The Good Life – January-February 2024

ART SUBMITTED BY: PUNCHGUT
artist at Addictions, said I should
call it Gut Punch. But you know, I
didn’t want to do exactly what my
younger brother said, so I switched
it around. People don’t always
remember some dickhead named
Matt, but they remember Punchgut.
I didn’t really care as long as they
remembered my work, and I found
a little freedom in hiding behind the
veil.”
After Drekker came calling for
artwork on their beer labels, the
Punchgut style found its way into
the hands and garage fridges of
local craft beer devotees. Name
recognition was no longer a
problem, and Mastrud’s inbox
quickly filled with new inquiries…
one of which will forever stand out
in his memories.
“A church was hosting a sausage
fest, where they had brats and
all that stuff,” Mastrud explained.
“They were open to the idea of
being a little suggestive with the
logo, but accidentally so… kind of
like if you were looking at it from
afar, it might look like something
[sausage shaped]. They loved it.”
BENEFITS OF BEING SCARED
A year past his 50th birthday,
Mastrud has learned to cohabitate
with that nagging voice in his head.
Motivating as it may be, it is also
relentless. The trick – rather, the
art – is finding a place where that
fear can be transformed.
“I think the part that I struggle
with most is that you’re alone a lot
as an artist,” he said with a sense
“Sometimes
the worst company
I can have is the
person in my head.”
– PUNCHGUT
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