HORROR-IFIC BEGINNINGS
I remember walking down the horror aisle at my local video store when I was young; looking in awe at the VHS boxes covered with images of deformed faces and scary psychos. As I stood there staring at these weird movies in front of me, I felt like I was breaking a rule—like I wasn't supposed to be there. But I wasn't raised to be a rebellious person. And I don't think I'm one today. I do, however, believe in following what feels right; even if others don't agree with it. I’ve always had to pursue my own path, and that path has often led me into uncharted (and sometimes forbidden) territory.

My horror fixation stayed with me even once I went beyond the facade of scary imagery, because I believe there are metaphorical truths in the genre about our fears and how we might overcome them. These themes became especially relevant as I went through college; experiencing a lot of changes and obstacles. I never fully felt like the things one is “supposed” to do after high school were right for me. I kept questioning where it was all headed.

Even once I transferred to art school, where the focus lied more within my interests, I still felt like the odd one out. The program I majored in—graphic design—was geared more towards practical uses. I remember wanting to leave my program—not because I wasn't learning, but because I felt like I wasn't using those skills to create what I wanted. I felt stuck; like I was being kept down. 

EXPRESS YOURSELF
During this time of exploration, I also had a growing interest in the t-shirt. I loved how universal it was. Everyone can wear one, but what you put on it can drastically change who it's for. It's a blank canvas for your body—a form of self-expression that we can all relate to. My interest in graphic design wasn't for websites, interfaces, or charts; it was more personal than that. I wanted to design graphics. And I wanted to put my graphics on t-shirts for everyone to see.

So I did just that—I made t-shirts, and I wore them. Often. I started selling my designs to others too, either online or at markets. But when it came to sharing my creations at school it was a challenge to get the professors at my college to appreciate them. I remember not feeling encouraged or supported because my t-shirts weren’t an assigned project. But I kept asking myself: How are we supposed to stand out if we're all doing the same thing?

This was all happening at a time when I was a typical college kid living in one of the biggest college towns. I liked to party, and I liked to throw parties. It wasn't unusual to find a bunch of my friends huddled in my apartment for a screening of a scary movie followed by a dance party to shake off our nerves and celebrate being alive. At this moment in my life things mixed together so perfectly. I wanted badly to be doing and creating what I wanted, but there was a fear stopping me; afraid of sticking my neck out incase it would get chopped off. The struggles on the TV screen were seeming all too familiar. My life was starting to feel like a horror movie. And I decided I wanted to live.

THE BRAND IS BORN
I charged head first into creating shirts. I sold them and they sold well. I entered them into competitions and I won both an Honorable Mention at the Adobe Design Achievement Awards and an All School Show Award from my school (how ironic) in my senior year. It felt great to do my own thing; to tackle something I really believed in. And people were responding to it—including Converse, who offered me a job designing shoes.

I accepted Converse's offer, but soon after graduation I still wanted to make t-shirts. Only I wanted to create a cohesive line; a brand, instead of the one-offs I had been doing. It’s often said that you should do what you know, and what else did I know more than my life? Horror movies and dance parties still inspired me to keep fighting for myself and what I wanted. With my love for horror movies and t-shirts, it just seemed inevitable that they would come together. Dance Party Massacre was born.

Years later I found myself with as much passion for this brand as I had when I started it. But because of my time commitment to Converse, Dance Party Massacre had been coasting. It garnered substantial attention and sales considering how little time I could put into it, but I felt dissatisfied that I could never truly devote myself. I started to get that feeling like when I was in school all over again: a kind of desperation that comes with feeling stuck because I wasn’t creating what I wanted to. 

LIVE WHILE YOU CAN
After five years of working for someone else, I made the difficult decision to leave my job. I am now working on Dance Party Massacre full-time. This brand is my creative outlet and when I’m working on it, I feel immersed in the kind of life I want to live. To also work on something, see it reach people, and know it was your creation—that feeling is like no other. I hope now I can finally give DPM the time and attention it needs to fully grow. 

In an awesome bit of coincidence, my last day at Converse happened to fall on a Friday the 13th. Many people would take that as a sign of bad luck, but I took it as something good. It didn't scare me; I had already faced my fears. I didn’t let the fear of the unknown stop me from pursuing my dreams. Now I can say without reservation that I am putting Dance Party Massacre’s motto into practice: “Live While You Can.”

I hope you will follow me along for this ride, and maybe take some of that advice into your own life. Like a horror movie it might seem a bit scary, but there’s no better feeling than living life like this is the one chance you get.

-Alex Dakoulas, Founder of Dance Party Massacre