Achy Bones Co. has been printing graphics onto t-shirts and merchandise for about a decade.  

“Till I’m six feet deep,” and “sleeping with the fishes,” a snowboarding skeleton says in one illustration. 

“I parked like an idiot in Cedar Lot,” a sticker reads. “Shred Butt” is on just about anything.  Topping the Best of Whitefish artisan category for years is a just a small nod to how Achy Bones’ art resonates with the community. He’s also won the top slot for best local product, second for community star and a slew of nominations for shopping, philanthropic business and best gift shop – and that’s just for 2025.   

He worked at Stumptown Snowboards for a bit and now spends time doing trail work.  

It’s on the trail where the idea for being an anonymous figure came about. 

“It was just kind of a random idea,” he said. “I have a lot of time to think about random ideas.” 

Co. stands for collective, not company.  

“Business partners are just my alter egos,” he said. 

He’s been drawing since grade school and a friend showed him how to screenprint while at college in Bozeman. He moved to Whitefish about a decade ago. He slowly gathered supplies and worked a few gigs to fund setting up a mini studio. 

The inspiration?  

“It’s pretty simple. Outdoor activities,” he said. “And then putting a skeletal, cosmic twist to it.” 

Soon afterward he was dropping off deliveries of art to shops as “the delivery guy,” part of the stunt of being an anonymous guy with some achy bones.  

But Whitefish is a small town, so some people knew him anyway, and there were other people who were just confused. 

The anonymity might be a bit of a forgone story, but it’s one he’ll keep rolling with just for kicks.  

He said he “was running some landscape materials to the dump,” when the Whitefish Pilot reached out for an interview, to which he responded, “my art is for people who still do their own yard work.” 

“It’s not dirtbag, it’s normal working people. That’s who I am, and I want my art to resonate.”