Why He’s Interesting: The enthusiastic Shaker Heights native and Cleveland sports die-hard makes incredibly detailed model stadiums. His model of Progressive Field and Quicken Loans Arena has impressed sports fans, while his renditions of the Pittsburgh Pirates’ PNC Park and Houston Astros’ Minute Maid Park have collectively raised more than $4,000 for charity.
If You Build It: In 1995, 14-year-old Resnik was given a ceramic model stadium from the Indians team shop as a gift and thought he could do better. His first model of Jacobs Field, constructed with colored pencils, cardboard and determination, landed him in The Plain Dealer. “That was just kind of a one-shot deal. It was like my 15 minutes of fame when I was a kid.”
The Change Up: Instead of pursuing a career as an architect, Resnik went into sales. But after a bad break-up and feeling unfulfilled professionally, he needed a change. His brother gave him the push he needed. “He’s like, ‘David, I know you’re depressed right now and you need to do something. Why don’t you build a model stadium?’ I hadn’t thought of that in like 20 years.”
Class Act: After rediscovering his passion, Resnik enrolled in Kent State University’s architecture program in 2016. He plans to spend this spring semester studying abroad in Italy, where he will focus on urban design. “Urban design is the layout of a city, and Europe is the place to go for that kind of stuff. That’s where that whole thing started.”
Model Behavior: Resnik’s models can take up to 500 hours from initial measurements to Photoshop work to building with poster board and double-sided tape. “The first time I ever did one of these, I was using glue to actually glue the printed paper to the poster board and everything warps. Finally, I realized, Double-sided tape, man! That’s the move!”
Grand Slam: Resnik has big league dreams. “My No. 1 goal is I want my name as the lead designer of an MLB stadium one day. But if I just wind up at one of those firms, on the team that works on stadiums every day and maybe I’m the guy who gets to build the models, I’ll be happy.”
Wrestle Mania: As a kid, Resnik was a huge WWE fan. One of his favorite memories was going to the Masonic Auditorium to see Extreme Championship Wrestling, where wrestler Sabu broke his teeth during a match. “Somebody threw him a chair and he whiffed the catch, and it hit him in the mouth. There was like three teeth laying in the ring and the whole thing was just great. I was like, ‘Oh, these guys are serious.’"
Interesting Fact: 12:Number of stadiums Resnik has completed, including four MLB parks. He’s currently working on FirstEnergy Stadium.
