Meet David Remington

We had the good fortune of connecting with David Remington and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi David, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
In many ways it seems to be the only choice I have. For over 20 years I worked in retail for major brands: Ralph Lauren, Banana Republic and J.Crew. In most of those roles I worked creatively as a merchandiser. At the end of the day I would feel creatively used up, with nothing left for myself. It wasn’t until I worked for Ralph Lauren (on the factory side of retail) that I could really see from a dollar perspective how much money the company was making off my creativity. I was the first assistant manager at the Las Vegas Premium Outlets to produce a positive sales comp in the women’s department. When I saw how much money that equated to, it really opened my eyes. I began seeing my worth from a dollar and cents perspective, except they weren’t my dollars and cents. I was making that money for someone else. That’s when I started to question whether or not I was really happy working in retail. The answer was; I wasn’t. So I quit. I wanted to pursue happiness and my own creative endeavors.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
The greatest obstacle I’ve overcome was having been bullied as a child. I spent most of my life running from it; the people, the places, and anything that could remind me of my childhood. Originally from Rhode Island I left to attend college in New Mexico. Since then I’ve lived mostly out west: AZ, NV, but it wasn’t until I was living in WA about to move to CA that I discovered my fear of people finding out. I had just quit my retail career at Ralph Lauren and decided I would get a tattoo on my arm below the sleeve line. This would be a career killer, because none of the retailers I’d ever worked for allowed tattoos below the sleeve. However what happened at the artist’s studio changed my life. I wanted a “treasure map” themed tattoo. Having been a fan of Goonies, and Pirate stories as a kid I brought some inspiration photos and also had a list of things I didn’t want the artist to do. He asked if he could “free-hand it” meaning he would draw the tattoo directly on my arm. While he was working on my arm he asked me not to look. When he done I was able to look and my heart sank. Not only did he not do what I wanted but did all the things I specifically asked him not to do. I was heartbroken. I paid him and walked back to my apartment. That’s where I cried for over three hours because I realized I could no longer hide the fact that I had been bullied. I had a permanent mark on my arm of the tattoo artist having bullied me. How would I explain this awful tattoo? What would I say when asked about it? I had no answers at the time but I knew one thing I had to come out as someone who’d been bullied as a child. When I was a child I kept it a secret. I hadn’t complained about it or even told my parents what was happening at school. I was so ashamed. When I finally moved to CA just a few weeks after getting the tattoo. I started working on a blog project called, “The Diary of Gene” I wrote about the long-term effects of having been bullied. It was became the avenue for me to overcome my fear of people finding out that I’d been bullied (my fear was that if people found out then the bullying would happen all over again) I decided I would use the open-mic platform as a way to both promote the blog and tell people I’d been bullied. I created the character called Gene Defected. I didn’t want to use my own name just in case things didn’t go well. The name Gene Defected seemed so offensive to me that I couldn’t imagine anyone heckling me. I was scared enough just having to confront my fear and I couldn’t think of anything more offensive than my opening line which was, “Hi I’m Gene Defected, I’m not defected like retarded, I’m just gay” I would then start asking people about school, and that “one-kid” everyone picked on. When they seemed to all agree I stated, “I’m that kid! I’m that kid everyone picked on and I’m here to tell you I survived” now what I thought was going to happen is that someone from the back of the room would yell, “sit down faggot!” but that’s not what happened. The entire audience erupted in applause and some people even stood up! I was elated. Not only did I overcome my fear, but I felt everyone’s support and that was completely unexpected. So I continued to hit up open mics and work on the blog until I felt I had completed that chapter for me. The pink photo I sent in of with my face covered with makeup and the word “fag” written on my forehead is from a project I did with a friend who helped me recreate a bullying incident that happened when I was in my first semester of college. It was the cover photo for the blog, “The Diary of Gene” and is very much a part of my story. Being bullied is a traumatic experience that leaves you with a ton of fear and anger. They say “It get better” but the truth is, it doesn’t. Don’t get me wrong, not getting called a “faggot” everyday is almost immediately refreshing. However the internal scars and long term effects of having been bullied is something few people discuss. I’ve learned over the course of my life how to let go of the fear and anger and heal.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Someone visiting me is probably going to be in recovery too so here we go. Meetings: you can find me most days attending a variety of 12-step meeting at the Sunny Dunes Clubhouse. I usually start and end my day there. On Sunday I like to attend services at the Unitarian Univeralist Church of the Desert in Rancho Mirage, everyone is welcome! When I have a craving for pizza (which I’m half Italian so that’s like everyday) I’m going to Bill’s Pizza in downtown Palm Springs. When I want Thai, I’m going to Desert Thai in Cat City. When I want something sweet we are going to Handel’s ice cream in Palm Desert for the best ice cream and milkshakes in the valley. For breakfast we are getting a bagel at Townie. The best bagels in Palm Springs! I like to cook at home so for groceries we’re going to Ralph’s at Ramon and Sunrise. That’s the best market in town. Everyone shops there from the rich and famous to the poor and the homeless you see everyone at Ralph’s. We may catch at movie at the PS Cultural Center they have a great selection of classic and rerun movies plus lots of great shows all reasonable! We are also going to check out the local parks. Palm Springs has beautiful city parks my two favorites are Ruth Hardy and Demuth Park. The panoramic views of the mountains around the Coachella Valley are great! Demuth is a beautiful park with a great community center. And if you’re here on a Thursday we are walking the Village Festival in downtown. It’s good food, good vibes, and fabulous vendors.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Kent Taylor, is definitely deserving of credit when it comes to my painting career. Kent was and is still (now that I just accepted a part time position) my manager at the Santiago resort in Palm Springs. I’ve worked there on and off for the past 7 years. Initially, I started working at Santiago as the full time laundry associate. I ran the laundry room at the Santiago for several years until I decided to put my recovery and painting work first. Here’s the thing: my father is a professional painter and frankly when I was younger he’s the one who taught me how to paint. Kent taught me a technique for color blocking paint with razor sharp edges. As a result when the owners opened the new resort Descanso resort they hired me to paint the 6’ multi-color stripes in every room. The technique has resulted in some of my most memorable works as color blocking has become more popular I’m considered a specialist in the technique. Kent has always believed in me and provided me countless opportunities for work.

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