INTERVIEW: ‘Tanked’ team goes Hollywood in new season

Wayde King and Brett Raymer, stars of Animal Planet’s Tanked, have decided to give their business the Hollywood treatment, focusing the new season on their many high-profile clients who want customized fish tanks with sometimes mind-bogglingly complex designs. From professional athletes to stand-up comedians, their customers are popularity personified, and this can make for some interesting aquatic adventures.

On the new season of Tanked, which airs new episodes Fridays at 10 p.m., the guys help Dwight Howard, basketball star of the Houston Rockets. Apparently Howard loves snakes and fish, so Acrylic Tank Manufacturing, King and Raymer’s company, brought both animals together into one tank. “And we got to see the facility where he practices, and we actually went to the zoo with him, which was really cool,” King said in a phone interview.

Another celebrity is Jeff Dunham, the ventriloquist comedian who plays Las Vegas. “We incorporated some of his characters, which came out great, and went to his house and did the whole thing,” King said.

Yet another celebrity is Howie Mandel, a judge on America’s Got Talent. King described the TV personality as a “great guy” who ended up with a tank featuring brain coral. Penn & Teller, the famed magic-comedy duo, are also on the client list. Their tank will feature two sides: one focused on monkeys, the other focused on skulls.

Other names include Donald Penn of the Oakland Raiders and comedian Gabriel Iglesias.

 

“They [the celebrities] definitely know what they want,” Raymer said. “They love tanks, so they put a lot of thought into it, definitely Jeff Dunham, too.”

ATM, as their company is coined, takes on more than 200 projects per year, ranging from 50-gallon creations to tanks of 1 million gallons. They are based out of Las Vegas, and King serves as CEO while Raymer is COO.

“We do a lot of work in Vegas,” King said. “We do a lot of entertainers, a lot of hotels, casinos. We do a lot of everybody, but our celebrities this season, we went all around the country — California, Houston, New York.”

King said the toughest part of the job is getting the designs down on paper and making them a reality; it’s difficult to bring that piece of paper to life. “Like when we did Jeff Dunham, he wanted his characters inside the tank, and to make those and make them waterproof is very difficult,” King said. “It’s not an easy process, and it’s time to do it. And then we’re on a time restraint, so you know you work through the night sometimes. And then there’s traveling. You got to work around their schedule, their time, and we’re flying, we’re going in and out, we’re working and we’re at the shop. To do it all together, it gets a little rough. We love doing it. It’s fun. It’s exciting, and when you create somebody’s dream, and you bring it to reality, and you bring it to the house, and all of a sudden they see it alive, it’s an incredible feeling for us. And I think that’s what actually keeps us going the most.”

For Raymer, the traveling can be the most difficult part of the job. More time on the road or in the air means less time with his family. “I’ve been missing a lot of events, like volleyball and awards ceremonies and holidays when you’re out there doing your job,” Raymer said.

“I think me and Brett spent the last five Valentine’s Days together,” King said with a laugh.

Raymer said the current size of ATM is good, although there’s always room for expansion. “We went from being mom ‘n’ pop to being mainstream, and I think the show helped us do that,” Raymer said. “Hopefully the success of the show continues, and hopefully we have many more seasons to come.”

King said one misconception the public may have is that ATM tanks are unbelievably expensive. Although the company builds expensive, ornate tanks, there are also smaller, budget-conscious creations that only take 50 gallons.

“We’ve done hundreds of little tanks per day during the week for other companies, but since the show has hit, I think that hurt a little bit because a lot of people think we’re expensive,” King said. “So some of those people stopped calling in those areas. We built 10,000 tanks worldwide, from Hong Kong, France, Italy, Europe, Scotland. We’ve been all over the world, and we’ve done hundreds of celebrities and stuff before the show came out. I think it’s hurt us a little bit in that aspect. They’re not that expensive. You get a 50-gallon tank, a few hundred dollars, and you can go all the way up to $1 million. It depends really what your interest is.”

One of the toughest challenges of the customized tank business includes the selection and health of the various fish species that will call the tank their home. King said the health of the fish is a number-one priority.

“We love compatibility and teaching people about the fish,” King said. “We love to get different types of fish and bring them in. We like to educate and show certain fish shouldn’t be in the aquarium. It’s really hard to show all that, have a funny show, and film it in 44 minutes and get it done. It takes 40-60 hours to film one episode, and to get all that in there is very difficult. But sometimes a lot of people see it one way, and it’s not that way. And a lot of people say, how do you do this so quick? We don’t do it quick. We set up weeks before, and we get things acclimated. We get the fish in the same tank … If any fish are sick, they’re taken out and put in quarantine tanks. There’s a lot that goes into it.”

Ten years from now, whether or not Tanked is on television, the ATM guys more than likely want the brand known to the public. “Boy, it would be great if someone came in and gave us a large sum and bought the company,” King said. “Today, you go to the supermarket, you have Heinz product there for ketchup and stuff. Let’s say the owner started it, and he passed away. His product is still on the shelf. We would love to see our legacy move on and still be there and our product still be out there. We’re trying to save the environment, help the environment. We’re trying to do coral inserts. We’re trying to do everything right and educate, and 10 years from now, we’d love to still see it going and running and building beautiful aquariums. I think we’re one of the best builders in the world when it comes to custom shapes. I think we have proven that. Hopefully the people here can still be doing it and running it, and it will continue.”

By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com

• New episodes of Tanked air 10 p.m. Fridays on Animal Planet. Click here for more information.