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M S 10/27/25 M S 10/27/25

PILGRIM+ Opens Up About Running a Skate Shop, His Reversion, and Local Liturgies

You're a family man, entrepreneur, skateboarder, and Orthodox Christian. Are we missing anything else? How do you balance and navigate wearing these hats?

Yes I am those things and probably more not worth mentioning lol. I’d also say I’m very bad at balancing all of those things. But I just go for it everyday. I truly believe the mother of God is interceding everything at all times for me.

Tell us about your time running a skateboarding store.

I was 23 when I opened up my shop. It was called Union in Beaver PA. Summer 2015-2024 and then online only for about 9 months. Then I moved to North Carolina. In hindsight I didn’t realize how great it was fully. I kept it 100% pure and core. Filmed a lot of videos. Was a great place for skaters or just kids and young adults looking for a genuine place to find good friends. I’ve met so many awesome people throughout the years. I got to be there for a lot of kids. We even got to build a legal diy skatepark at the local high school. We call it The Ruins. My personal YouTube page has a lot of the videos I’ve filmed over the years during that season in life. I didn’t become faithful until about 2019 and that was a slow growth process back into orthodoxy (2021) and having all that zeal and all lol!

My only regret with being such a skate rat over the years was doing it without God. I’ve had the chance to be good to so many homeless beggars and just be a light for friends instead of just encouraging the sin over the years filming tricks at 2am downtown PGH and all that comes with that lifestyle. And on top of it all I’ve been a dad since I was 18 years old. My daughter is 15 right now.

What new projects are you excited about?

I have way too many ideas! It took me awhile to even have the courage to try this Pilgrim project. Once I showed my Parrish priest (Father Bill) some of the designs back home in PA, Which I may add I was terrified to do so. He was like Jordan this is fine, go for it. Haha! I showed him a video I have yet to even post and he was really into it. It was meant to be the first post but I just feel I haven’t been ready to post content like that yet because like I said I’m terrible at balancing things! I also am my own worst enemy. So it’s been pretty loose so far, I have tons of ideas. Comparing how small this is and to my retail experience on a larger scale in professional skateboard reselling, the sales have actually been quite good. So I thank everyone that has supported. Especially people that have messaged me about how much they have enjoyed the artistic expression into all of this means a lot. I don’t know what to expect for drop 2 fully or if I’ll just release products here and there. 2 reasons, I launched drop one June 27th 2025 and than moved and purchased our first home July 1st in another state! First drop was a full send of an investment. I almost got it all back in sales already. Most of it has been put back into our home already because since I’ve been here finding steady work has been quite the battle for me! But I promise Panagia and St John Maximovitch are taking care of everything. Right now I’m 3 weeks in as a project manager for a pretty large paint company and I’m working very long days. So I’m praying this sticks.

What are some great experiences that you've had with customers at the pop up shops?

So my first attempt we got stormed out. As soon as I set up storms came in. It was terrible. Next month came by, a lot of people were honestly scared to come into the booth lol. Kinda like the same fear people get about going into a real skateshop or like hot topic or something. The few that came in were all mostly great conversations. That’s what I’m looking for! One mom didn’t like it at all. Her son wanted the schema tee and she was asking me why it looked scary and dark and I tried explaining and telling her about monasticism and she just stormed out! But that’s all okay, she just doesn’t know and Idk what she’s going through so all you can do is hope and pray. And at the end of the night wrapping up a homeless man came up to the booth in his wheelchair, his legs were cut off and all. We gave him our chipotle, our waters and gatorades, one of my prayer ropes, an icon of St. Xenia of St. Petersburg, all my cash sales from the day and a prayer book. I taught him the sign of the cross and the Jesus prayer. That was the best! Back in the day before the life of repentance, I always overlooked the homeless. Here in NC you can’t they are everywhere I just have to give them what I can every time now. It’s honestly the best. I regret trying to judge and rationalize helping them out. Everyone say prayers for Craig, the homeless man from that night.

What have been people's reactions to the St. Paisios posters popping up around town?

So I set those up back home in PA, then basically moved. I haven’t heard any cool stories yet. I still don’t feel settled here fully, mostly because of not finding steady work until very recently, I haven’t went around hanging any up yet. I am excited to make more paper goods overtime.

Do you have a community of people that support your endeavors?

So far a small amount of people that follow the page and some orthodox friends that don’t use social media have as well.

What's one of your favorite things about your parish?

I was baptized as an infant in Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in Ambridge, PA, was an alter boy and basically stopped going to church my family didn’t really practice at home anyways. Greek church plus orthodoxy as a whole was hard for my wife at first. She found an OCA church nearby Holy Ghost Orthodox Church in Ambridge PA, so we started going there and that’s where she got Christmated, I also experienced a lot of growth as well! It’s a great place, I miss everyone, it’s a good church for vespers and liturgy because I swear all of the laity are chanting and singing with the choir! It has a great Slavonic feeling about the place and has a steady amount of converts. It’s also over a hundred years old of a community.

Now that I’m in NC I’ve only been to 2 local parishes, Holy Cross OCA (kernersville) and Annunciation Greek Orthodox (Winston-Salem), both are huge mega orthodox attendances lol! I kinda don’t like crowds but it’s blessed how many people the holy mother of god is bringing into the holy church. Annunciation seems to be more of our home Parrish, they have a lot of great ministries and people have been really friendly, but we are spending more time at the monasteries. Panagia Prousiotissa Greek Orthodox in Troy is basically our home base with a lot of other pilgrims. And Panagia Pammakaristos is close by too. The fathers host 3 am liturgies and it’s pretty epic. Both monasteries are Geronda Ephraim monasteries. So we are balancing the monastery with the Parrish life as well as we can.

How did you come back to the church?

