As some of you may remember, Animated Meat first came to life in 2008 as a way to document some sights that managed to slip through the cracks of most popular travel websites. You may also remember that the original website was built on Apple's now defunct iWeb. From there, it migrated over to WordPress where it met an untimely demise at the hands of Russian hackers. Many of those old, pre-2012 entries have found a new home here in the Before the Now section. I would consider these posts as my starting place as a writer, probably comparable to a musician's first demo tapes. They are very rough, but I took them all seriously and wrote each one with passion. While I would like to believe that I have matured in my abilities as a writer, it is my hope that I carry this same blind passion into all of my new efforts.

Sergio's Leather and Belts - Originally Published 2011

March 14, 2019

You know what’s nice? Not being destitute. You know what’s nicer than that? To have the resources necessary to put an artisan to work.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I hate to be a braggadocio, but three years of hard work and globetrotting have put me in such a position. One fine Sunday found Animated Meat at the Orange County Market Place. I happened upon Sergio’s Leather and Belts. Sergio is a master leather craftsman. After explaining the virtues of hard versus soft leather to me, I decided to put him to work. What better place to embody the Animated Meat philosophy than in a belt and a wristband?

America, what you are all witness to the first-ever commissioned work by Animated Meat. It’s the best I can do to use my capital to support American industry.