Artist’s Corner: Curb Stomp City Decals Interview (Photos)

In the wide world of wrestling toys and collectibles there lies a very talented group of artists, whether from artwork, photography, videography or even customizing action figures, to name a few. On the first installment of Artist’s Corner we interview Srik from Curb Stomp City Decals, one of the most respected artists in the wrestling figure customizing community.

What is Curb Stomp City Decals?

Curb Stomp City Decals recreates all the awesome artwork and tattoo work seen on professional wrestlers, but for action figures instead. By recreating this as best as he can as a decal it allows customizers to apply it than having to sit there and paint it, etc. This relieves a lot of stress for the customizer, but of course is very time consuming for Srik.

We sat down with Srik to learn more about his company and process. We hope you will learn something, too!

What inspired Curb Stomp City Decals?

Srik: There was a young customizer by the name of Alex Gonzales that was my go to guy to buy custom figures at the time. I bought about 4-5 custom figures from him and it was so worth it at the time. The paint job and the details were amazing. I believe he was the first person to use a Zack Ryder head scan for Owen Hart. After a while I decided to try my own at figure customizing. It didn’t go too well lol. I was good at painting bases, but not those detail designs. So, I gave up and didn’t want to try it again after many failed attempts.

One day as I was browsing the net, I came across decals. I couldn’t believe my eyes that this was something that can help fill that missing void of detailed designs and still be able to achieve what I wanted to do.  It started off as my own project, something I wanted to keep to myself and satisfied myself. Alex Gonzalez’s work inspired me to take on customizing on my own, which led me to finding out about decals.

Why did you choose the name you did?

Srik: At the time Seth Rollins was picking up steam, he turned on the shield then shortly after became MITB. Everyone knows he had the finishing move “Curb Stomp”. He was also one of the guys that got me hooked back to WWE again. It wasn’t until Wrestlemania 31 during Brock and Roman Match that you can hear Brock saying “welcome to suplex city b****” at that moment I thought to myself, why not come up with something similar, but with Rollin’s finisher? That’s when “Curb Stomp City” was born. I felt it was kind of unique, but still effective. Of course, Rollins came out and cashed in and hit Roman with the Curb Stomp to win his first heavyweight title, this was an icing on the cake for me.

How long have you been in business and how did it come about?

Srik: I’ve been in business since 2014, I wanted to be able to make my own custom figures. I know I couldn’t paint details just base colors. I asked myself how can I accomplish this? So, I did a lot of research and came across decals.

As mentioned earlier, it was strictly only for myself until I met a gentleman by the name of Carlos Mendez. He runs a Facebook group called Wrestling Customs 101, you may have heard of it. At the time he was active, he was social, asking me questions and really loved my work. I told him I used decals. He asked to buy some and of course I didn’t know how to respond to that as I never sold anything before let alone decals. I don’t remember if I charged him or gave him free decals (he can confirm for you), but after a couple of weeks my inbox blew up with inquires on decals. So, you can say Mr. Carlos Mendez kind of put me on the map.  Then a year later, I decided to come up to name this side gig Curb Stomp City Decals.

How did your business impact the community?

Srik: I think it impacted the community greatly. My decals provided an alternative solution for those that can’t afford to buy customs or be able to paint detailed designs.  I think it benefited a lot of people out there as well. For people that wants to get going in customs, but don’t know where to start, my decals can help them achieve that. Not everyone is talented enough to paint small details or logos on action figures.

My decals again can help archive that. Even the best customizers out there use decals to help fill in the areas they are not able to paint. Of course, there’s this ongoing drama on decals vs hand painting. I tried not to get into that and I don’t claim to be an artist, I like to see myself as a resource to help you get going with your customs or perhaps even your supplier.

What’s your process/inspiration for new decals and customs?

Srik: New decals depend on big PPV events. Either if it’s WWE, NXT, NJPW TNA, ROH and many others. This is like a holiday for me, most wrestlers like to show off their new ring gear. My custom figures that I make are driven by new decals based on those events.

In parallel, my other goal is to attack the older wrestlers to accommodate the old school folks and wrestlers that we know will never be made into an action figure.

How do you find clear images of attires/tattoos?

Srik: A lot of people think I have connections or asked wrestlers directly for them. Trust me, I’m just an average dude that don’t really interact with wrestlers on social media. I do A LOT of research and watch a lot of matches. Thank god for the WWE network, NJPW world and Global Impact Network where I can pause and play to look at these designs. I self-taught myself on learning to use photoshop.  A lot of work and time goes into it and it’s not easy. This is the reason why I don’t share my images online. Sometimes I also take advantage of when wrestlers post their ring gear on social media. The designs and tattoos may look easy to recreate, but it can take countless hours depending on the type of work.

What do you see in the future for your business or your aspirations?

Srik: I hope to continue growing and that my main mission is to continue helping the figure community as much as possible. I’ve thought about updating my content on YouTube as well, but that will be a while from now. Not many people know that I am balancing my family life, academics, and coaching travel soccer as well. I hope to continue growing and keep going and not get fed up of it because people are really demanding out there and can really stress you out. It’s easily to lose interest, but I’ve learned to grow thicker skin over the years. Sometimes I do have to step away for a bit just because it has become a full-time job. It does take a toll on you mentally, but I am now trying my best to pace myself.

What were the toughest decals you’ve made?

Srik: The toughest decals are all those detailed tattoos I had to make. At the time it was Aleister Black, which took countless hours/days. Recently I’ve made tattoos for Brody King, this has taken the throne as the hardest tattoo decals that I’ve ever made.

What do you enjoy about the customs community?

Srik: What I truly enjoy is the fact I can bring happiness and satisfaction to the custom community. Being able to provide an alternative of making custom figures is quite flattering at best. I enjoy seeing top customizers’ work and the constant engagement among each other. I have a so much respect for the custom community. Scrolling through people’s custom’s posts helps me de-stress at the end of the day.

A big thank you to Srik for taking the time to talk with us about his awesome artwork and how he made an impact on the wrestling action figure community. If you’re into customizing figures be sure to check out his amazing work, which you can also see some of many in the gallery below. He’s definitely left his mark on the community!

If you are an artist and have some awesome work you’d love to have featured in a future Artist’s Corner column don’t hesitate to reach out. You can find my email in my bio when you click my name above. Thanks for tuning in to the first column and I hope to see you again soon when we highlight another talented artist!