Two monstrous 15-foot gargoyles with intense, glowing red eyes loom over guests as they approach American singer and Falling In Reverse's Ronnie Radke’s front gate. “Those were definitely something sick. It was awesome to design them with Ronnie for his home,” says Jasin Cadic—the man behind these mystical sculptures. Based in New Jersey, Cadic is an artist, set designer and film maker. And one thing elevates him beyond the norm: Cadic’s designs are unapologetically nightmarish and grim.

Salem Massachusetts is home to the 1692 witch trials, and none other than the Blackcraft brand. “The retail store [Blackcraft Salem] is a must-see stop for all tourists, with the centerpiece being ‘the Largest Witch in Salem’ sculpture,” Cadic tells PhotoBook Magazine.

Jasin, we’re here today at Wade Salvage—a scrapyard in New Jersey. This is a place that holds a lot of meaning for you. Why is it so special?
Yes that’s right, this place is very special to me, not only being an amazing junk yard that I frequently shop at for design projects, it's also where the 80’s cult film Eddie and the Cruisers was shot, and some of the sets are actually still standing. That movie had such an impact on me when I was very young. It would play on HBO on a loop, along with some of my other favorite childhood films like The Wiz, Time Bandits and Dark Crystal, all of which had a similar apocalyptic, junk yard, future past production designs. I always thought the scenes in Eddie and the Cruisers filmed in the junkyard were the coolest ever…I think I proceeded to chase that vibe my whole life. The junkyard “castle” in the film was actually a recreation of a real place known as the Palace of Depression, located in Vineland, New Jersey. It was built by a man named George Daynor using assorted junk and scrap parts after he lost his savings in the stock market crash.

During an outing picking for one of my first major solo design jobs, I happened to randomly come across Wade Salvage and while I was paying for my things, I noticed some old newspaper clippings hanging in the office about Eddie and the Cruisers. At that moment it hit me and I said to myself there’s no way this is the place. I had to ask and sure enough it was. I was blown away. I never even considered looking for where those scenes were shot over 40 years prior, and to come to learn some of the sets are actually still standing…this place holds such a special place in my mind, and I really do feel influenced by so much of my designs and artistic aesthetic. I wanted to also give a special thanks to Greg Sharp, for letting us shoot here. The junkyard has been in his family for three generations started by his grandfather, Greg has become a good friend and he lets me come here whenever I want.

Since your last interview with us, your portfolio has expanded massively across nightlife, retail, film, theatre and music. How would you describe the evolution of your creative portfolio over the years?
Yeah, it's kind of a dream really. I feel it's just a constant push for growth for both myself and my clients, along with always striving for unforgettable designs and moments. If you just keep pushing on all fronts, growth and evolution are inevitable. I'm just so grateful for every opportunity.

The Haunted Hotel at The Ned was named one of Vogue’s Hottest Halloween Parties. You later returned for Haunted Hotel III in 2024. How did you get involved in these projects and what was the vision behind the designs?
I was brought on board by Andrew Katz of OTBA and The Box. The party takes place on the first two floors of the Ned Hotel in NYC, the goal was to design an upscale night club style multi room Halloween themed party on the first floor and then a haunted house style walk through experience on the second floor using hotel rooms that were then populated by the best of the best performers in NYC. We mash up two movies with something in common that ties them together, but then adding a Box twist to them—so you hopefully get something that seems familiar but new and exciting at the same time. I was so thankful to be brought in to design and fabricate it for its initial year and then again in 2024. I hope to do it again in the future.

You have worked with Bob Fluet—owner of The Q, Hush and BOXERS HK—on designing these clubs. How has this professional relationship built over time to working together once again on a new project?
Well I first met Bob on The Q project. We didn't know each other, but we hit it off immediately. I actually beat out seventeen other designers for that job. As The Q was wrapping up and opening, Bob decided to lease the old therapy location on 52nd street to open another new club. We left the creation of The Q as friends and had a mutual respect for one another. We definitely wanted to work together again. When he started the initial work on Hush, he first said to me and said, ‘I'm not doing anything really, the plan is just a few changes and a coat of paint.’ Well that all quickly changed after our first walk through the space. Fast forward through an intense five months and after the dust settled, Hush opened that Halloween. I might be biased, but to me it’s one of the coolest clubs in NYC—still so proud of that one.

