7 Things You Might Not Know About David Bromstad
Did you know he worked at Disney?
If you watch one episode of David Bromstad’s Lottery Dream Home or scroll for even just 30 seconds on his Instagram, a few things become immediately clear: He’s “crazy about color,” loves Disney and is obsessed with tattoos. While these surface revelations are enough to make even a first-time HGTV viewer fall head over heels for David, we thought that diving deeper into the Design Star’s life and persona would be the icing on the cake. With that in mind, ahead you’ll discover seven tidbits that will make you swoon over David and his design style even more.
He was the very first Design Star winner.
Notice how we called him a Design Star in the intro? That’s because, in case you didn’t know, he was HGTV’s debut Design Star winner. After taking the grand prize in the show’s very first season, David went on to make a real name for himself on HGTV and within the home design sphere as a whole.
Since then, he’s had three of his own shows and starred in others.
Since his Design Star success, David has hosted three shows: Beach Flip, Color Splash, and, most recently, My Lottery Dream Home. But that’s not all. The 47-year-old designer has also appeared on Design at Your Door and is a design competitor in the upcoming second season of Rock the Block. To watch him breathe life into a new home with his RTB partner, Tiffany Brooks, tune into HGTV on Mondays at 9 p.m. E.T. or stream it on discovery+.
He was a Disney illustrator.
Remember how we mentioned that he loves Disney? Well, there’s a reason. Believe it or not, before David made it big on Design Star, he was actually a Disney illustrator. He knew he wanted to work for Disney at a young age and so, after high school, he enrolled at Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota, Florida, which is known for helping artists land jobs at Disney.
He grew up in the ‘70s and ‘80s.
David was born on Aug. 17, 1973. In case the ‘70s or ‘80s are before your time, know that scratch-n-sniff stickers were all the rage. As such, he got a tattoo of one of his favorite ones.
“The ‘poppin good’ scratch and sniff sticker brings me back to my childhood and my [family’s] love for popcorn,” he revealed in the caption of the photo of his new tatt.
He’s covered in tattoos.
Speaking of tattoos, David has a bunch. What started as a hint of chest and shoulder ink, as well as a forearm sleeve, quickly turned into dozens of tattoos across his chest, biceps, triceps, back, abdomen, thighs and calves. In addition to his Poppin’ Good tattoo, David has an array of Mickey Mouse tattoos, a Minnie Mouse tattoo, Cinderella’s castle, the word “Fantasy” beneath it, the word “Artist” across his hand, “Limited Edition” on his chest, a rainbow “Family” on his abdomen, a dabbing unicorn and more. And he has no inkling to slow down with his ink obsession. Which ultimately means: We can’t wait to see what he gets next!
He loves tracksuits.
David isn’t one to shy away from head-to-toe monochrome ensembles. Because of this, he appreciates stylish (and cozy!) tracksuit. So much so, in fact, that he wore one for his Rock the Block debut.
He encourages others to be their truest selves.
One scroll through David’s Instagram and you’ll find relics of the many Pride parades he’s been to, as well as homages to his Pride family. He’s so fervently involved that, in addition to his rainbow “Family” tattoo, he also has a rainbow “Love” tattoo.
“My tattoo addiction is shining bright with a rainbow of delicious colors,” he wrote in the caption of his new “Love” tattoo. “It symbolizes so much for me. The gay flag, my love for color, my first tv series, color splash, freedom and it’s just plain happy. I encourage u all to embrace the core of who u are. I just happen to to be wacky colorful artistic weirdo and I love it. So much more to come!”
