- Valley View News
Teenagers Spread Love by Spray Painting Lawns
Updated: Apr 16, 2021
MONROVIA, CA – Spray painting the lawns of strangers living in Los Angeles county is unconventional work, but teen brothers, Zachary and Joshua Menlove turned it into a thriving COVID-19 inspired business called LA Lawn Art.
LA Lawn Art specializes in spray painting sports logos onto lawns. The boys create custom wooden stencils by hand and will create any logo if it is in high demand. The younger brother, Joshua, says they have a map of the houses they will go to that day.
“We get there and ask what logos they want. We put it on their lawns, straighten it up, and then spray it and then we take it off and fill it in. They just love it,” said Joshua Menlove.
Their business started as an April Fool’s Day prank. The boys and their father, Ryan Menlove, spray painted a Los Angeles Dodgers logo on their uncle’s lawn, who loves the Los Angeles Angels. The prank was successful enough todraw the attention of people passing by. Several people wanted their team’s logos spray-painted on their lawns too. The boys quickly got to work.
Spray painting lawns should not affect the grass. The only chance that grass can be negatively affected, is if the paint drenches down to the soil. This will block the sun from the soil and can harm the grass. However, grass grows quickly. The spray paint will eventually wear off after the grass is cut. The paint may last longer depending on the color and brand.
The Menlove’s are fans of Los Angeles sports. Zachary says he likes spray painting sports logos to help people rep their teams. They do not just spray paint sports logos, however. They plan on creating wooden stencils for holiday themes. They even created one for cancer awareness.
Video, CBS13 Sacramento
With sales from the cancer awareness stencil, the boys plan on donating some of the profit to charitable organizations. In October, they donated to Breast Cancer Research. Ryan says he’s proud to see his sons give so willingly.
“If they can learn to be giving and give back, there’s nothing more I can want for my boys, to work hard and learn to be giving,” said Ryan Menlove.
The family says the best part is seeing the reactions of their customers and the love it brings. Covina Resident Chantelle Amaya ordered four logos for her lawn. She says it’s great to see these young boys spreading the love during such a negative time.
“I am beyond excited. To be honest, I don’t want it to go away. I am going to tell my gardener to not touch my lawn for a while, and when it does, I probably will have them out here again,” said Amaya.
Even though this business started during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Menlove brothers are determined to continue LA Lawn Art as long as their customers are requesting their services.
Video, Ryan Ketcham
Audio, Ryan Ketcham
By Ryan Ketcham
With contributions from Jessi Wohlwend of Practically Functional
Photo, Ryan Ketcham
Video, Ian Schwartz; CBS Sacramento
Video, Ryan Ketcham
Audio, Ryan Ketcham
EDUCATE YOURSELF