.

When I got into web work I finally had some tools that I understood and could use which would allow me to design. One day I was looking at helmet designs on the net and stumbled across a blank template of an Arai GP5. I downloaded the template and started playing around with some designs in Fireworks. By playing around with helmet designs I learnt how to use Fireworks for future web work all the while ‘fueling’ my passion.

3 months later I had what I thought was the best design ever. I managed to get a white Arai GP5 for my birthday and didn’t even blink before I sent it to a well known spray shop in Cape Town called ‘PureArt‘. The end result was a beautiful helmet which I could claim was mine and show off at the race track.

The design turned out to be quite a hit and I started getting requests to do some other drivers’ helmet designs. Since that day we have managed to generate some income from the race track. We now create many things for the racing world and sell packages for up-and-coming drivers who are trying to promote themsleves. This includes everything from a helmet design, to a CV, website and sticker kits for the kart.

It is amazing how creating that first design has allowed us to generate consistant business while at the same time having fun. Today we had to deliver a brand new helmet to PureArt to get sprayed, while we were there I saw some of my other designs being implemented and the satisfaction is huge. There is something special about seeing your design become tangible!