Then to complete our eighteen month hat trick in Hells Kitchen NYC night life, Bob was opening a new Boxers HK, and by that time I’ve now become his go-to designer. We rolled right into that project knowing exactly how to work with each other and even though we did all three clubs one after the other, all had different feel and design. It was really an intense whirlwind of creation and ideas building three clubs in eighteen months. But it was so much fun and I was sad when it was over. It’s been a few years, but Bob and I keep in touch. He took a break from opening new spaces, but it looks like we are doing a new NYC project together in 2026. I really can’t wait.

After designing The Q and Hush in New York, you were sought out by Kinetic Presents—one of the biggest promoters in DC—to design their first nightclub in the city. What made that project different from the clubs you worked on in NYC?
The design and concept was to create a feel of an apocalyptic abandoned nuclear fallout bunker that’s been turned into a lavish nightclub, with a focus on artifacts and art collecting. I feel it combined elements of both The Q and Hush, more so because it was me designing it, but also has an entirely different feel. The Q and Hush both felt like they were from NYC’s past, and Bunker feels like it was abandoned in the future—if that makes sense. Both places rely heavily on industrial and junk yard salvage in the designs.

After Bunker opened, it quickly became the hottest LGBTQ nightclub in DC. I’ve since worked with Q and Zach on several other projects, including designing a few large Kinetic events. The guys have ventured into the food space and opened their first restaurant, Lucky Pollo in DC, which I also designed along with the hidden District Eagle. Currently, the District Eagle is expanding upstairs in the location and the grand reopening will be January 2026. Q and Zach have become more than just clients, but also great friends and close collaborators and I really think those relationships reflect in the design projects as we continue to work together.

The Box and OTBA have a distinct nightlife reputation. You’ve worked with them on quite a few projects, how did you approach designing for them?
The Box and OTBA definitely have a distinct reputation and standard. I’ve been lucky enough to work with them on so many projects such as Haunted Hotel at the NED, Pop Up fashion week and music events at The Box, Halloween at the Box, contributed pieces and worked on the opening of The Stranger NYC, Usher’s Past Present and Future touring Backstage Experience, and stage production elements for Duran Duran at MSG Halloween Night. Working for them is different than most other clients, all the OTBA partners are all brilliant artists and their combined experience is unrivaled in worldwide nightlife and experiential production. It's much more of a collaborative experience working with them. I work very closely with OTBA partner and producer Andrew Katz on all the projects and it’s really an honor to have been brought into the OTBA family. I’m always so grateful every time I’m a part of one of their projects. I learn so much and realize how much more there is to learn when it comes to design, nightlife and pushing the boundaries.

How did you become involved with MASQUERADE, the new Phantom of the Opera experience in NYC.
This was also through OTBA, specifically Randy Weiner, one of the original creators of the Box, Producer of Sleep No More NYC, and many more groundbreaking productions. Randy brought me onto the Masquerade project to work on some specific pieces, the highlight of which is the Phantoms new organ for the show. If you would’ve told a younger me that one day I'd be a part of making the new Phantom of the Opera organ in NYC, I would’ve thought it was a joke…but that’s what happened, and to be a part of such an important piece of NYC, Broadway Show and Monster Story telling history, is mind blowing. I keep saying it to all these questions, but it’s true, I’m so grateful to have been brought on by Randy. My team and I worked on a few other pieces for the initial production and are currently working on some new pieces.

You’ve worked on the set production of so many artists in the last two years, from working with Usher on his PAST PRESENT FUTURE tour backstage experience, to Static-X stage production, along with many artists across genres. What has been your highlight moment of designing for these artists?
Yeah, music stage production is my first love when it comes to design. And all productions I get to work on are just as important no matter what. But if I have to name a few, I would have to say that working on Duran Duran at Madison Square Garden Halloween 2024 was a highlight for sure. Designing the latest Static X 12’ Frankenstein Stage Puppet turned out incredible. The team absolutely crushed that one. Lastly, Ronnie Radke of Falling in Reverse wanted two 15’ tall custom made gargoyles with high-powered glowing red eyes to greet guests when they pulled up to his front gate. Those were definitely something sick. It was awesome to design them with Ronnie for his home.

