The Art of Paulie Balls

I grew up on a steady diet of pinball, monster movies, and Saturday morning cartoons. I still remember playing the original KISS machine at my local roller-skating rink, wide-eyed and wired on life. Later, it was Terminator 2 right after seeing the movie in cinemas — the silver ball felt like an extension of the film itself. But the one that truly changed everything was Creature from the Black Lagoon. It was the first machine I ever owned, and that back glass, that hologram — it lit a fire that’s never gone out.

Since then, I’ve been chasing that same spark — collecting, restoring, and drawing machines that still feel alive when you flip the switch. My work pulls from the golden age of arcades,
80s & 90s culture, VHS grime, punk flyers, and everything that made growing up feel loud and limitless. But I’m just as obsessed with what’s happening now. The innovation coming out of today’s pinball scene — from Jersey Jack to Spooky to Stern — is unreal. It’s a golden era all over again. Though I’m based in Melbourne, I made the decision to print and embroider almost everything right in the U.S.A. — not for the label, but for the legacy. Pinball was built there, and I want every shirt to feel like it belongs beside the machines that started it all and the ones redefining it today.

Defiant Pinball Co. is where I channel all that energy. It’s not just design — it’s memory, obsession, and rebellion, screen-printed for the true believers.

Thanks for checking out the art.

Keep flippin’ — and never drain.