Grant Kratzer

Stance teams up with everyones favorite deep sea sponge animated character, SpongeBob SquarePants. The collection is curated by graphic artist Grant Kratzer, featuring 2 casual knit sock styles, and 2 long sleeve cotton tees. The collection design is inspired by a mix of military motif, vintage tattoo flash, action movies, with a mix of bootleg design culture mixed in. We sat down with artist, Grant to learn a little bit more about his story, and the inspiration behind the designs…

Tell us a little about Grant Kratzer?

I am a designer living and working in Kansas City under the name Cheatin' Snakes. My work runs a wide variety of things including illustration and branding. A lot of my work is inspired by cartoons, pro wrestling, and folk art. I try to keep things fun and positive.

What inspired you to become a graphic designer?

I knew since I was a kid I never wanted to have a normal job and I wanted to work for myself and I've always kept that as my main motivation. When I was in high school I was in a band and we wanted to make T-shirts. My dad got me a screen printing set-up and I taught myself how to use photoshop.

Where did the inspiration come from when designing the Stance x SpongeBob collection?

I remember seeing SpongeBob when it first came out. so when I was asked if I wanted to do something for this project I jumped at it. As far as art direction goes I wanted to take SpongeBob and bring him into my own universe. A lot of the designs were inspired by things I love like Monster trucks, Tattoos, Action movies. things that I would want to see offered from SpongeBob that I've never seen before. It was a unique opportunity to take a character I love and put my own spin on it.

What other brands or partnerships have you worked on in the past, or have coming up?

I worked on a big project with Levi's last year that hopefully will see the light of day soon. I just wrapped up a project for Czarface that should be coming out soon also. I've also got another project coming out that I can't announce yet but I am really excited about it.

Where can our audience find out more about you?

Instagram: @cheatinsnakes