We recently connected with Stephen Murphy and have shared our conversation below.

Stephen, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Alright, so you had your idea and then what happened? Can you walk us through the story of how you went from just an idea to executing on the idea

When I’m passionate about an idea or belief, I’m all in. Whatever lights me up, I will conquer. The recent years leading up to 2018, I had a deep desire and a pull to change the direction my life was headed. I always wanted to build my own company brick by brick to display my artistic expression, but I never developed the motivation or discipline needed to explore those avenues. That was until I discovered Hydrographics. A opportunity I couldn’t pass up.

Custom painting and hydrodipping, two things I knew absolutely nothing about. I didn’t let that stop me though, I was willing to do what it takes for as long as it takes to have the capability to deliver an extraordinary finished product from something that was once ordinary.

I knew it would be a long journey with many bumps in the road but I was okay with that, I knew this was my calling. It took a lot of failures, time and energy, learning how to do this on my own. All while making environmental changes, eliminating toxic ppl/places/things in order to manifest my vision. You have to believe in your vision before anyone else can see it.
I’ve found that to achieve anything meaningful, you must develop discipline and hold yourself accountable everyday. Here I am 5 years later, having gone from a life that was on the path of destruction with drugs and alcohol, to a successful business owner being featured in articles like this one, giving me the opportunity to tell my story, and inspiring others along the way. This is just the beginning for me though.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I had never heard of Hydrographics before 2018. That spring I took a vacation to Florida to meet up with my brother. While I was down there, I spent some time with a friend and his brother who happened to work for a company who specializes in Hydrographics, also known as Water Transfer Printing. He wanted to start his own company in Hydrographics and that same weekend, they were set up for a training course at TWN Industries. To my surprise there just happened to be an open seat available for me to join, while I was in town. I accepted the invite, not knowing it would change my life forever.

Over this 16 hr course, the more I learned about this craft, the more intrigued and motivated I got. The wheels were turning in my mind. The material sparked visions within me that I was determined to make my reality. My friend and his brother seemed to pick up on everything taught at this training session. They even aced the quiz at the end, while I was still lost. But, I knew I wanted to understand it and kept at it until I did. The day I got back home to Detroit, I started accumulating things to build my own functioning dip tank. After months to years of trial and error, I had built my own lane and figured out how to create these pieces of work known as Hydrographics.

If you’re unfamiliar with this process, Hydrodipping is a form of customization, very similar to a custom automotive paint job. Which was another learning experience for me that started off pretty ugly, but I had to learn how to paint in order to hydrodip. Anyways, Hydrodipping is the process of applying ink to a 3D surface. The custom film, pattern of ink that’s applied on top of the base coat color, sticks to the part as it submerges into the water. Which then gets sealed in by the automotive grade clear coat sprayed over it. These patterns can range from Camouflage, Carbon Fiber, Woodgrain, Floral, and Stone to designer patterns (skulls, etc.) that we are able to order or design in house for clients. This application is commonly seen on things such as cars, motorcycles, crocs, tumblers, cups, helmets, hunting gear, rifles, dry boxes, and sunglasses just to name a few. If it can be painted on, it can be dipped.

I do a lot of projects for customers who are big on customizing their personal things, especially automotive enthusiast. I love seeing the reactions from my customers who’ve traveled to see me to get some work done. I also run a Ship n’ Dip Program for those who are out of state that would like work done.

What sets me apart from others is my developed patience and discipline, along with a form of delusion. Which allowed me to believe so deeply in my visions and dreams that only I could see. Believing that with some patience, discipline, and delusion, others would see it as well. You create your own reality.

I’m most proud of the personal growth I’ve experienced since building my lane. The growth I continue to experience as I evolve. I’m also proud of all the connections I’ve made between others and myself through my business. Grateful for the ones I know are still to come.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Starting off my journey into the world of Hydrographics, I spent the first half of the summer building a functional dip tank. By functional, I mean a built-in regulated heater and flowing water. This is needed in order to create the finished products you can see on my social media today. Which is what I saw before I started. Obsessed with this craft and the emotion behind the wanting to do it myself made this manifestation possible. I was not yet ready to invest $5,000 in a brand new pre-built tank, so I made my own. Which got me through the first year. In 2019 I finally bought an industrial size tank.

The thing is, it took several failed attempts to create a tool that without, the process of Hydrodipping can’t be done. So, it was imperative that I keep going until I got it right. I had tried configuring hoses into 4 different types of storage bins, each one not passing the test run. A lot of time, energy, and money was spent, but I never got too frustrated. I knew I was getting closer and closer to making the next big step in my journey. I didn’t have many customers the first year, but I was able to finally develop the finished product. I was getting signs that I was on the right track. I kept pushing. Life threw a lot at me during this time. While struggling to learn how to Hydrodip, I also had to teach myself how to paint. This is something I have gotten much better at with time, and still improving on.

If you believe in something, go after it. No matter how many times you get knocked down, or how hard you get hit. Get back at it. Bounce right back and keep going until you see your vision become a reality.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

Word of Mouth.

The most effective strategy for growing my clientele has been being honest, up front and delivering quality work to my customers. I love to leave my clients satisfied with their products and the experience dealing with me. Word of mouth is cheaper, faster and more effective than almost any form of advertising.

Also new customers find me often through Google. My domain being registered @ HYDRODIPDETROIT.COM

Contact Info:

• Website: www.hydrodipdetroit.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hydrodip_nation
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hydrodipn8tion
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@hydrodipnation8775