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Have you met Heath David?

With a passion for detail, a drive to succeed, and a hunger for fame, the young man comes across as extremely intense. Whether in costume—bringing nightmares to reality—or in a tailored suit making business happen, he knows what he wants and is doing what it takes to get it. Let me introduce you to Heath David, aka the Angel of Death.

Background

Heath David, 25, of Howell, New Jersey, spent his formative years in Englewood living through, as he called it, every abusive situation you can think of. Around the age of fifteen, he moved to southern New Jersey to live with his grandparents after a massive disagreement with his family. From there, he moved to Pennsylvania and finally returned to New Jersey in 2002.

While in school, he was involved with the drama departments, usually in the production aspects of the theater. “No roles fit what I wanted to do,” he told me, “so I helped construct sets, manage lighting, and other aspects of production.” In addition, he produced a documentary; “Some Never Came Home,” a 45-minute film about two friends during Vietnam—one was drafted, the other was a draft dodger who went to Canada. The one that went to Canada died in a factory explosion, the one who went to war came home injured. He received an award from the television community for the best high school film produced that year.

These days, the angst of his childhood shows up in his poetry. He writes in an uncut, unedited form. He wants it raw, trying to convey the pure emotions and hoping to cause his readers to feel that they are a part of what’s going on. “I don’t beat around the bush; I hate people that do that. I’ll tell you flat out how I see it and the way I think it is. There’s no reason to give you false hope. Hate me for it or respect me for it.” He admitted that some people have a real problem with his forthrightness. He has plans to publish a book of poetry titled “Inside the Mind of the Man they call …” and visited Florida this past Spring, in part to lay the groundwork for a book tour to promote his work.

Heath is an EMT, has recently closed his family hair salon due to an economic downturn, and runs HammerClaw LLC, a home improvement business. His early life has given him a massive drive to succeed, and an ultimate goal to prove that the constant put downs and “you’ll always be a failure” messages were wrong.

Faire History

“I must have been about five, the first year that we went to the New York Renaissance Festival,” Mr. David told me. Spending time at faire was interesting and, as he got older, he started volunteering with set-up and teardown, learning the terminology and history behind the faires. He spent a lot of time with the senior people there, many of whom have now retired or passed on. He learned to lace and tie while working for Lady Leatherworks.

Upon his return to New Jersey in 2002, he began working for Cheryl Olsen of Mystique Fashions, selling clothes in his own unique way. He told me that he waits until the patron comes to him, then “insults them. Insults sell very well, I’ve had great results.” He appears to be right, having worked closely with Cheryl for the last six years at faires in the northeast. In addition, Heath works closely with Jeff Mach as a valuable member of the Wicked Events team while they prepare for “The Wicked Chocolate Factory.”

These Days

Two years ago in 2007, Heath attended the Southern Connecticut Renaissance Festival wearing the early stages of what would become his faire persona. The 6’ wings, swords, leather armor, and other accoutrement weighed 41 pounds that first year. This year (2008), the “Angel of Death” character made its formal debut with a costume totaling 121 pounds and requiring two hours to put on. Along with the wings, there are 18” wolverine claws on both hands, nine swords, a 3’ whiptail with 30 pieces of razor blade attached, and a 10’ flail with four razor sharp ninja stars attached to the end. I asked incredulously as he named off the items, “Where do you put nine swords,” He took the question in stride, telling me that there were swords on his hips, in his leather pants, in each boot, on his back, and several other places. He added that, in 2009, he expected the weight to increase approximately 30 pounds as he adds new larger wings that are capable of having weapons attached to them.

As he finished telling me all that, I expressed curiosity about whether he had considered how badly he could hurt himself if he ever tried to draw the weapons. His response gave insight into the character that he is creating and why. “The idea is not to draw the weapons; I can draw some of them. The goal is to be intimidating; the Angel of Death is an evil character, something people fear because it is the sign of death. When you see the Angel of Death, it means that it is your time. My character is a representation, not so much fantasy, as a reality. The Angel of Death has been around since books have been around. It is like being the imaginative character in someone’s mind. … My character’s purpose is to put fear into people, not in a harsh way but a reality. I don’t do it to scare people; I do it for the shock value. It draws a lot of attention because what people aren’t accustomed to seeing interests them and I like that … plus it boosts sales, approximately 250 people came to Southern Connecticut Renaissance Festival just to have pictures taken with me.”

Last year, the character garnered a lot of attention and Heath expects more following the publication of a photo shoot in Renaissance Magazine scheduled to come out in the fall or spring. He received an invitation to bring the Angel of Death to the 2008 Bay Area Renaissance Festival in Tampa. While there, a local newspaper photographed him and his dog in their unique costumes and the canine won several photo contests. He was only able to wear it twice while at Bay Area, once inside the event and once in the parking lot, due to the heat. He told me that the costume is painful to put on and wear for any length of time when it is hot.

The Angel of Death is a popular character at Halloween and Vampire events in the northeast. He attends Dark Night and Blood Lust, a vampire event in NYC, and Dracula’s Ball in Philadelphia. At a photo shoot outside Eastern State Penitentiary—a museum and Haunted House location—staff members complemented Heath for the completeness and intimidation factor of his costume and said that he even scared some of the staff.

In spite of the fearful aspects of his costume, Heath is a popular character with the children during school days. In 2008, he gave 92 interviews, answering questions like “What is your character?”, “Why did you become this character?”, and “Why do you like it?” He remembers distinctly a 9-year-old girl who was amazed by the creativity and imagination a person could have. The latex, silicon, and metal rod wings fascinated her and she wanted to touch them. He chuckled when I asked if he let her and said, “Of course.” She told him that they felt very smooth, like a snake.

Heath has big plans for his future. When I asked him where he saw himself in five years, he replied without hesitation, telling me about a second book, primarily random writings and dark erotic stories. He plans to be co-owner of more than one faire, a goal he is already working on. He wants to be a face recognized across the country both for his Angel of Death character and for the changes he plans to bring to his faires as he brings to life a “Tournament of Champions.” He wants to continue working with Cheryl Olsen and Jeff Mach, saying that they are amazing.

Final Thoughts

With his drive to succeed and desire for recognition, it wasn’t surprising to me that his final thought for my readers was, “Beware of the eyes because they are always watching.” He may well be right when he uses the phrase, “There can be only 1.”

September 2nd, 2008 Posted by Escarlata | Have You Met? | 6 comments