Climbing the Hill: Nick Cress, Rockit West Motorsports Media & Design
Rockit West | Colorado Springs, Colorado
Sometimes, starting your own business is the best way to make all your skills pay off. After gaining experience in designing and printing graphics, as well as photography, video production and website design, Nick Cress started his own shop, Rockit West Motorsports, Media & Design in Santa Barbara, California, to provide all those services in one place. The shop now has a second location in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Nick works with some of the top contenders in racing while also providing fleet graphics and signage for commercial clients.
We talked with Nick about his “long, strange journey” and how he has built a graphics and media business that is sought-after by local businesses as well as race teams and fans from around the world.
Tell us how it all began.
Nick Cress: Over time, it all just kind of fell into place. Like a lot of kids, I had a thing for cars and stickers. When I was in high school, I would spend my lunch break combing through decal books at the local motorcycle shop. I’d inevitably spend too much time doing so and end up racing back to school, late for my photography class.It was all downhill from there. I wanted to be an automotive photographer. I did a little research and sent out some emails looking for direction. On the advice of the editor in chief at Motor Trend I decided to apply to Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara. I was accepted, moved to Santa Barbara, and got a job at a motorcycle shop to pay the rent.
“What I like about the Roland DG printer is the extreme versatility... it’s our most valuable tool. ”
Our shop didn’t have a sticker book, so you can imagine my disappointment. I decided I needed a plotter and started cutting our own decals. I was making all kinds of stuff for the shop and photographing our weekly bike nights. It wasn’t long before the local motorcycle clubs were ordering decals and wanting photo shoots. Then a local clothing company wanted me to do decals and images for them, and so did a winery, a couple of nightclubs, and some offroad racers from back home in Colorado.
I decided it was time to give it a name and offer all of my services in one place. Rockit West was born. Since then, we’ve gone from putting area codes on motorcycles to wrapping SEMA cars for Hoonigan and Nissan. What was once just a photo of a burnout in the parking lot has turned into Official Race Media for the Pikes Peak International Hillclimb.
What services do you provide?
We provide multimedia services to a variety of industries, with a primary focus on motorsports advertising. We offer photography, video production, web development, vehicle graphics, signs, event coverage, and tradeshow exhibits. In addition, we provide window and wall graphics, banners, posters, decals, heat transfer prints, and fleet graphics.Tell us about your print production equipment. How did you come to have a Roland?
Oddly enough it all started with music. I was also a band nerd in school. I loved music but wasn’t into marching band. So I realized I’d have to go digital. I spent my days practicing the saxophone and dreaming about the Roland MC-505 Groovebox that was on display at Colorado Springs Music. The cost was a little out of my price range. After a few years I finally found myself with enough disposable income to justify buying one. And that was the coolest thing ever! It was hands down the most satisfying and technologically advanced thing I had ever owned. I absolutely loved it. So when it came time to invest in a digital printer, a Roland is the only thing I even considered.
How did you get involved in the Pikes Peak Hill Climb?
When I first opened a shop in Colorado in 2012, one of the guys renting in the same complex was sponsoring a Hill Climb participant. I had been making his signs already, and he asked if I could do the graphics on a quad he was sponsoring to race the peak. I said absolutely and then offered to take photos of it when we were done. They took me to tech inspection and introduced me as their photographer. I was given media credentials and access to the mountain with my camera. I’ve been hooked ever since.
The Pikes Peak Hill Climb is the second-oldest race in the country. This year is the 101st running. Being able to shoot photos of cars I wrapped racing up the Peak opened a world of opportunity. Shooting the Hill Climb helped me get credentials for the Mint 400 and King of the Hammers. Which eventually led to wrapping things like trophy trucks and helicopters for Bell Helicopter.
What features do you like best about your Roland DG printer/cutter?
What I like about the Roland DG printer is the extreme versatility. I can print big signs, stickers, photos, fleet vehicle graphics, graphics for UTVs – it’s our most valuable tool.We try to specialize in everything you would need for motorsports –everything from heat transfers to promotional products. So much of it we can do with the Roland DG SOLJET. It just keeps going. Print, cut, repeat, all day every day. With the proper environment and simple maintenance, it has been unstoppable.
How do you manage production for all the races and events along with maintaining your commercial business?
Each race series has its season and set schedule. We start planning nine months to a year prior to each event. There’s always a relatively standard amount of work that needs to get done for things like number plates, windshield banners, and promotional decals. So we spend several months preparing those materials at a comfortable pace, and clear the schedule of any other commercial work two weeks before each event for livery installs.
How intense is it to wrap these vehicles for races?
Most professional race teams tear down and rebuild their cars before every race – and I’m the last guy that touches each car. All the other work on the vehicle is taking place first, and everyone is trying to make sure the car is as perfect as possible. That usually means I won’t be able to start working on the car until the very last minute.Another thing that makes race livery tricky, is that the owners don’t leave their vehicles with me. I typically need to go to their shop to do the wrap, where they are usually still working on the vehicle, while also getting it ready to load it on its trailer. 9 out of 10 times it’s a frantic race to the finish, but somehow, we always pull it off.
What lies ahead for Rockit West?
We are building a new mobile production unit this year. It’s a Peterbilt 389 with a 48-foot reefer trailer. We’re taking the Roland and a laminator on the road next year. We’ll be at King of the Hammers, The Mint 400, several WRL series events, the Pikes Peak International Hillclimb, and SEMA.The trailer has five kilowatts of solar on the roof, and a 460v 3 phase clean diesel generator for cloudy days. I tell people we regularly print wraps on sunshine. We recently completed a box truck wrap for Blue Star Recycling, which specializes in electronics recycling, that we produced with 100% solar power on a Roland DG eco-solvent printer, printing on recycled PVC vinyl. We’re always looking for ways to tread lightly and minimize our carbon footprint. The fact that our Roland eco-solvent printer is two machines in one not only saves us real estate at the shop, but it will also streamline our mobile operation. Roland for the win!