There's little doubt that André Shikay has been bitten by the Subie strain of the car guy bug, whether that's in rotating his continuously-modified GC Impreza through show car/track car/rally car duty, or administering and pulling events together for the Brazilian Subaru Club. With the dream car being something even more Fast & Furious, for now André harnesses the skills from his detail-driven design day job into classic tees like "Gunnitt", "Driver's Ed", and "16 Candles".

André stayed out of spool to answer some questions:

How did your interest in cars start?

In my childhood, I used to tell my father that cars parked on the street or exposed on dealers would be mine. I collected 1:18 miniatures and always asked them for a birthday or Christmas present, I had Hot Wheels tracks etc. Unfortunately, I don't have many of the toys anymore; when I was 18 I moved to another city due to college, so my mom and my sister moved to a smaller house, and a lot of my things were trashed.

How does your interest show itself?

I always say that my life has become what it is today because of my passion for cars. The friends I have, the trips I made, and even my wife are the result of my involvement with cars. Over time I've participated in many things auto related: organized events, managed groups, competed in shows, raced on trackdays/rallies, etc.

 

What is at the top of your automotive bucket list?

I’m pursuing to have another car that I can mod, race, show it etc, without interfering on my daily duties. Obviously a Subaru (GC or GD chassis) is my target, but it depends on how much I'll save for it.

What's in your driveway, and what makes it special?

Today I’m sharing a ‘popular’ car with my wife, so there’s nothing much to say about it. But my previous car was a 1996 Subaru Impreza GL, which I owned for 9 years and did a lot of things to over the years. It had Enkei Evo-5 wheels, then OZ F-1, BBS RC and OZ Mitos. It had 3 different sets of headlights (OEM, eBay and retrofitted), 4 sets of taillights (OEM, altezza black, one-off and JDM STi), Trial-style hood, 22b-style hood vents, HT-Autos (UK) grille, frontlip, STI sideskirts, clear turn signals, sidemarkers and blinkers, Ganador-style mirrors, 2 different wings (R-Tech fiberglass and GT-wing), fender flares, Isotta seats, 4” muffler, Momo steering wheel, shift knob and handbrake.

What was your first car? Any sort of brand loyalty?

The Subaru mentioned above. Subaru is definitely what I'm loyal to, as I've administered the Brazilian Subaru Club for almost a decade now. It isn't anything like NASIOC, but we're the only online board focused on the Subaru brand here in Brazil, and we have some thousands of members. Here's coverage of our annual meeting from last month.

What is your dream car?

Nissan Skyline GT-R R34.

What do you do besides designing awesome shirts?

I’m full-time graphic designer, by day at my job, and on my free time at home with freelance work (including Blipshift). I did (and I keep doing) some business websites, but that's not my specialty. I make them just because my clients insists on that subject. What I really love on graphic design is working with Photoshop and Illustrator.

 

What are some of your non-car hobbies?

I like to work out at the gym and sometimes I participate in running events.

What have the funds from blipshift helped you accomplish?

Aside from helping to pay the bills, I'm saving to buy my bucket list car.

What influences you as a designer?

Accuracy and details. I like to show details on my designs. I usually don’t draw side profile cars, so I can draw the front and the side of a car, or the back and the side, wheel depth, headlights or taillights etc.

What's your favorite blipshift shirt?

I really like Micheal Castiglione and Josh Mussell's design styles. Can’t pick just one.

 

Any advice for fellow artists? How did you find the process overall?

I can say that it’s a pleasure for me to do what I like (design/draw cars), to be a partner of such a big company as blipshift and be paid for it. Seeing people buying your art, using the shirts or framing the posters, that’s priceless. Being a foreigner, it’s difficult for me to get the subject right, to know what the target audience will like (like other artists, I've had disapproved designs), but the blipshift team help a lot with this. They are very polite and funny over everything, we exchange ideas all the time to perfect the designs.

Thanks André for your time and torso-tastic design skills. Apex Everything!