By Chris Hagan
Review Staff Writer
After Chase Goff received his sixth concussion as a result from playing high school and college football, an epiphany was sparked within him.
He no longer wanted to destroy and beat up his body but rather use his body to create handmade pieces of art from natural and industrial elements.
The 2007 Lake Orion graduate left his helmet and pads behind to pursue a career in digital animation. He had always had an interest in art and had a pencil in his hand since he was a child.
But just as he was learning that craft he was stricken with another hurdle. Goff knew that if he followed down this path of digital animation it would be a professional handcuff to a cubicle, working behind a desk.
‘I would go out of my mind,? he said.
Goff continued through the program and received his bachelors degree in Digital Media from Kendal College of Art & Science from Grand Rapids. He didn’t go apply to Disney or Pixar but rather assimilated himself in an environment of employment that was far from the realm of digital creation. Goff went to work for several construction crews and continued his work with local tree services.
It was in 2011 when he was thinking about leaving that life behind him. He was working with a clearing crew that cut down trees and it was then when he wanted a change. He wanted to do more work than the construction he was doing, but also work to lessen the amount of destruction he was witnessing.
‘I really like all the charactesr in the grain and all the stories a tree couldn’t tell you and I just saw all the destruction of what five or six guys can do,? he said. ‘I just felt wrong where we cleared an entire forest, where deer, squirrels and birds had their home and I transitioned into respecting trees.?
Chase, now educated with not only a background in art but also a working man’s affinity for tools and creation, began repurposing trees on the side into elements of functionality. He’d work with a local tree trimming company who would supply him with raw, freshly cut tree limbs and Goff would then spend hours shaping into whatever his mind was seeing.
He’d painstakingly shape the wood into the desired shape with the use of chainsaws, planers and sanders. Fast forwards a couple months to allow the wood to dry, Goff would then dedicate more time, applying layers of polyurethane until the wood had a flawless finish.
Following a stint of employment with several start-up companies including the Lake Orion native-owned, Black Light Visuals, Chase wanted that opportunity to take a creative passion and develop it into an entrepreneurial success of his own.
He began a crowd-funding fundraiser through Kickstarter a month ago and to his surprise it was fully funded.
‘I was kind of a rookie when it came to crowd funding so Kickstarter was the only thing I knew of. So I just went for it and it worked out.? he said.
Thirty-eight people backed Goff’s Kickstarter which raised just over $5,000 and in return for the funded capital, he’ll be making rewards for those people who backed his campaign. Those rewards are ranging from poetry, to coasters, and all the way up to an entire maple and oak bar with walnut stools.
Goff will be using that money to finalize his business’s LLC as well using the bulk of it to purchase a haul trailer with a high powered winch allowing him to drag large tree limbs away from job sites.
‘I’m all about saving backs and I know how hard it is to haul the wood away just with man- power,? he said. ‘But if I could just come in there and drag it through the yard it could benefit me and the tree business.?
Now a resident of Rochester Hills, Goff is hoping this Kickstarter and his overall vision is simply a catalyst to something much greater and larger in life. He hopes to develop his business into one where it employs others and allows for steady income to support a family. But he also hopes this could lead to something of grandeur.
‘I want to use the furniture to fund my dream which would be big sculpture, I really want to get into chainsaw sculpture elements to large sculpture,? Goff said. ‘I have all this background work with 3D so it would be cool to make mock ups and then go to a site to make something huge.
‘I really enjoy expression and analyzing the moments that you have in your life and channeling it to something that can make it look beautiful,? Goff said. ‘I feel I’m a catalyst to an expression and my body is something that can manifest something out of nothing.?
Goff’s work can be seen on his website chasegoff.com and his instragram account, which he updates more frequently, at @chase_goff.