We need a full blown podcast episode to answer this one! But I’ll try to give a short version. I eventually didn’t believe in God, I wasn’t even trying to become Christian. I was already reading a lot of philosophy and eventually got really into the stoics, then actual evil things happened and revealed that reality to me. I mean like haunted my actual demons. So that crushed my materialistic mind frame. Eventually I get exposed to the a gospel of John documentary and I was so impressed by it after reading all that philosophy, and growing up all I really new was that Jesus was born of a virgin and died on the cross haha! The gospel of John captured my full attention and I was so impressed when the Lord speaks with Nicodemus. My faith at that time became idk what’s wrong with Jesus he’s misunderstood and the only true philosopher haha. Than my very blessed friends who are full time missionaries (non denominational) started coming around and I started reading scripture with them, going to their house churches and it was all awesome. I’d love to talk more about all of this! But I still new something wasn’t for me in some of the ways they worshiped and such. One day they told me my baptism didn’t count and that got me down the rabbit hole to see where all these Christian ideas come from, and I’m in awe that prayer is real Jesus is god and all of that. So I started getting into listening to Roman Catholic priests to even give them a chance, my world was flipped upside down, and hearing them talk about the hierarchy and Mary and the saints, I was like this is so clear how can we even limit them! And then I new the Greeks weren’t Roman Catholic and wanted to know why and read some differences, and original sin and heaven and hell teachings were so impressive to me I was like woah this is so organic! I had to go back with faith to see if it’s all real! It was Dormition season 2021 so I was venerating with great faith that Mary would intercede and we’ll here we are. I love her so much. I owe my life to her.

When are you going to partner with other subculture-oriented Orthodox companies like Death to the World in order to start an Orthodox skate festival?

Death to the World! Haha that would be crazy. Let’s see what God has in store for everything. As long as we keep our prayer rules, fast at our strength, confess and commune often as a majority anything is possible with God.

SHOP: www.pilgrimgoods.com

IG: @pilgrim.sojourner

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@pilgrim.sojourner

M S 10/20/25 M S 10/20/25

@adamsicons talks Iconography, his Experience in the church, and Underground rap

What iconography and art projects are you currently engaged in?

Currently I am painting a orthodox church in Ottawa Canada. This project is quite large and takes up most of my time and focus, additionally I am working on a YouTube channel, posting on my ig story and a few other side projects.

Adam holding an icon of Christ that he has written

Did you study art or are you self taught?

I am effectively self taught when it comes to iconography. Although, I have had some help along the way with feedback and logistics. I went to school for traditional animation and worked in the industry for a few years before I transitioned my focus to painting. My experience in animation gave me a pretty well trained eye which definitely gave me a better starting point than most.

Adam’s icons of St. Nicholas and St. George

What has been your favorite project in regards to the process?

Honestly, anything that is Romanesque or more realistic, like a recent copy of the the Sinai Pantocrator I did. Early on I took a online oil painting class with Ramon Hurtado which deeply influenced me. For me, approaching paintings from a more western academic approach allows for much more direct painting which I find more engaging. Oil painting is more of a puzzle and icons are more of a step by step process to me.

What has been your favorite project in regards to the outcome?

One of my favorite outcomes has been the drapery ornamentation I recently completed at the church I am working on. It covers about 100 feet along the interior of the walls. I have always felt that large scale painting tends to favor less proficient painters like myself. Most artists around me seem to focus on very small paintings or sketchbooks so its nice to create something that transforms a large space. Big paintings simply have a different impact on the viewer that smaller works can't.

Adam’s ornamentation on the walls of a church he is painting

What is unique about the Orthodox community that you come from?

I wouldn't say there is anything particularly unique about my Orthodox community, I attend a very multicultural parish downtown. I was surprised by the amount of families and individuals who converted before the pandemic/Dyer wave, as well as how educated the general parish is. But the more I visit other parishes I notice that this seems to be quite normal.

Cradle or Convert? What's your story?

I was raised in a very loving and moral non religious household. I have always had a nagging interest in world religion and the bible. I was super into the work from authors like Michael Heiser and John Walton. Like many others over the pandemic I started reading a lot more, which led me to the Orthodox church.

What are some things you love about Orthodox Christianity?

I, of course, love the liturgy and iconography of the church but what I love most about Orthodox Christianity is its simplicity. This may seem paradoxical to those outside the church, since it appears ancient and ridden with jurisdictional complexities. But in its true form, Orthodoxy offers a spiritual rootedness that you can't find elsewhere.

I have known many Protestants who are constantly switching churches or denominations seeking the "right" interpretation or structure. There is a deep peace in belonging to a church I trust Christ will preserve, I am no longer constantly getting caught up in debate. I simply go to Liturgy, struggle to follow the commandments of Christ and listen to my Priest.

Do you see Orthodox Christianity spreading in underground rap scenes?

I do see Orthodox Christianity becoming more visible in pockets of the underground, I was at the most recent Bladee show in Montreal with three other Orthodox Christians and before the set began, they were playing Russian Orthodox chant. Bladee and Joeyys most recent merch had orthodox Christian symbols on them as well. Broadly there is a shift away from default atheism that dominated most online subcultures as far back as I can remember.

Recently Hi-C is openly making Christian music and Suicideboys are ostensibly Christian now. Of course there is no mass conversion and much of it is probably just borrowing Christian aesthetics but even that says something, people are drawn to what is old and sacred.

Adam next to an icon he wrote of Christ

Follow Adam on Instagram @adamsicons or on Youtube

M S 1/2/25 M S 1/2/25

New Martyr Press Magnesium Fire Starters

We already have t-shirts for the Backbone zine, but for our first merch drop for the publishing company as a whole, we wanted to give you something useful. May you never forgot God! The story behind the saying and the instructions for use are available here.

$20