Before his artwork hit NHL ice with the Vancouver Canucks and Calgary Flames, Travis Michael was a tile setter with an airbrush and a beer league hobby.
Today, the Esquimalt born artist is the creative force behind TM Kustoms, designing some of the most recognizable goalie masks in hockey. But long before his work reached the highest levels of the sport, his journey to national television started right at home.
Seeing his creation on a broadcast for the first time stopped Michael in his tracks. He was streaming a Victoria Royals game, watching goalie Griffin Outhouse wear his design.
“It was there, on my TV,” he recalled with a laugh. “I guess that’s where the belief really began.”
Years later, Michael’s artwork would appear on NHL broadcasts, the World Junior Championships and NHL 26.
TM Kustoms creator Travis Michael presents a custom Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles goalie mask from his studio. (Tony Trozzo/Saanich News)
Despite painting for stars like Thatcher Demko and Dustin Wolf, the Saanich resident still obsesses over the little details.
“I usually go, I shouldn’t have made that bigger, or I should have switched that chin out,” Michael shared. “I have a hard time nitpicking.”
Michael founded TM Kustoms in 2013, a design business that has grown into one of the most recognizable names in hockey’s niche art world.
“I was a goalie my whole life,” Michael told Saanich News. “My dad actually painted all my masks growing up.”
Returning to the crease in adulthood, Michael decided to paint his own helmet. Looking back, he laughs at that first attempt, a tribute to former Canucks netminder Kirk McLean.
Still, teammates quickly requested their own, and Michael realized there might be a market.
“I always wanted to do art,” he said. “It’s just kind of finding that niche where you can actually make money doing it.”
A major turning point came through an unexpected beer league connection.
Michael met Victoria HarbourCats executive Jim Swanson while playing recreational hockey. That led to painting catcher’s masks, before eventually being introduced to the Royals through then equipment manager Matt Auerbach.
After painting charity masks for the team’s ‘Pink in the Rink’ campaign, Outhouse became the first Royals goalie to wear Michael’s art.
Griffen Outhouse showcases one of TM Kustoms mask designs during the 2017-18 WHL season. (Photo courtesy of Kevin Light/Victoria Royals)
Over a decade later, Michael still works with the organization, while his designs have spread to the Prince George Cougars, Kelowna Rockets, Everett Silvertips and NHL locker rooms.
His client list expanded rapidly through hockey’s tight-knit equipment manager network.
Auerbach connected Michael with Silvertips staff, sparking a long relationship with Flames goaltender Dustin Wolf. Another introduction from former Canucks equipment manager Pat O’Neill led to Michael designing masks for Demko during the NHL’s COVID-19 bubble season.
Michael still vividly remembers getting the phone call.
“I got off the phone with Pat (O’Neill), I phoned Matt (Auerbach), I’m like, ‘I got one,’” he said. “He’s like, ‘Perfect. Who’s it for?’ And I’m like, ‘I don’t know.’”
Moments later, he learned it was for Demko.
“Oh, that works,” he laughed.
Today, Michael estimates he has painted a few hundred masks, including work throughout the Canucks organization and their affiliates in Kalamazoo and Abbotsford.
The process behind each design varies dramatically depending on the goalie.
Some players provide only a loose concept and trust Michael’s creativity. Others are deeply involved in every detail.
“Demko, for instance, he’s very hands-on,” Michael said. “He’ll push you in areas you wouldn’t necessarily go yourself.”
One favourite collaboration involved an icy cracked mask concept that started as an afterthought from Demko via text.
“He was like, what about we encase it in ice and break it, and I was like, dude, that sounds unbelievable, but I have no idea how to do that,” Michael recalled. “It was trial and error, but it became one of my favourite masks that we’ve ever done.”
Michael’s work has continued gaining recognition throughout the hockey world.
Earlier this year, two of his designs landed in the Top-10 of The Athletic’s goalie mask Power Rankings.
Nikita Tolopilo’s retro Star Wars-themed Canucks mask placed eighth, while Wolf’s distinct wolf head mask, blending a tribute to the late Johnny Gaudreau, ranked sixth.
Calgary Flames goaltender Dustin Wolf wears his TM Kustoms designed mask, which features a tribute to the late Johnny Gaudreau, during warm-ups in a April 11 game against the Seattle Kraken. (Tony Trozzo/Victoria News)
He was also featured in Apple’s ‘Made on iPad’ campaign, which showcased some of the game’s most well-known goalie mask designers.
Even with the growing profile, Michael says the relationships built through the work remain the most rewarding part.
“You get to build friendships and relationships with it,” he said. “I think that’s special because it’s not what you get to do in a lot of workspaces.”
The lifelong fan remains grateful for every new opportunity, fully aware the phone could stop ringing anytime.
“If you could tell your 10-year-old self that your mask is going to be in the NHL or on an NHL video game,” Michael said, “you’d freak.”
Thankfully for the hockey world, he still answers every call.
RELATED: The lost art of golf club making lives in Saanich
Politics aside, sports are still drawing Victoria crowds to Seattle