Catching Up With Stephen Miles—Six Questions And The Art Of Gratitude – Speed on the Water
Though you won’t know it unless you become one of his closer friends, Stephen Miles is not devoid of ego—far from it. The 50-year-old founder of Stephen Miles Design, he is rightly proud of the paintwork that comes out of his shop in Owensboro, Ky. Miles believes in his own visions and is less-than-fond of seeing his work imitated, much less outright ripped off.
But none of that healthy ego-structure—essential for any commercial artist—is immediately apparent. That’s because at his core Miles is a man of humility and gratitude. And from designing a paintjob for a private jet to creating and applying them on a swanky custom yacht for the same client, this year has given him plenty to be grateful for.
This Bombardier Global 5500 jet is far and away the fastest object ever to sport a paintjob designed by Stephen Miles.
Miles and his team are already on a strong roll heading into 2024. An Outerlimits Offshore Powerboats SC 37 catamaran owned by new client Joe Bresnahan currently occupies the paint booth. Next up is a paintjob for Matthew and Lori Schultz (their fourth with Stephen Miles Design) for the MTI 390X catamaran. It will be followed by Ed Urbanek’s Outerlimits SC 37 cat, Jesse Neumann’s Nor-Tech 500 Sport center console and James Marriott’s 42 Intrepid center console.
A remarkable friend to this reporter and a longtime supporter of speedonthewater.com, Miles took a break to answer six questions today. Here’s what he had to say.
SOTW: You’re going to hate this one, but what was your favorite project this year?
SM: (Laughs) Well, as much as I dread naming my favorite projects, because my crew and I pour so much pride and passion into all of them, I really enjoyed Matthew and Lori Schultz’s MTI-V 50 center console. The way the lines of those graphics flowed into the shape of that boat really excited me. And Matthew and Lori’s appreciation for the work that we do for them makes it even cooler.
SOTW: Did you ever see yourself creating paintjobs for a jet and a yacht?
SM: Hey, I’m still beside myself for what SMD has become what it has become just in the high-performance powerboat world. That in itself is a dream come true. But doing a yacht and global jet combo? I’m still not convinced that actually happened (laughs again).
Miles designed the graphic for this 52 Gulf Crosser sport yacht and he and his crew applied the details.
SOTW: You must have learned a lot about business during the years. What is the one thing you keep in your heart every day when you work—and why?
SM: The learning curve on the business end of things has been very steep, for sure. Keeping track and having records of all the hours and materials helps immensely, especially when pricing upcoming jobs. Because no matter what, the price we quote is the price we honor, even if we end up going over on hours and material costs.
One thing I’ve always stuck to since my very first days in business as an artist? Always, and I means always, deliver something to the customer that exceeds their expectations.
SOTW: Do you see room for improvement in your business?
SM: Of course. There two things that we, as a team at SMD, would like to improve on: meeting deadlines and improving efficiency. That’s always tough because so many times we set deadlines on a paintjob they’re for a boat that has not even arrived at SMD. And there are so many times these boats do not arrive here at SMD on the anticipated date. But as tough as that is, it’s also understandable. The boats we paint are custom boats.
I expect our customers to understand when we go over a little bit on time. So I also have to be understanding when a boat-builder misses a deadline.
Miles painted this Outerlimits SC 37 catamaran for his friends Donnie and Cara MacLeod. Photo by Halsey Fulton courtesy Outerlimits Offshore Powerboats.
SOTW: You say “blessed” a lot when you describe your life. What does that word mean to you?
I get to go to work every day and design and paint, and what I believe to be the coolest moving sculptures on the planet—boats. And I get to do it with a freaking amazing crew of guys that who take pride in bringing my designs to life.
Those who know me know that I fully believe in God above and that he created each and every one of us the way he saw fit. I couldn’t be more grateful for the gifts God has given me, and that I get to spend this life doing what I absolutely love.
SOTW: What would you like to see happen for Stephen Miles Design next year?
SM: What would I like to see for SMD in 2024? I would like to see us continue to grow and prosper as a team. (Pauses, then laughs.) And of course, I also wouldn’t mind doing a few more aircraft designs.
Stephen Miles: “Much as I dread naming my favorite projects because my crew and I pour so much pride and passion into all of them, I really enjoyed Matthew and Lori Schultz’s MTI-V 50 center console.”
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