DEVIN IKRAM

Metal • Dogs • Coffee • Design

Fuck that, I quit.

I built my career as a designer and art director in New York City with hopes of making a difference and creating cool shit. But it became an endless loop of vying for job titles, watered-down projects, and chasing money to afford NYC rent. Tech, fashion, ecommerce, startups, yada, yada, yada. None of the work we were doing mattered. It was Office Space but with better clothes.

Disenchantment, and being forced to suffer corporate kool-aid drinkers inhabiting a Matrix-like bullshit factory, led me to realize I had to do something else. Work that is meaningful, creative, and appreciated by others.

Now, I’m building myself back by starting my own business and writing music. I focus on work that celebrates authenticity and aligns with my passions. Based out of Massachusetts, I work from home, which I’ve always preferred. Remote work ensures, among other things, that I’m never going to have to smell Tyler microwaving fish in some shitty open-floor-plan office ever again. Fuck that.

Shit I’m doing.

I am a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and producer. Currently, my attention is focused on developing my metal band BYRTHING. The music is visceral and cathartic while blending all my influences.
After I said, “fuck it” and left the corporate design world, I started my own business called DARKBARK. This lifestyle brand caters to dog owners and metalheads who want to represent their deep bond and love for their canine companions. I also expanded the business with a sub-brand, DARKBARK COFFEE, that combines that dark aesthetic and my obsession with fresh craft coffee.
Stand-up comedy and screenplay writing has intrigued me for quite a long time. It’s become a new way to express myself outside of the visual and musical realms. I’m working on a dark comedy screenplay around my point of view as a child of immigrants in America, and also trying to develop comedy material to showcase on Youtube soon.
As a Dog Dad, my world revolves around Nikita, my sweet and feisty French Bulldog. I got her in 2018 and words cannot express how greatly I love her and how she has helped me with her larger-than-life presence. I owe a lot to this little one, and she makes sure I know it! She’s the inspiration and Cult Leader of DARKBARK.