What is your creative dynamic like with Mike Ruiz when you’re conceptualizing and designing photo shoots together?
When working with Mike, he always has a pretty clear idea of what he’s going for on a particular shoot. He will kick off the discussion by putting together a mood board, and then I take that and design the sets by adding as many design flourishes as I can. We also have wishlist set designs we both want to do for future shoots, so we consistently pull and put together designs and ideas to keep in mind for future shoots. I love when we add different cool locations into the mix like this one at Wade Salvage. Or sometimes we shoot at spaces that I’ve designed in the past. I’m really looking forward to exploring new possible locations mixed with set design elements for future projects, I have a feeling we’ll be back at this junk yard soon enough.

You stepped into experiential retail with the Blackcraft Salem store and coffee shop, and later became a co-owner of Haunt Blackcraft, Salem’s largest haunted house. How did that journey unfold, and are there any future projects with Blackcraft in the works?Blackcraft is a brand started by Jim Somers and Bobby Schubenski in 2012. I became friends with Bobby on Tour in 2011 through our mutual friend Joe Letz. After that tour Bobby and Jim started what would become Blackcraft, the brand grew very quickly and they had their first pop up in NYC in 2012, which I built for them. Fast forward 10 years to when the idea of a Salem store and coffee shop was on the table—I got the call to design and fabricate it with them. The store is located in a landmark bank from 1907 on Essex St in Salem Massachusetts. It’s connected with another abandoned building that once housed the offices of the bank. After the dust settled on the store and coffee shop and they were up and running for a few months, I presented them with the proposition of partnering on a haunted house next door. We all agreed it was something that Salem definitely needed and to give it a go. The result of all this is the largest footprint by any brand in Salem. The retail store is a must-see stop for all tourists, with the centerpiece being ‘the Largest Witch in Salem’ sculpture. The coffee shop is a viral sensation with lines wrapped around the building and the Haunted House is the largest and top rated haunted attraction in Salem Massachusetts.

As far as future collaborations with Blackcraft, earlier this year I fabricated and designed with Bobby Schubenski on their new podcast and What Not studio set in LA...I’m currently helping them put the finishing touches on that and the plan is this is the first of many new coffee locations. The best thing about working with Blackcraft is you never know what’s next. These guys are always pushing, it's unreal, I can literally get the craziest phone call right now from them and the answer is always, ‘lets go.’

You're currently working on creature and set design for the first film under the new Blackcraft Films imprint. How did this opportunity come about, and would you say Blackcraft’s distinct style naturally lends itself to film?
Yes, Bobby Schubenski of Blackcraft is currently working on his debut film, which will be the first of many films for the Blackcraft Films banner under Eli Roth and his company Horror Section. Bobby has brought me in to set design and create the characters from his script. It's all in the early pre production phase, so I can’t say much, but what I can say is that these films will have a distinct look and feel and definitely be something worthy of the Blackcraft brand and the forces that are joining up on these films is mind blowing. Just Blackcraft and Eli Roth together would be insane enough, but it's much more than that. The horror film world isn’t ready.

As your projects continue to grow, what territory are you most excited to explore next?I’m fortunate enough to say I’m in all the design territories that I want to be involved in, including all things Halloween and Haunted Houses, Night Clubs, Experiential, Music Stage Production, and now set and creature design for film. I definitely want to push all these things even further—and there’s so much room for growth in each category. I’m really looking forward to working on Blackcraft Films. I would love to do a huge haunted house or dark-themed experience in Vegas. I've actually been designing something for a few years that might be happening soon in Vegas, fingers crossed on that. I want to continue to work on projects with Ronnie Radke, hopefully something insane for his stage production for a future tour.

As far as setting some wishlist goals for future projects and to put some things out into the universe, I would love to work with artists Till Lindemann, Lady Gaga, Marilyn Manson and Poppy.

Website: www.jasincadic.com

Instagram: @jasincadic

Email: Jasincadic@gmail.com

Talent: Jasin Cadic
PhotoBook Editor-In-Chief: Alison Hernon
PhotoBook Creative Director + Photographer + Producer: Mike Ruiz
Tearsheets by Daniel López, Art Director, PhotoBook Magazine
Introduction by Brya Sheridan, Assistant to Editor-in-Chief, PhotoBook Magazine
Interview by Leonor Moreira, Contributor, PhotoBook Magazine

GARGOYLES, HAUNTED NIGHT CLUBS and SCRAPYARDS: exploring Cadic's grim creations