Tinter Battles SUCCESS spawns new era in Window Film

A whopping success sparks conversations and spreads a wildfire of influence and impact across the window film community as Tintertainment's Tinter Battles 2021 establishes a new pillar in the window film industry. Advertised as the “event that is historic for more reasons than one”, Tinter Battles 2021 delivered a plethora of experiences and memories that will be talked about and felt for years to come! 

 The impact from this experience has sparked what some call as the beginning of “The Tintertainment Era”—the era of tinters in entertainment. 

KIDS TINTER WORKSHOP:

Tinter Battles 2021 event began with a Kid’s Tinter Workshop coached by XPEL Trainer, Marco Cazorla known as “Big Brown”, and Ceramic Pro Trainer, Dane Gregory known as “Great Dane”.  This segment was designed with the intention in mind to introduce window film to youth in a fun & engaging environment. 

 The segment began with a tool kit provided & sponsored by Fusion Tools that included the basic tools for your beginner level window tinter that each participant is able to take home. Erik Devash, from Tint Wiz, and David Sarao, Window Tint Z, provided the Tint Wiz wrapped Tesla Model 3 which was repurposed from its original appearance at WFCT 2021 in Orlando, Florida on June 7-9. 

Patterns were pre-cut in advance using a plotter system to prevent any accidents. Shifting focus on the squeegee patterns, tools, and loading methods, Marco and Dane established a positive environment that allowed the kids to be fully engaged. Their hands-on approach was highly appreciated by many of the parents of the participants. Many parents had expressed that they felt relieved that they could take their children to learn about their profession and be taught by other professionals in the window film industry. 

This environment of passionate professionals created the right culture to spark the interests and curiosities of children of all ages at the Tinter Battles Kids Workshop. 

COOKIE EATING CONTEST:

Now I know what you may be thinking, what does a cookie eating contest have to do with a window tinting event? It’s tinters in entertainment! 

Tint Wiz, a CRM app for tint shops & business owners, is known for their giveaways of custom printed Noms cookie boxes. As the cookies began to arrive to individual shops, the posts & jokes started in the Facebook Groups. 

Dave from Artistic Window Tinting in Yuba City, CA wrote a post asking if there was a record on how fast a person has eaten a Noms cookie box in one day. Erik Devash, owner of Tint Wiz, tagged Carlos Olazaba, known as The Texas Squeegee, if a cookie eating contest was allowed. Very shortly an announcement was made that an Official Cookie Eating Contest will be added to Tinter Battles 2021 with Tint Wiz sponsoring an Oculus Quest II VR Headset for the winner of the Cookie Battle.

The Official Noms Cookie company caught wind of this story and sent one of their employees Ethan, known as the “Cookie Nomster” to participate.  

The contest rules were set to eat 3 cookies as fast as possible. The contest begins with Jimmy Hart, WWE Hall of Famer, and the cookie Nomster sustaining hype and energy throughout the contest. Crumbs and cookie wrappers flew everywhere as the contestants battled for the VR Headset. Billy Aiton raised his hands at 43 seconds in as the official winner. In a surprising turn of events, Billy immediately returns the VR Headset for a surprise auction to donate all proceeds to Donnie Dixon! Watch the video here:

TINTER BATTLES CONTEST:

The Tinter Battles Contest is perhaps the most unique bit about the event. Seven 2-person teams compete for the newly established Tintertainment Tag Team Titles.

Rules are simple: Each team has one hour to tint a whole vehicle and judging is based on the finished product, not the process. Whether it be heat guns or torches, bottom loading or top loading, dry shrink or wet shrink, any method was fair game for all contestants. This allowed the installer to work with their most familiar methods and created a variety of methods for the audience to learn from. 

This competition is unique in its way that each person is individually branded with an emphasis on the tinter and not the brand. Making the person the star and not a product of a brand. Every team is introduced with their own entrance music and effects as they make their way to their pre-selected vehicles. 

Following the entrances of all the teams, the timer began and marked the official start of the competition. One of the unique items the teams used was the custom Tint Hozilla dual hose sprayer keg tanks provided by Tint Hozilla for each team competing. This unique set up allowed both members of every team to use the same tank. 

Spectators came from all over the country to watch the teams compete. Every team had their group of supporters rallied around them cheering them on. Pressure and energy was at an all time high for all the tinters creating the perfect  environment that engaged the audience from start to finish. 

 Iconic moments like these will go down in window film history as one of the most memorable contests of all time. Following the completion of the contest, the judges moved in to begin judging each vehicle as the Tinter Battles contestants moved into the press conference area for a LIVE Q&A with the audience.

After the judges determined the rankings of the teams, the audience and roster gathered around to hear the announcements. The winning team of Tinter Battles 2021, the team that got to take home the championship belts were "Heineken Mike" Norng, Robert "The Torcher" Moreno and Julieta "Boss Lady" Moreno from Houston, Texas. 

Sunday June 13, 2021: Drive Thru Tint Day

The second day of Tinter Battles was a Drive Thru Tinting Day. Tinters from all over the country joined forces to tint as many vehicles using XPEL window film to raise funds for Donnie’s ongoing hospital bills. Barriers were broken as tinters from all backgrounds and brands worked together sharing knowledge and tips on installing window tint. 

Many items were also auctioned that day including Dean Mitchell’s original tinting tool prototype called the “E-Z Tint”, and a custom made Tinter Battles Corn Hole Game Set provided by John Little.

Jojo "Meany Becker", age 4, Graduation Ceremony: 

What does a Pre-K graduation have to do with a window tinting event? It’s tinters in entertainment! Jojo Becker age 4, son of Delaware Death Squad’s Jared Becker, unfortunately had his Pre-K Graduation cancelled back home due to bad weather. When the ceremony was rescheduled, the Becker family was out of town for Tinter Battles. Jared brought it to the attention of The Texas Squeegee and plans were made immediately to roll out the red carpet and have a graduation ceremony with everyone present.

The ceremony started with Jared Becker walking his son down the red carpet aisle to Jojo’s favorite character, The Texas Squeegee. As he reached the end, The Texas Squeegee brings out his famous squeegee used in the Texas Tint Masters and Tintertaiment videos and passes it on to Jojo. Stating that with this squeegee he will “tintify the crowds and live a life of legends”. 

While Tinter Battles’ main purpose was to raise funds for Donnie Dixon, one of the most impactful aspects was the unification of tinters from all over the country and the impact on the youth. This was an industry collaboration to make it all possible for the long term health of our communities and everyone within them. For many of the attendees this was their first time connecting with other tinters since their connections had all taken place primarily via social media. 

Tinter Battles 2021—historic for more reasons than one unifying an industry through tinters and entertainment. The full impact has yet to be comprehended however we can all agree that a rising tide lifts all ships. We stand together united, and united we stand strong as a family bonded together by our love and passion for the window film industry and the people within it. 

CONGRATULATIONS TO: Mike Norng, Robert Moreno, Julieta Moreno for winning the official Tintertainment World Tag Team Title Belts! Meet your new champions, world!