RedRocker is my rock & roll persona/spokes model created to give HeroGear a recognizable character that could be used in advertising, but some of you want to know why? The answer to that question takes a little history lesson.
Back in the golden age of plastic rock (2005) I came up with the idea of making graphic “skins” for all the new aspiring rock stars of the world. Starting with no money and no idea if a product like this would sell, I started into this venture as cheaply as I could. Starting with an Epson printer, some special vinyl, and a small craft plotter (only capable of 8.5x11, the reason why the early skins only covered the pick guard) I set about to design my own website and HeroGear was born. Now many years later, I have better equipment, but I’m still doing everything myself. And as many of you out there know, that means my budget for advertising has to fight it out with my budget for beer. This not only means I have a very small budget, but that beer tends to win. After several attempts to work up a spokes model without hiring expensive models failed (strippers may be rock & roll, but they are worthless for anything else) I decided that I’d just have to do it myself. The idea first started with the hat, and grew from there. I first fully created RR in Rock Band and have been changing/refining him for awhile; the idea was to create a character who represented different aspects of rock all rolled into one that could be replicated in real life without an expensive costume. This way I could create different poses for the digital RR in the Rock Band community site (since I don’t have and don’t know how to use software to create a digital character) and work with them in Photoshop for digital advertising, and dress as RR myself whenever I’m out promoting HeroGear (no more need for unreliable strippers). So now after attending several events dressed as RR and getting favorable input, I have decided to start using him. I have several ideas for contests revolving around RR and his back story, so stay tuned for your chance to make history.