Car Design Podcast | Felix Holst : Taking care of Business! | Crown Unfiltered Ep #39

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FULL VIDEO VERSION OF THIS SHOW:

https://youtu.be/zWV4IRrQFI4

ABOUT FELIX:

Felix is a very interesting man. He comes from the North East of England has been a Design Director, a startup Co-founder, artist and musician.

He started his career working for Mattel as a junior designer, but put that on hold for a few years to pursue music full time with his band, the Kustombuilt.

They had considerable success for a few years and they were destined for great things. The band was a staple on UK radio and they sold out venues across the country. They were, however, unable to secure a substantial record deal due to the bad timing of their emergence (early 2000's i.e. CD/MP3 crossover).

The band broke up and Felix rejoined Mattel in America and eventually became the head of Design for Hotwheels. He did many amazing things at the company and arguably saved the brand from its demise. Senior executives had been made to believe that interest in the toy icon had waned and they felt that it was no longer viable to carry on. Felix, along with a couple of colleagues, architected a strategy to reinvigorate public interest. They did this through a series of full-size vehicle builds and coupled this with world-record breaking stunts in front of monster crowds estimated to be in the region of 300k! Needless to say, it worked out pretty well.

It was through these events that Felix met his business partner-to-be, a former stunt-driver, turned movie director, Mouse McCoy. Together founded Hackrod, a Digital manufacturing company redefining the way vehicles are designed, through the use of AI/Machine Learning. This was a truly innovative venture at the time of its inception and their quest to 'democratise design' was also a great success.

Felix is also an accomplished Artist in his own right. He has fused his graffiti influences with the craft of traditional methods to realise his distinctive punchy style. He has also recently painted a Porsche 914 exterior with the official Urban Outlaw, Magnus Walker.

Felix has lived many versions of himself and that is what makes him so interesting. He has pursued all of his intrigues successfully. They are always successful because he knows what lessons to take from failures and recognises when it is time to move on.

I was truly inspired by him and I thoroughly enjoyed my time listening to his stories!

FELIX CAN BE FOUND HERE:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/felixholst/​

https://www.instagram.com/felixholst/

CHECK OUT THE KUSTOMBUILT!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVZpY...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLynU...

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ABOUT ME:

I am a South African Designer, Digital Modeller and the host of Crown Unfiltered. I will be talking to a cross section of people that work in the Car Design Industry.

These will include designers, digital and clay modellers, vis artists and colour & material designers. The focus of our conversations will be centered around personal processes and experiences within the business. My aim is to demystify some of the preconceptions about this industry and give people an unadulterated glimpse into the business.

I also wish to give the younger generation the opportunity to see that the people that these professionals come in different shapes and sizes and some of them will be unknown. The intention is to see that you should always be yourself and not let your job define or change who you are.

Please get in contact if there is something specific you would like me to cover. I would also be really grateful if you could subscribe and share the podcast with anyone that has an affinity for cars, design or both. Thank you! Sam

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