THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, August 11, 1994 TAG: 9408110032
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Profile
SOURCE: BY JIMMY GNASS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 87 lines
ROWS OF BOATS line the docks. Families come to swim in the club pool. It's a typical day at Marina Shores.
Suddenly, from around the corner, comes a hulking, decal-plastered van. From a distance, it looks like a Snap-On tool truck blasted in color, or maybe a terrorist ice-cream truck.
Inside sit Jamie McGeein, 40, and Chester Sabisky, 39. With their long hair and T-shirts, they look like something out of the counter-culture of the 1960s.
But McGeein and Sabisky are doing just the opposite: They have aligned with the establishment. They're running a business.
McGeein and Sabisky are sign makers, and on this particular day, they are headed to the marina to stencil names on boats.
In their own fashion, McGeein and Sabisky are anti-establishment. They used to be the kind of guys who put on coats and ties and reported to the office every day.
``The years that I spent in a structured environment, I can't even imagine,'' McGeein says.
Since they struck out on their own, McGeein and Sabisky have left their mark across Hampton Roads - from storefronts to work vans to hundreds of boats in the region.
They call themselves ``Sign-makers . . . We're Mobile Inc.'' Inside the huge step van is all the graphic design equipment they need: computers, high performance vinyl paper, a plotter. And don't forget the compact disc changer. The Jimi Hendrix is essential.
The van parks in the marina warehouse and the design duo jump out to find the next job. Swimming trunks and T-shirts are their uniforms, sunglasses optional.
``I've never worked harder. I've never worked longer hours for as little money. But it's better. At least I'm not in a structured environment,'' Sabisky says.
Six years ago, the two decided they were tired of working for other people. They had done it all, from grocery stores to electronic centers. One day, Sabisky realized he didn't want to grow old working at such places. He took a gamble with the design business.
``It was good to shed the tie and the briefcase. I think we learned a lot from that business. But really we're not in the sign business, we're in the service business,'' says Sabisky, referring to their persistence in pleasing customers.
``I'd love to say I'm in complete control, but I'm actually out of control. I'm my own boss, and everybody's my boss,'' McGeein says.
A good day on the job will take them from Chesapeake to Newport News to Virginia Beach. Mobility is their key factor. No waterway in Hampton Roads has gone untouched.
``I guess that's the beauty of this area. There's so many marinas, boat yards. We're lucky for the water,'' McGeein says.
Average work days range anywhere from eight to 12 hours. There are plans to purchase another van to double the mobility factor. And the two have already hired a third hand, Sonny Wood, 33.
``It's a fun job, I love it a lot,'' Wood says.
The end of the job approaches at the marina. A fresh design gleams off the surface of a boat. It's time to roar off to the next location. The crew loads up the van, clicks on the CD changer, and they're off.
McGeein sums up his perspective on the business:
``It's been fun. I've met a lot of neat people. I prefer working for myself. Working for yourself, you work to perfection.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo by C. Baxter Johnson< Signmakers employee Sonny
Wood checks equipment
NAME GAMES
While painting names on boats, sign makers Chester Sabisky and
Jamie McGeein have seen some memorable puns, for example:
Bottom's Up - for a proctologist.
Permanent Wave - hairdressers
Open Wide - dentist
Off Call - doctors
Hot Mix - paving contractors
Other owners seem to forecast trouble with their boats. How about
Cirrhosis of the Liver or even Child Support. One must have been
addicted to his boat, which he named Bad Habit. And how about My
Wife's Mink, because she would have gotten one had the husband not
bought the boat.
by CNB