Denver-based visual artist Landon Meier started making realistic latex masks as a hobby, but some of his creations got so much attention that he eventually built a business around them. Today, his aptly-named company Hyperflesh is renowned for making some of the most accurate Halloween masks in the world.
Landon’s rise to fame came in 2011, when he created a set of three hyper-realistic baby masks made of extra thick latex. Photos of the eerie masks worn by a muscular male model spread on the internet like wildfire and Hyperflesh saw its business skyrocket almost instantly. In a matter of days, the talented artist went from 25 orders a month to 25 a week, and had to hire extra help just to keep up with demand. It’s worth mentioning that at $350 a piece, Meier’s hand-crafted baby masks were definitely not cheap, but they still appealed to a lot of people, who either wanted to wear them in Halloween costume competitions or just add them to their mask collections.
Photo: Carly Cooper
But the baby masks were only the beginning for Landon Meier and Hyperflesh. In 2013, the visual artist once again conquered the internet, this time with a realistic mask of Breaking Bad’s Walter White worn by actor Bryan Cranston himself during the 2013 San Diego Comic-Con. The mask, autographed by Cranston, went viral online and even became a TV star of sorts, making appearances on a number of TV shows. Meier later auctioned it off on eBay, where it sold for a whopping $41,000.
Photo: Hyperflesh/Facebook
Since then, Hyperflesh has been busy creating several hyper-realistic latex masks of celebrities like actor Charlie Sheen, President Barack Obama, TV show host Stephen Colbert or Game of Thrones character Tyrion Lannister, played by Peter Dinklage.
This past weekend, Landon Meier once again broke the internet, after showcasing a trio of masks of some of the major candidates in this year’s US presidential elections: Donald Trump, Hilary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. They made their first appearance last weekend, at the Monsterpalooza horror convention, in Pasadena, California. The masks themselves were eerie enough, but the effect was definitely amplified by the models. Hilary was worn by Meier himself, Trump was played by his wrestler friend Bo Cooper, and the artist’s girlfriend, Ashley Teasdale, provided the unlikely body for Bernie Sanders. It was like an Aphex Twin video in real-life.
Photo: Carly Cooper
“I made Bernie the sexy socialist hippie, made Trump a white trash dude, and made Hillary a…I don’t know…a male dominatrix, I guess,” Landon told BuzzFeed.
Photo: Carly Cooper
As you can imagine, the masks just stole the show at Monsterpalooza. “I literally couldn’t walk around because everyone was stopping to take a photo,” the visual artist said. “There was nobody who just walked by. Everyone was just dumbfounded.” And looking at how stunningly realistic his creations look, can you blame them?
Photo: Carly Cooper
Each of Meier’s high-quality latex masks requires months of painstaking work, including latex casting and sculpting, intricate painting and hair work. So it comes as no surprise that masks like the ones showcased at Monsterpalooza this year cost roughly $4,500 a piece. “That figure usually scares the shit out of most people,” Meier admits. “But for people who have disposable income and appreciate good art, it’s OK. It’s a fine art product. It’s wearable art.”
Photo: Hyperflesh/Facebook
And now for some more baby mask madness:
