The Boy Who Stole Planes :: Rolling Stone Mag

tomer: meet Colton, an authentic teen outlaw of the modern world. grew up in a poor area in Washington, zero prospects, his eyes set to the sky as private jets of millionaires zip above to the other side of town. so, naturally he broke into their summer mansions and used their internet to teach himself to fly via flight simulators. by 17 he was stealing their airplanes for joy flights, usually landing at some field with impressive skill. has a knack for never getting caught and leaving funny notes to the police. so, naturally he becomes a legend, a T-shirt, a facebook page. join his 30k strong fan group. he is still in hiding.

the first hit at this double spread was going for bold and graphic a-la propaganda poster: a fugitive celebrated and mythologized by the 'people'. Colton is wearing a bandana and 'riding' the plane like a horse-- in the spirit of a wild-west 'Jesse James' idealized outlaw persona. this was shot down by the magazine, they wanted a more realistic approach.

a landing site, with his first crashed plane. only he never crashed a plane since his landings where impressively slick. back to the drawing board.

this one was approved. ready for take off.

art direction by Steven Charny.