The Tribune

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS

Tribune Staff Reporter

lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMIAN artist and entrepreneur Stefan Davis, better known as “Stefan Legend”, posted an ordinary photograph from the road on Instagram not long before he was killed in a violent three-vehicle crash in Miami-Dade involving a suspect fleeing police.

The image, showing the steering wheel and dashboard of the vehicle he was travelling in, became one of his final social media posts before the crash claimed his life on Wednesday night, just three days before his September 6 birthday.

Father-of-two Davis, founder of Airbrush Junkies and one of the country’s best-known creative entrepreneurs, was reportedly in South Florida on what was believed to be a birthday trip when he was caught in the crash.

According to Local 10 News reports, police had stopped 21-year-old Lewis Manuel Perez, who was wanted on a military desertion warrant.

Perez allegedly fled the traffic stop, drove onto a dead-end street and, while attempting to evade police, ran a stop sign.

His vehicle then slammed into a passing vehicle occupied by Davis before pushing into an unmarked Miami-Dade Sheriff’s vehicle.

Perez was taken into custody.

The circumstances of Davis’ death — an apparently routine trip ending suddenly in a crash connected to a fleeing suspect — stunned Bahamians yesterday and triggered tributes from across the political, Junkanoo, artistic and business communities.

For a generation of Bahamians who came of age in the early 2000s, Davis was closely associated with Airbrush Junkies at the Mall at Marathon.

He turned T-shirts and other clothing into customised artwork, helping make airbrushing a popular form of expression among young Bahamians and building the business into a household name.

His work extended well beyond customised clothing.

He was known for live painting and for creating artwork for celebrities, while also contributing to concerts, parties and other major entertainment events.

His work was featured in The Source Magazine in New York and included major local projects such as a design for the first phase of Atlantis on Paradise Island and the Mall at Marathon’s Christmas display.

His influence also extended to developing younger artists and entrepreneurs.

Free National Movement Leader Michael Pintard described Davis as “one of its true originals” and said The Bahamas had lost a local hero, professional and mentor.

“What stood out most about Stefan was that he never stopped reaching back,” Mr Pintard said.

He said Davis remained focused on teaching younger Bahamians even as his own work gained wider recognition.

Mr Pintard said the country’s small business and creative communities, along with young artists, had lost “a mentor and a trailblazer”.

Culture Minister Leslia Brice expressed shock over Davis’ death, saying she had known him throughout her life and worked with him on numerous projects and in different creative spaces.

“When you’ve known someone your entire life,” Ms Brice said, “shared countless memories, and had the privilege of working together on so many projects and across so many creative spaces, a loss like this is almost impossible to process.”

She described Davis as more than a creative force and said his talent, vision, passion and contribution would continue through the people and spaces he influenced. Junkanoo groups including the Valley Boys, Saxons Superstars and One Family also paid tribute.

Davis had deep roots in the Junkanoo community. His family home on Taylor Street was next to the One Family Junkanoo Shack, where he was a familiar presence.

His death resonated particularly strongly with Bahamians who grew up seeing his work at the Mall at Marathon and watching Airbrush Junkies become part of the country’s youth and entertainment culture.

Davis built a business around his creative talent while also helping others learn and develop their own skills.

He is survived by his family, including two children, as friends, colleagues and members of the wider creative community mourn his sudden death.