Photo Courtesy of Cheatin Snakes
Grant Kratzer’s clothing brand Cheatin Snakes and its small downtown Kansas City storefront have somehow led him to becoming the creative director for Post Malone’s Big Ass Stadium Tour. It’s a leap that seems impossible, but when you hear how it came together, it’s easy to see how the merge was inescapable.
It all began when Post Malone’s stylist bought the star one of Cheatin Snake’s bootleg wrestling shirts, which ultimately led to Kratzer becoming connected with the Posty Co—Malone’s apparel line for which Kratzer would soon design the primary logo.
Beginning with smaller collaborations, Kratzer designed shirts for Malone’s Australian tour, and then the creative team would eventually call him in to do bigger projects, such as designing the Posty’s Truck Shop—a merch stand at Coachella that mirrors a fireworks/carnival stand that would blend in perfectly just outside of KC.
Photo Courtesy of Cheatin Snakes
“I think that was the biggest pressure moment probably of my career, when I did like three shirts. It wasn’t significant, but it felt monumental at the time,” says Kratzer.
As creative director on the Big Ass Stadium Tour, Kratzer now plays a major role in just about everything you see.
“I did anything ‘visual’. I did the posters and the merch, all of the signs on the stage. I made the Posty Co. logo, which is like the huge icon on the top of the stage for this tour,” says Kratzer.
Throughout the tour—which includes fellow country rap star Jelly Roll—Post Malone hosted a traveling tailgate, which was completely free and open to the public. There were arcade games, live local music, raffles, beer, exclusive goodies, and more. Of course, everything was curated by Kratzer.
His Posty Truck Shop merch stand, which Kratzer initially designed for Coachella, mirrors a fireworks/carnival stand that would blend in perfectly just outside of KC. Situated alongside a towering Post Malone inflatable and accompanied by multiple monster trucks, it lends the event a certain county fair feel—one that only a true resident of the plains can genuinely capture.
“I really want people to have the best time of their lives. That’s always the goal,” says Kratzer. “And who is better equipped to throw a party if not Post Malone and his crew?”
With experience in animation, music, woodworking, painting, graphic design, and fashion, Kratzer’s vision and confidence have opened many doors for the KC native.
“If I could hire someone to do something or just figure out how to do it myself, nine times out of 10, I’m just going to figure it out,” says Kratzer. “I think a lot of that skill set is from surrounding myself with people that help facilitate doing those things rather than, ‘Oh, it’s not going to work. Just hire someone to do it.’ I’m always as hands-on as possible.”
Photo Courtesy of Cheatin Snakes
Kratzer’s unstoppable drive generated a reputation that has bagged him several star-studded gigs—posters and merch for Blink-182, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Pierce The Veil among others.
Aesthetically, Post Malone and Cheatin Snakes’ paths seemed destined to meet—fishing iconography and hunter orange meet ‘90s skater fashion in a sweet y’allternative combination. “I think I have a special relationship with Post,” says Kratzer. “I think that’s kind of my value within the team is we’re very similar. We like the same things.”
No big deal, just the trusted originator for an 18-time Grammy-nominated artist.
“It feels surreal to have all this trust. It’s essentially just me making these decisions,” says Kratzer. “I get a lot of those opportunities to make the stage, and that’s my dream.”
Post Malone’s music and visuals have changed drastically from his Beer Bongs and Bentley’s days, shifting from collaborations with the likes of 21 Savage and Nicki Minaj to a feature on Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter and multiple songs with Morgan Wallen.
“I wanted to make a new lane for Post. I came on right when we were making that transition into country,” says Kratzer. “Everything was so corny with cowboy hats and cactuses that I was like, ‘There’s gotta be a different way to do this.’” Kratzer’s vision of country wasn’t based on Spaghetti Westerns or Marty Robbins—The art was pulled from the reality of small towns in Midwestern America.
“We wanted to feel Midwest country, not Southern Texas country. So I think there is a definite genre being built outside of the classic look,” says Kratzer.
Photo Courtesy of Cheatin Snakes
The Midwest is often overlooked in terms of cultural significance, even in the rural sphere. Most automatically turn to the mountain and desert-dwelling cowboys instead of the Americana of the plains. We trade in pageantry for a more raw, roughened image, which can be found in Kratzer’s work for Post Malone and Cheatin Snakes.
“I love like white trash stuff in the most unironic way. There’s something that feels good to me about that. It’s comforting, and it isn’t pretentious,” says Kratzer. “That’s kind of what I wanted to put forward because I feel like white trash is always kind of grouped with being ignorant, being racist, and all that shit. That’s not where I’m coming from.”
Kratzer strives to reclaim middle-American upbringings as something to be proud of, rather than trying to hide the hick in our hearts. An affinity for cheap beer, believe it or not, doesn’t dictate one’s moral compass. In theory and in practice, who could have guessed the results would look so good?
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