B2G: Can you tell us about yourself?
SpH!Nx: My name is Jonathan Garlit, fairly a “Newbie” in the modding scene/industry, currently became a full time father of a beautiful little lady, and currently living in Canada.
B2G: How did you come-up with your modder name?
SpH!Nx: My first name on some modding community website was “kazuma” from the Playstation 2 game, “Yakuza”. And then when I decided to explore some more modding communities, I have encountered users who has the same username, so then I decided to use my “Counter Strike 1.3” alias (God, Im old!), SpH!Nx, which is a lot more unique than “kazuma”.
B2G: What was your inspiration in joining the modding community?
SpH!Nx: Aw God. This is gonna be a long one. Bear with me. I will try to shorten this as much as I could. When I did my first “build” on a Bitfenix Prodigy case, I wasn’t quite satisfied with it. I mean, it runs great, but whenever I look or stare at it, I get this “unsatisfied” feeling in me. Back then, I was not aware that “case modding” exists. As a sucker for fluorescent/neon/glow in the dark green color, I started to google computer cases that has green and black theme on it. I then saw this awesome looking cube pc case made out from scratch called “Nvidia Ion Cube” by Bill Owen and Cheapskate. After seeing that, I told myself “that is what I want in my desk!”. After a little bit of research, I found out that Bill Owen is actually one of the veterans in the modding industry and Cheapskate is one of his “Crazy Minions” who has this crazy and creative mind when it comes to almost everything. From then onwards, I started to do some research on how to do stuff, basics and in depth, for pc case modding, and the rest is history.
B2G: What was your first project?
SpH!Nx: My first project is called DotaLamp. Basically a lamp with the logo of my favorite game, Dota 2….. Just kidding. It’s called “DotaBox”. It was basically a cube/box, inspired by the Nvidia Ion Cube. But instead of having those crazy details and designs, I ended up using the Dota 2 logo for it. I made that as some sort of “reward” for myself foe being a avid and long time Dota player. I was planning on retiring on Dota 2 since I became a full time dad last January, but then…. Uhm, for some reason, I can’t “uninstall” Dota 2 on my PC. (You know what I mean 🙂
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vujq_a3GfSk
B2G: Do you have any particular routines in modding?
SpH!Nx: Yes! My routine/routines whenever I am going to do some modding work is as follows:
- Cup of coffee first thing in the morning
- Do some squats, at least 30 every morning
- Stare at the sky for about 5 minutes
- Go back inside and make another cup of coffee
- Eat a piece of “Pandesal” as my breakfast
- Make another cup of coffee
- And lastly, make another cup of coffee
All jokes aside, I only have one routine before I start to do some modding work. I try to get myself in to a “happy” mood before I start to cut some acrylic sheets, woods and aluminum. Having a “happy” mood from the start will clear your head of any “disaster causing” clouds which will ultimately help you gain a productive “modding day”. And of course, a cup of coffee.
B2G: What are your top 3 best mods and what was the idea behind each mod?
SpH!Nx: Eeeer, top 3? Am I actually supposed to be part of this interviewed? I only, currently have 2 finished projects, so I guess I am not qualified for the interview? :p
My first project was DotaBox. Like I mentioned earlier, I am a avid fan of Dota, so I decided to incorporate “that” into my first scratch build.
Second is called “Toxicity Machine DeskPC”. It’s a desk, with 2 mini ITX systems inside of it and you can see the systems inside through the top of a acrylic sheet with a “1 way” mirror effect on it. I added in a couple of linear actuators on the legs of the desk for easy height adjustments.
B2G: What difficulties and challenges did you encounter in modding and how did you surpassed them?
SpH!Nx: Me, being a “newbie”, of course, encountered “sh*t ton” of challenges. From simple measuring to cutting certain materials using certain tools. It was quite a learning experience. Anyone can cut an acrylic using whatever tool they want, right? But to do it correctly, you need to have some or, at least, basic knowledge on how to do it “properly”, or else, you’ll get “not-so-great” results. Doing some light to moderate “google” search helped me out A LOT. You will find tons of tutorials, articles and what not on how to do stuff, let’s say bending an acrylic properly, over at the internet. A simple google search will open up hundreds on doors for ideas. A little bit of time and effort with self-research will help you a lot.
B2G: Can you tease us with your upcoming project?
SpH!Nx: Eeeer, uhm, well, right now, I am part of Thermaltake’s Case MOD Invitational Season 2, and I am not sure if I am allowed to disclose any teaser right now. How about this, my build for the Case MOD Invitational Season 2 will have a “Gundam-ish” theme on it, and it will have a little bit of twist to it. Is that good enough?
B2G: Do you have any modders to look up to?
SpH!Nx: Of course! Mr. Bill “Mawd Gawd” Owen and Cheapskate. Those 2 are the main reason why I dove in to the modding scene. And then from there, I met A LOT of great modders. Von Carlo Rasonabe, the guy who made that crazy Lamborghini pc out from scratch, Jesse Palacio, Aka JP Modified, who is also competing on the Thermaltake Case MOD Invitational, Andrew Lee Adanza who made the crazy, “Cube X” scratch build (he apparently likes mesh, I don’t know what type of mesh so, if you know him, go ahead and ask him), and Mickee Boy Lacerna who is doing, well, almost finished, weathered theme case mod named SMKR (my deepest condolences for his neighbor’s front yard, metal gate and gold fishes).
B2G: Do you have a message to aspiring modders and to the B2G community?
Oh God. I have A LOT of message to aspiring and rising “newbie” modders like me out there about how to gain sponsorship, modders who “slates” other modders, kids who thinks that modding is about “the latest and the greatest hardware/s”. But If I do, the page for this interview will stretch up to at least 50 pages so I won’t, well, actually, let’s not do that.
So here’s a quick one. Again, I will not get tired to say this
[signoff icon=”quote-circled”]
MODDING IS NOT ABOUT THE LATEST AND THE GREATEST HARDWARE!IT’S ALL ABOUT THE CREATIVITY AND ARTISTIC DIRECTION OF YOUR WORK/MOD!
[/signoff]
Just because you do not have a liquid cooling kit that you can use and out in to your case mod doesn’t mean your work is not called or qualified to be called a “MOD”. If this is how you think, then you have THE WRONG idea/concept of what PC CASE MODDING is all about.
And second, if you have the opportunity, please lend a hand to other aspiring and upcoming newbie modders. We all went to a certain point in our “modding career”, if you may, where in we were stuck on a certain part/progress of our build/work/mod wherein we have questions but we can’t find answers online or via google. I personally have experience that, and from asking people, I have gained some helpful answers. Ever since then, I make sure that, most of the people, who are stuck on their modding progress, that had questions about tips and tricks, I would throw in my suggestion/s and try to shed some light to their questions. Give back to the community and the community will give back to you.
Also,
Me and a few of my pinoy modder friends have started to do our own, little PC modding podcast called “ModfohNabs” podcast, which I think (I hope), the first ever all Pinoy podcast for PC modding. If you want to hear some tips and tricks about pc case modding, and you have some extra time to spare, and you are in to pc case modding, I suggest that you go and listen to our episodes. And just a warning, if you are using headphones and you have decided to listen to our podcast, lower your volume down to at least 30% or else…
Part 1:
Part 2:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cihmL4ZnDjg&w=560&h=315]
Thank you sir Jonathan Garlit for a wonderful interview. Who do you want B2G to interview Next? Let us know in the comments. 🙂
