The Painted Face, UNMASKED - Part 1 of 2

[Streetball’s Finest – 12.8.11] – The Painted Face, UNMASKED - Part 1 of 2

Inks: FLASH aka g_sk1lls
Images: Jude Thomas aka The Painted Face (via email and Facebook)

In the world of streetball, there are a lot of ballers who have already made their mark on And1 lore. Their on-court names have a lot of recall, their feats are nothing short of legendary, and they have travelled all over the world bannering the And1 brand. You’ve heard them, seen them, and if you’re lucky, have played with or against them. Hot Sauce. Skip To My Lou. The Professor. Bone Collector. Pat The Roc. Air Up There. AO. And the list goes on and on. But there are some out there who have been playing and making their mark, silently garnering attention, and putting a show underneath the bright lights without fear.

Jude Thomas aka The Painted Face, is one of them…and he has just been unmasked.

The Painted Face aka Hollywizzle was born Jude Thomas and is of Caribbean-descent, born in Trinidad and Tobago and raised in raised in Hollywood, California since he was 5years old. During summertime, you can catch him playing at the world-famous Venice Beach (Venice Basketball League) and at his home park, the Hollywood Recreation Center. In over 10 years of basketball / streetball experience, he has played in numerous celebrity, charity, and similar events in Los Angeles. In his own words, “..living in Los Angeles, there are many celebrities such as actors, singers, and even NBA players that use basketball as a way to raise money for charity and I was fortunate to be blessed and be a part of these great events that have a lot to do with helping kids - that's the best part of it.”

The Painted Face playing in the Venice Basketball League (Venice Beach).

I recently caught up with The Painted Face and his busy schedule via Facebook and Twitter, and decided to send him an email with some questions that I think most of the fans of the game would like to find out about him. He answers with no hesitation, and dropped answers like he would drop defenders on the court.

Flash: Who is Jude Thomas as a baller? Explain the transition from Hollywizzle to The Painted Face. Why the shift?

The Painted Face: “When I first started in streetball in 2000, I always had someone record me playing in parks for fun on VHS tape video cameras. My brother Josh Thomas was the first person to call me that and it just grew from there. Everyone at the parks called me Hollywood by playing between studio and film productions in the heart of Hollywood at Hollywood Recreation Center. The name was perfect for me and I definitely lived and acted it.

The Hollywizzle came in later down the years when Snoop Dogg told me “Hollywood is not your name anymore your name is Hollywizzle now!” I got so excited that the legendary rapper named me Hollywizzle that I told everyone that was my new name.“

Flash: So after Snoop Dogg called you Hollywizzle, you decided to try a new approach in 2009 to separate yourself from the pack?

The Painted Face: Yes. In early 2009 knowing that streetball is was getting very flashy and more creative it was hard to come up and make your own streetball moves with guys like Hot Sauce and Pat The Roc doing their stuff. So I thought about it one day and said maybe I don't need to try to think of an unbelievable move I thought of just an appearance where I can grasp attention all over the gym or court. My first game with it The Painted Face I caused so much attention and media so I knew I had a good thing going. Somebody used to paint my face for me but I eventually started to learn how to do it myself (using studio movie paint). D.B., the emcee that does most of our games in the west coast, named me "The Painted Face". Now I had my own image and it has stayed with me ever since.”

Flash: What is your trademark/favorite move when you play?

The Painted Face: My trademark move is a full spin with the ball staying in front of me, it was something different. It’s a fake throw off the defenders head then to a full 360 spin, just a show-off move, looks nothing to break a defender down or anything but it will throw the defender off a little bit because of the unusual spin. It’s just for the crowd and fans. Temptations Spin is the name of the move.

Getting ready to use the Temptations Spin, his signature move.

Flash: When do you say you’ve actually had a good game? Is it because of stats, getting the win, a game-breaking play, etc?

The Painted Face: “My way of having a good game is just making the kids smile, making the spectators enjoy and having fun while watching the game. People buy tickets to see a show so I try my best to provide that for them in my own way with crowd interaction etc.

Flash: How about from a competitive standpoint?

The Painted Face: “Another way of having a good game is defense - a very important part in basketball. I love shutting down the best player on the opposing team.”

Flash: What is your training regimen like? How do you keep yourself in good shape?

The Painted Face: “The way I stay in shape is plain and simple, I love running on hills or inclined roads. After you run on an incline, the flat court surface will seem very easy to run in a game.”

Continuation of this article will be posted on December 10. For now, check out his in-game highlights c/o YouTube videos by clicking HERE and HERE, and some of his images have been posted below (Sweetwater movie jersey, in production 2012). More about that movie casting and his streetball experiences in Part 2. Stay tuned!

[UPDATE - 12.10.11] - Click HERE to read part 2 of this article.

Thomas with fellow streetball greats in one of his previous events, y'all better recognize.