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Have you ever seen a staff or volunteer symbol or ambassador badge and wondered "Who DAt?" Welcome to the interview series that's hittin' DA streets to find out more about these very deviants.
Featuring a Wild Card question which is selected at random from a pool of questions. If you have a suggested random/fun question to add to the list, please feel free to comment here.
Ahoy! If you'd be so kind, what is your preferred name? Also, do tell, what is the delightfully devious story of your username?
I like Joe best. A few people still call me “Joey” but only those people are still allowed because they are grandfathered in from my childhood and, yes, one of those people is my mom. My legal name is Joseph, but it’s not my favorite. I mean, I guess I could legally change it to “Joe” but uuuuuuggggghhh seems like such a drag so here we are 😃
I’m not sure it’s a delightfully devious story, but “vagrantscout” has been my handle since 2003 when I was the community manager for the game SOCOM II: U.S. Navy SEALs. I always played the “scout” role in that game and was a little rogue at times so hence the “vagrant” tag. No, I was never a talent scout for Vagrant Records (good label) but hundreds of people have asked.
How did you first discover DeviantArt and how did it connect to your heArt?
I was working at marketing agencies in Los Angeles as a video gaming community manager at the same time DeviantArt was also starting in Los Angeles so the platform was familiar to me. During the PS2 and PS3 eras, all the game studios and publishers looooooooved game-related fan art. Like, they just couldn’t get enough of the good art stuff and always wanted to include original characters and fan art activations in their promotions. One way I would facilitate this was to drive my gaming communities to DeviantArt to publish their gaming-related artworks. I would also utilize DA to find artists across the U.S. for art installations tied to online gaming promotions, conventions like E3 and San Diego ComicCon, or for special events. I’ve always liked connecting people to the properties they love and DeviantArt made that really easy to do 🎮 Now I like to share my flower, sunset, and travel photography on DeviantArt just because I think those things are pretty.
As an admin of DA, what is your title and what are your responsibilities?
I assist our @DA-Ambassadors in @Community affiliated groups with creating, facilitating, and promoting engagements for group members. I do other stuff too, sure; but helping the affiliated groups is my main responsibility at DeviantArt. I usually tell people I’m a “Community Manager” as that seems easiest, but I say this to my family members and they literally have no idea what that means so maybe it’s not so easy after all 🤷♂️If I had to choose a ridiculous title for no reason other than to appease Ridiculonius, the god of ridiculousness, it would probably be “Grand Galactic Governor of Great Gregarious Groups” but that might be too pretentious. “The Groups Guy” works.
Generally, what does your day to day look like in regard to DA?
My typical day revolves around helping Ambassadors brainstorm activities to get their members sharing new deviations or to help develop engagements that recognize artists in their specific communities. But then I’m also answering Messages, checking notifications, responding to comments, reviewing feedback in the forums, looking at Daily Challenges submissions, planning fun things to do from @Community, researching other projects, outlining future activations, taking a break to hang out with my cats, chatting up users, making updates, somewhere in here I eat sometimes, updating colleagues about groups, probably some meetings. You know, work stuff. 👨💻📈
Was art an integral part of your childhood? If so, how?
I used to draw airplanes and tanks and stuff when I was younger, then I got into comic books and graphic novels in middle school and tried some of those styles. But mostly I would create sketches for D&D characters and scenes and eventually turned my focus to creative writing so I could make better homebrewed campaigns for my friends. In high school I took an art history class that exposed me to a lot of different cultures and techniques while also sending me to different museums in Southern California. Although my physical talents lie outside of creating quality traditional or digital art for the most part, I do appreciate the beauty and storytelling inherent in art.
Who or what is your inspiration in life and/or art?
Donuts and Hawaii. When I need next level inspiration, I have donuts IN Hawaii. I will not be taking questions on this question.
Of your own work, which has the most meaning to you and why?
I’ve really only done a couple paintings in my life and only completed one that felt worthy of the effort. This one was created on a paint night with my wife somewhere in the 2010’s era. It was a really fun night! 😀
The classic superpowers (flight, invisibility, super strength, etc.) are no longer available. What wildly random superpower would you choose and why?
The ability to sleep anywhere at any time through anything. Considering I can barely sleep at all these days, this might be life changing. If I could sleep on a plane, I’d never stop traveling. 🧳🛫
Is there a movie/TV series/documentary that you just can't stop thinking about?
My daily comfort television show is “The Big Bang Theory” and I watch this every day; it’s just so familiar now that I can basically quote entire episodes. But that’s usually just for me to unwind while I have dinner. This used to be the original Star Wars trilogy (New Hope, Empire, Jedi) but that was back in the VCR / Blu Ray days and before the re-imagined changes. Yes, Han Solo shot first.
But as far as a television show that I can’t stop thinking about? Probably the SyFy series “Battlestar Galactica” as I haven’t re-watched it in probably 10 years but I recommend it to everyone as the best sci-fi show ever created. Oh, and Firefly cuz it’s shiny.
What music gets you into your groove? (Specific groups/artists?)
Music is a pretty important part of my life. Back in college at UC Santa Barbara I was a radio DJ for an alternative rock station (97.5 KHTY!) and grew up listening to punk, ska, metal, hard rock, British alternative, and similar. As I got older I explored everything from world music (Gypsy Kings, Buena Vista Social Club, Afro Cuban All Starts, Fela Kuti) to Motown (Commodores, Earth Wind & Fire, Bill Withers) to R&B and pop. I’ve been on a pretty serious classic rock kick the past year so it’s a lot of Eagles, Jackson Browne (Fullerton, CA represent!), Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, REO Speedwagon, Bob Seger, etc. I like a wide variety of music, but I guess “rock” is my go-to.
My music selection really depends on what mood I’m currently in, but I can tell you that there is constantly a song playing in my head at all times (right now it’s “Ocean Size” by Jane’s Addiction). I do like going to concerts and I’m really hoping to see My Chemical Romance at Hollywood Bowl this Halloween 2026, Social Distortion at Belasco Theater around Christmas 2026, and Radiohead in London in 2027 🤘
A book that had a powerful impact on you?
I’ve read the entire Lord of the Rings epic (Hobbit, Fellowship, Two Towers, Return) probably 3 dozen times in my life. My dad used these books as bedtime stories when I was a kid and they stuck with me HARD. There are probably a bunch more books I could include as I used to read much more extensively than I do now, but it’s difficult to find the time these days. Besides that, probably the 2e D&D manuals as that’s what got me into gaming in the first place 🧌
What is a dish that when consumed always provides you with a sense of pure joy?
There’s definitely more than one of these, I will need to list them in no particular order of awesomeness as all are amazing in their own way:
In ’n Out: Double Double, extra lettuce & grilled onions, no tomato; onion rings; Neapolitan shake.
FARM Palm Springs: banane et dulce de leche crepes; bacon; cold brew.
Momosan Ramen & Sake NYC: spicy tonkotsu; soft shell bao; brussel sprouts; sake flight.
Bleecker Street Pizza NYC: 2 slice cheeses; red pepper, parmesan; orange soda.
Monkeypox Kitchen Wailea: bulgogi pork tacos; lobster deviled eggs; garlic truffle oil fries; mai tai.
Lawai’a Fish Co. Lihue: tuna poke bowl w/ edamame & seaweed salad; smoked marlin dip; POG.
My dad’s navy bean soup recipe. He loved that stuff, I gotta admit it’s pretty tasty.
What question or topic do you wish you'd get to discuss more often? And, please, share a few highlights about it!
Ancient History: Unresolved mysteries surrounding the Knights Templar.
Modern History: The complexities of the North Africa campaign of World War 2.
Nostalgia: Just how freakin’ awesome growing up in the 90’s actually was in Southern California.
Pop Culture: Reasons why Gen Z should usher in the fourth wave of ska.
Current Events: The “super El Niño of 2026/2027” is gonna be wild!
Literary: Use of the Oxford Comma is the hill I will die on.
Food: Donuts, amiright? Oh, and Ramen! 🍜
What is the single best piece of advice you have ever received?
Not that I can actually follow it because “reasons” but this is good:
Wild Card: If animals could talk, which one would most align with your personality?
But I’d rather be able to talk to my kitties if I have the choice.
Thank you for your devious time today! Do you have any final thoughts to share?
This was really fun thanks for including me! I hope everyone has a devious day 🙂
Who DAt? He is Joe. He is @vagrantscout!
