How Knees TVs Started
Ever since I was a baby, I’ve been fascinated by TVs. There’s old camcorder footage somewhere of me glued to my mum’s CRT TV, mesmerized by the light and the calming high-pitched hum. Growing up, my favorite entertainment came through those screens. The Simpsons, Dragonball Z, PS2, ect. When I got my own small TV in my room during primary school, it felt like magic. That connection never left me.
Fast forward to February 2023, I found myself on a bus ride to Hamilton, a trip I’d been making since I was a kid to see my family. Feeling nostalgic, I started thinking about the old TVs I grew up with. I had also been scrolling thought videos on my phone about different niche forms of art when one came up about circuit bending, and an idea started forming: what if I could combine my love of old TVs with this glitchy, experimental, up & coming art tech?
I spent that bus ride researching everything. How much old TVs and camcorders were selling for, where I could find circuit-bent equipment, and how to connect it all. With my background as a DJ and my network of club promoters, venues, artists, and DJs, I realized I might have the foundation to start something unique. In my five years working at a popular music venue, I’d never seen anyone doing anything like this. I saw a gap in the market, and I wanted to fill it.
When I got home, I dove straight into experimenting. I bought a cheap CRT TV online, plugged in my mum’s old camcorder, and began to envision what the final product could look like. By May, I ordered myself a circuit-bent video mixer as a birthday present. By the time it arrived, I had about five TVs in my collection. After a lot of troubleshooting and trial and error, I finally got everything working. Seeing the glitchy, analog visuals come to life felt like discovering my purpose.
The journey wasn’t easy. I don’t have a very technical background, so figuring out how to bring my vision to life was a constant challenge. Using outdated equipment is hard enough, but combining it with modern tools like my laptop to play custom visuals added another layer of complexity. There were moments I thought it wouldn’t work, but I kept pushing. After months of testing and refining, I finally had a setup I was proud of.
Behind every big idea is someone who believes in it just as much as you do, and for me, that person has always been my mum.
From the moment I first shared my vision for Knees TVs, she’s been my biggest supporter. She saw the potential in this idea before anyone else and has been there every step of the way, putting her energy into helping me make it a reality. Whether it’s picking up TVs I’ve sourced online, dropping me off and picking me up from gigs, or just being there when I needed encouragement, she’s been my constant. She’s shown me unwavering support and incredible patience, even during the moments when I felt stuck or frustrated. Her belief in me has been a source of strength, and I truly wouldn’t be where I am today without her.
It means the world to me that she’s been part of this journey. When I see everything Knees TVs has become, I know it’s as much her story as it is mine. At first, I didn’t plan for this to become a full-fledged business, but the response from my family, friends, local artists, DJs, past collaborators, anyone I showed was overwhelmingly positive. That encouragement pushed me to go all in, and from there, Knees TVs was born.
-Knees 🙂