What is a Choonimal? Q&A with Choonimals creator Chris Theibert.

May 18th, 2010 Posted by Ryan Nasipak in Friends, Inspiration, Interview

Stopping by today is Chris Theibert, creator of the soon to be world famous Choonimals Clothing Company. If you’re looking for a shirt featuring a crazy cartoon creature , he’s your guy.

Ryan: How many times have you answered the question “What is a Choonimal?”:

Chris: At least 5x per event, and roughly 2x a week, so that would be about 204.34x a year. Math.

Ryan: What is a Choonimal?

Chris: Ha! Choonimals are a bunch of rabid, gnarl-toothed, crook-eyed, kinda scary but kinda cute animals my friends and I dreamt up in high school and continue to create even though we should be acting like grown men by now.

Ryan: See what I did there?

Chris: Yes, I saw that. So now it’s 205.34x a year.

Ryan: When you first started drawing these crazy cartoon creatures, did you have any expectation as to where it might take you?

Chris: None of us did, no. Initially we just drew them in class to aggravate our teacher and classmates and make each other laugh. We forgot about them for a few years, and rediscovered them in college. I’m not really sure how this next part happened, but we started drawing them on people at parties with markers, and next thing I knew, there was a line out to the moon of people waiting to get a Choon drawn on them. So, we finally accepted the fact that people kind of like them, so we decided to put them on shirts to allow the disease to spread a little more.

Star Nosed Mole Ryan: Given how abstract some of your Choonimals are, do you ever get inspired by their real life counterparts? Or do your ‘Choons’ simply swim around in the back of your mind?

Chris: Most of the Choons I draw were inspired by the real animals, or by recommendations from fans. I watch a lot of nature shows and keep my eye out for the dumbest looking animals on the show, like the Star Nosed Mole (pictured right) and the Elephant Shrew. Strangest creatures. I want one.

Ryan: Cool, weird or both. What was it like seeing someone you don’t know, have a tattoo of the artwork you create?

Chris: AMAZING! Nothing is more exciting than seeing a rogue fan come up to me and say, “LOOK! I GOT A CHOON TATTOO!” It floors me. I’ve been collecting an album of them all, and I actually just came across two new ones this week!

Ryan: Choonimals recently released some big news. Have you stopped smiling since your Warped Tour Announcement?

Chris: We are all ecstatic for Warped Tour! It’s kind of surreal to think we will be at all 43 dates, touring like a band. I’m not sure I really know what to expect. I’m so excited to meet all the awesome bands, fans, and people we expect to see there. I think that will make it all worth it in itself.

Ryan: Choonimals has always been committed to giving back. Why is it so important for you guys to be involved in philanthropic endeavors?

Chris: I think a lot of people live in their own little snow globe, where every thing is perfect and happy and full of glitter, and all the bad stuff they see on the news is happening outside their little bubble. It’s extremely important, not just for us, but for everyone to do their part and show that we all live in the same bubble. I’ve personally seen some horrific things in far off lands that people do not realize exist, simply because they can’t SEE it. We get involved with charities mostly to expose the problem and issues at hand. The money we donate hopefully leads to other people doing the same, telling someone, etc.

Ryan: What’s one question you wished more people asked?

Chris: “Where did the name “Choonimal” come from?” (They’re named after an old lady named Choon that worked at an Arby’s during our high school years).

Ryan: So it’s not “are you single?”

Chris: No, it’s definitely not that, haha.

Ryan: If you could grant life to one Choonimal , which one would it be? and why?

Chris: That is the best question I’ve ever been asked. I’m going to have to say the Grauff (pictured left on a Choonimals shirt), because it’s neck is so crooked, and it looks so confused, that I would love to see it try and hang out with other giraffes in Africa. I’m actually laughing right now just imaging the scenarios in my head, haha.

Ryan: What ultimately motivates you to do what you do?

Chris: The confused smiles on peoples faces when they walk by our booth, the tattoo’s from devoted strangers, the kind words from our fans, the never ending ideas spawning through my head, I could go on and on.

Ryan: Thanks a lot Chris, best of luck with your big summer. Anything else you want to say?

Chris: Snakes are just really long necks.

To learn more about Choonimals, visit their website at http://www.choonimals.com/

The Vans Warped Tour will make a stop in the Chicago area on July 31st at First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre in Tinley Park. If you’re there, make sure to stop by and say hello to Chris. Tell him the Stairwell blog sent you.