For over five years, the artist and founder of Frenetic Toys has been designing collectible figures full-time out of his Surrey, B.C., garage, and his designs are unique, weird, funny and sometimes very personal.
Every character has a story, which he says allows it to come to life and reflect his emotions as someone living with both autism and ADHD — unofficially, AuDHD.
“It’s a bit cliché to say, but it’s definitely therapy,” he says. “That’s like an outlet for me to say, ‘Hey, I’m thinking this.’ But I don’t actually have to say it.”
An ‘unrealistic’ career path
While he had always wanted to make toys, he’d convinced himself it was an “unrealistic” career path. So he pursued a more traditional route instead, creating background art and animation for companies large and small.
He’s worked on projects for Disney and Hasbro — including Kid vs. Kat and Transformers: Rescue Bots — and for independent animation startups in B.C.
According to Frenetic, a common grievance among animators is that they have to draw the same thing over and over. That repetition can be challenging for him, and it wasn’t until he worked on Rocket Monkeys — a series with zany and exaggerated character designs — that he found the freedom and variety he craved and was able to flex his design skills.
And his AuDHD made it difficult to fit in in what he calls “a culture of conformity.”
“It’s hard for me to talk about why I left, just because there’s a lot to it,” he says. “But I think what it mostly involves is some pattern recognition from autism.”
He says it was also a challenge to communicate. He felt judged and struggled with his work relationships. “It got toxic … and it just got stressful, so I just had to go,” he says.
Despite that, it was a gift. “It enabled me to go and follow the thing I really wanted to do,” he says.
Sharing stories and bringing joy
Each creation begins with a hand drawing. Then a prototype or master is made — either by hand or using 3D-sculpting software — and carefully refined, before Frenetic makes a mould and cast. The figures are then assembled and hand-painted.
On his Instagram, Frenetic shares these creations, along with the stories behind them and shots from different stages of his process. “It’s nice to have a connection to the figure,” he says.
He points to the character Veekra from his Kaiju Larvae collection, an outsider considered odd by all but those who understand and relate to her weirdness. It’s a story that’s close to his heart.
Nips is also special to Frenetic because it was inspired by his son just after he was born.
“I wanted to capture his little cheeky look and that newborn hunger for sustenance, which my wife found pretty amusing at the time,” he says.
But it’s hard for Frenetic to say which of his designs he likes best. He jokes that each time he designs a new toy, it becomes his favourite. That said, there are a few he keeps coming back to.
“Wrong Robbie was a good one because I was able to get a lot of that thought and frustration out,” he says. “Robbie allowed me to kind of have that outlet.”
And as Frenetic continues to build his name in the toy community — he’ll attend Fan Expo Vancouver in February — he has opened the door to collaborations with other artists, including U.K.-based Marlon Monster.
Although the figure isn’t offered on his website, it means a lot to Frenetic. “I genuinely wanted to work with other artists in a fair and collective way, and this collaboration brought me the closest to that goal,” he says.
When Frenetic left animation, he was seeking creative freedom and a sense of peace. But in designing toys, he’s found a new goal — to share joy with the people who collect his figures.
“I want them to look at the toy and feel a positive emotion,” he says, smiling. “I certainly don’t want [them to] think, ‘Why did I buy this piece of crap?’”
Michelle Villagracia | Digital Producer 
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