Grass Tagging
If you consider yourself a superfan, you may have wished the logo from your favorite college’s football field would magically appear on your front lawn and turn the Sunday game into a real sensation. Alan Gnagy, founder of Grass Taggers can make that dream a reality. When it comes to painting turf logos, Grass Taggers has done it all, from college logos to engagement messages, birth announcements and birthday surprises. “Anything is possible,” Gnagy said. “If you can think of it and it’s within a five color scheme or less, we can put it down. I’ve had requests for TV and comic-book characters, you name it.”
Grass Taggers, based in Edmond, OK, started as a small company with just a few employees but rapidly expanded to neighboring states. Gnagy said business keeps growing and he plans to open more offices nationally and even internationally. The company is fully licensed for all NFL and Major League Baseball logos and is working on NBA, Nascar and NHL. They are also continually adding to their library of license marks for college and high school sports teams. Having a license not only grants them the right to legally reproduce the logo, but also offers the exact color set for the stencil so the image looks perfect every time. “We get a lot of cooperation from the folks at Major League Baseball and NFL, and especially the local colleges here,” Gnagy said.
Gnagy got the idea for the service about 10 years ago while working in the golf and turf business. “I saw an advertisement painted on the turf and I thought it was kind of interesting. I kind of shelved it and later in life got to thinking about it again.” After researching the market, Gnagy realized no one offered the service and decided to move forward. “I kind of felt there was a business niche there,” he said.
Blake Barkley, who manages the operations in the Amarillo, Texas area, said homeowners often call their buddies to watch while the turf is being painted. “People get really excited about it, because it’s something new and something really interesting.” Other times, he added, “people will be just driving by, and then they’ll drive by again, till they finally stop and ask what is it?”
The process is simple. It takes about 30 minutes to an hour to get the job done. The paint is water-based and non-toxic, doesn’t hurt the grass when applied properly and is safe for pets. Gnagy said grass could be a challenging medium and the best results are achieved a day or two after the lawn is mowed. Once the paint is dry, customers don’t have to do anything to maintain it. “You can treat it as a normal lawn as if the paint job wasn’t even there. It grows out with the grass,” said Gnagy.
The logos last from two to four weeks, depending on the season and how fast the grass grows. After each mowing the pattern gradually fades away. “You can’t really harm it other than ripping it up, and that’s happened before,” Gnagy joked, “you put a logo out on a lawn, and sometimes it sparks up a neighborhood football game right on top of it.” However, Grass Taggers offers deals on touch-ups, always trying to keep sports fans happy – including those who want their favorite team logo on their lawn all season long. Logo sizes vary from 52 inches to 13 feet or even larger, and range in price from $100 to about $300. The company also works on bigger projects at schools and sports clubs. In fact, they offer wholesale pricing packages for booster clubs and fundraising groups.
Grass Taggers makes custom designs but has a strong policy about what is appropriate. “We definitely don’t want to ruin anybody’s birthday parade,” said Gnagy. “We try not to do anything that requires censorship.” So, if you want to prank a friend or relative by ordering the rival’s team logo, think again. “We are sports fans and we like to pride ourselves on good sportsmanship,” said Gnagy. “There are certain lines that are crossable and there are lines that are not crossable.”
But if you lost a bet, now that’s a different story. “If we are talking about a message or something that is all fun in nature… we’ll gladly paint whatever they want,” said Gnagy. He would even offer a deal to paint the lawn green the next day just to get the logo off. “We keep our rules flexible, but always try to be fair.”
Grass Taggers is hiring and other than a good attitude, there are no special requirements for those who want to join the team. “We are nice guys who work hard, so we are looking for those people,” Gnagy said. “If you are a sports fan, it helps but if you are not, while working for us you’ll become one.” Graffiti artists are especially welcome. “We need to get those kids to stop doing graffiti on rail cars and come do them on lawns. They can make tons of money.” He said that would be a much safer way to create masterpieces while keeping the city’s walls clean.
If you would like your lawn “tagged,” or if you want to become a grass tagger, visit their website at www.grasstaggers.com or call Alan at 996-8104.
