Will Dixon – Reno, Nevada

“Education, education. If I can sum it up and be specific at the same time: Education. For everybody. Education and awareness.”

“I’m from the Bay Area, originally. San Leandro is the city I ‘claim’ in all of the Bay Area, even though I’ve bounced around, me and my family. Reno is my college town.”

“So in addition to my bartending career, which started here, I’m glued to the campus in many ways. I’ve got a small business where I make fan merchandise. Being that sports is a big focus in the world today, and with sports comes merchandise, it’s a big market. I decided to come up with my own piece of merchandise. It plays on the phrase “tailgate” – so I say “you can’t tailgate without a tail.” [holds up prototype team colored “bunny tail” merchandise] There’s tailgates everywhere. Reno’s where I got started with that, me and my buddies.”

“Reno’s a pretty unique town.”

“[Moving from the Bay to Reno] Initially it was the climate, it’s a whole lot drier. And I guess you could say the ‘density’ – you know, traffic’s not as intense out here as it is out there, not as many people. And then I’d say the culture. You start to understand the culture – to me, Reno’s culture is boxing. I came out here and I started boxing for the university. And I learned a lot about how that got the city going in a lot of ways and how it still has its effect.”

“That’s what is unique to me about Reno, the culture is a deep boxing culture. There’s actually boxing in the El Dorado [Casino Hotel].”

“It’s a tough tie [for what I’d miss if I left] between the little niche in the boxing culture that I’ve developed here. I feel I’ve got a loyal start, as far as in boxing, I aspire to turn pro one day, so I really am big on beginnings, where you got it going, where you got your momentum going. SO that’s unique to me, but also that same momentum aspect applied to my company. So, the university and the restaurants around the university and this casino are places where I’ve learned to push and pull my product, so the culture here is intertwined with a lot of my history.”

“I’d say a phrase: ‘Can’t tailgate without a tail’ – that’s my slogan. That’s a big thing, me promoting my company. I tell people ‘if there’s anything I can leave you with, its ‘you can’t tailgate without a tail’.’ Because you’re gonna use the term ‘tailgate’ eventually if you’re a student or you’re around sports, and if you have this phrase that you’ve come across, it’s got a good chance of popping up again.”

Limited edition print available (alpha edition):
Giclée (Archival Inkjet) print w/ quotes hand-lettered on mat in silver pen.
1.25” Matte Black Frame, 2.5” Black Mat, Archival Hinge Mount, UV Glass.
15.2″ x 19″ (Framed: 22.7″ x 26.5″)
$1799

Will - Limited Edition Print, Alpha Series
Click here for more information about limited edition prints.