With Deathproof’s first two activations having been carried out with some personal inspiration and meaning, I (Steen Jones) decided that our next one was going to be fun, lighthearted and for the people. Which people? I was unsure of who…
This said, I had literally no idea where to start, all I had was a bad Dad joke.
But my bad Dad joke bred an idea which morphed into a concept which finally got sketched down and planned and it was all systems go.
With myself convinced that a piss poor pun on a classic line, “wish you were here” was a good idea to kick off with - adding in some praying hands to boot - it was now time to try convince the crew and Young Henry’s gang.
Thankfully the go ahead was green-lighted quicker than expected, a much needed progression of events as I was planning on launching this in a matter of days. Four to be specific.
On date and on time, after a couple of sleep deprived, paint covered nights, the mural was complete, the fridges were full, the kegs were ready, the menu was printed, the festivities could begin and beers began flowing!
Wish You Were Beer saw a great turnout, with kegs sucked dry and wings devoured. A kickass night serving some kickass people.
Photography & Videography: Jeremy Lewis
If you want to follow Young Henrys, check out to their Instagram, Facebook, Twitter or website.
This year we decided to mark and celebrate the life and Birthday of Christopher Wallace a little differently than we have ever done or seen before.
While the work of Notorious B.I.G. is an inspiration and influence of ours here at Deathproof (hence the ”Party and Bullshit” neon and regular rotation through the SONOS speakers) it just didn’t seem right to paint over one homage to celebrate another – so we didn’t.
Instead, we decided to keep and collaborate with Sailor Jerry’s existing tribute.
I mean, it’s our bar so we can do what we want... right?
Well, that’s what I (Steen Jones) told myself before going completely mad with power and removing some of our railing to create more space to extend the mural, giving us the perfect spot for a tombstone and a full body length “photo area”.
With that done, it inspired me to go through and alter/subtly change a few bits and pieces throughout the mural, replacing the existing wording with Biggie Smalls inspired words and/or quotes to give him a stronger presence to carry the new theme throughout.
With the pieces finished, I thought I’d go mad with power (again) adding fill to the background to really change up the feel of the space and make it much more impactful – which it did perfectly.
With the wall completed, it was time to come up with a few delicious, Sailor Jerry infused, Biggie Smalls themed cocktails to keep the theme flowing before opening the doors to celebrate!
Our “Ready To Die” and “Juicy” cocktails went down a treat – and were brought back the following weekend due to popular demand, you gotta give the people what they want!
Photography: Jeremy Lewis | Videography: Jeremy Lewis
If you want to follow Sailor Jerry, check out to their Instagram, Facebook or website.
When our Young Henrys hermanos asked to join forces in celebrating their 5 years of kicking ass with a kickass party - we were all the way down.
The Young Henrys neon shone bright and by itself for the night and Nightsweat, Noble Cut and YH brews flowed freely alongside plenty of tasty eats devoured from the kitchen.
With our good friend Daniel in to capture the good times, shenanigans and failed food challenge attempts, the night belonged to the beer brewing out of Newtown.
Such a good time to be alive! Thanks again fellas and a big congrats on the big 5!
Photography: Daniel Neucom | Videography: Daniel Neucom
If you want to follow Young Henrys, check out to their Instagram, Facebook, Twitter or website.
You miss 100% of the shots that you don’t take... right?
If it wasn’t for Wayne Gretzky and his motivating quote that seems to fuel every crazy idea of mine or an ingrained aspiration to conquer whatever I (Steen Jones) set my mind to, our Deathproof pop-up bar may never have hit the road or opened it’s doors.
Again, looking back, I don’t know what I was thinking when I decided that co-running 2 consecutive pop up bars [whilst also organising and running a stall for my own brand Few and Far Collective] at Australia’s biggest tattoo convention in another state before I had even opened our first bar was a good idea… but I’m glad I did it.
If it wasn’t for my good friends and absolute legends, Hugo and Henry (owners/operators of rad watering hole The Fat Controller in Adelaide), there was no way that we could have had our custom timber fit out, or have both bars running as professionally and seamlessly as they did all weekend.
And it wouldn’t have been anywhere near as fun if our friends and fam Sailor Jerry, Bacardi, 42 Below, Jameson or Young Henrys hadn’t supported the venture like they did.
With everything in place and the Melbourne crowd bringing the party, Rites of Passage was easily one of the best weekends had in a long time and I think of it as the coolest, most fun and memorable way to kick off Deathproof life and shenanigans on the road!
Photography: Jai Morrow | Videography: Jai Morrow
If you want to attend future Rites of Passage festivals, check out to their Instagram, Facebook, Twitter or website for details.
Our grand opening, our first activation and our first and everlasting impression of not only months and months of ruthless and relentless work during the design, build and fit out but also the biggest risk and dream of both my own (Steen Jones) and Anthony’s lives.
While this sounds scary, at the time it wasn’t - a weird realisation considering how terrifying it seems now in retrospect. Instead, the whole process was very easy and organic as there was never a doubt in our minds that our first activation would be with Sailor Jerry, paying homage to the man himself.
Norman Keith Collins A.K.A. “Sailor Jerry” was not only a sailor but also a tattoo artist, a dissenter, a wanderer, a musician and a US Navy man. A slave and student to the art of tattooing until his death in 1973, his work, influence and legacy lives on.
Sailor Jerry in recent years has been dubbed ‘The Father of Old School Tattoo’ and rightfully so, as he is not only globally recognised as one of the biggest pioneers of the tattoo industry but also one of the most influential, with his artworks being replicated and referenced by thousands (myself included) around the world.
If you didn’t know that Sailor Jerry is much more than a delicious blended spiced rum made in the Caribbean, now you do.
This said, calling it “Respect Tradition” was a no-brainer.
The design process of the wall was seamless given my familiarity with the work of Norman Collins and I had a few key and iconic pieces in mind from the get go: i.e. the Hula girl from bottle.
A hand painted photo frame was added to the end of the wall as a fun, last minute addition to encourage social media interaction to great success
Having completed the main wall, it was time for the fun stuff (fun stuff being food and drinks!).
We decided that for it to be a true take-over, Sailor Jerry should be present in multiple components of the bar and space. The bar created a limited run of three delicious cocktails all based on Sailor Jerry (Sailors Grave, Death Before Dishonour and Stewed And Screwed) as well a shooter (R.I.P Jerry, to be enjoyed responsibly) and the kitchen was able to create a slow cooked, Sailor Jerry infused pulled pork taco and sandwich, both so popular they were added to the our standing menu.
With the activation complete across the physical space, drinks and food, Sailor Jerry’s ‘Hori Smoku’ documentary on the TV and our freshly printed Sailor Jerry x Deathproof menus good to go, it was time to open the doors to the people and press joining us in celebrating our hard work, the realisation of a shared dream and the legacy of the man himself.
Photography: Daniel Neucom and Declan Roache | Videography: Daniel Neucom
If you want to follow Sailor Jerry, check out to their Instagram, Facebook or website.