DOWAGIAC — The driveway of Darren Robbins’ home looks a bit different than that of the average Dowagiac resident. Among the typical cars sits cans of paint, and colorful cornhole boards litter the area, the faces of famous rock stars and film actors greeting visitors as they walk up the drive.

“I’ve got boards all over,” Robbins said. “This is my work space and my selling space.”

Robbins —  a former street artist — is the founder of Lemmy Cornhole, a Dowagiac based businesses that sells customized cornhole boards, which is celebrating its fifth year of business this summer. The boards, which Robbins calls “art you can throw stuff at,” are boards used for the popular outdoor game cornhole, or “bags” as it is called in some parts of the country. Using his street style influence, Robbins decorates the boards with pop culture artworks, from images of iconic stars such as the Beatles or Princess Diana to film characters from movies such as “The Big Lebowski” and “Pineapple Express.”

“I did street art in LA and Chicago, but I’m 52 now and I don’t want to be climbing billboards and things like that, so I was looking for ways to incorporate that street art into something I could easier manage here,” Robbins said. “There is this storytelling aspect of street art that I love, and you are doing something kind of clandestine of questionable legality. [Lemmy Cornhole] is a way for me to still tap into that street art feel without any illegal activity. No one is going to arrest you for painting a cornhole board.”

Remembering why he started Lemmy Cornhole, Robbins said not only was he looking for a creative outlet, but that he wanted to do something that incorporated his favorite sport.

Robbins started playing cornhole six years ago once he moved back to his hometown of Dowagiac after years in Chicago and Los Angeles. He frequented the Wounded Minnow and other local haunts to play the lawn sport, telling people who asked why he played so often to “Let me be, and lemme play cornhole.” Hence the name of the business.

“I was really getting into playing cornhole, and saw people putting their favorite sports teams and things on boards,” Robbins said. “I saw that, and wanted to do something different. So, I started going crazy with it and doing all kinds of designs. The business grew from there, and people really responded to it.”

Over the last five years, Robbins said he has experienced an unexpected growth of success, often selling out of boards as soon as he puts them up for sale. He said he owes a lot of his success to the uniqueness of his products.

“These kind of sell themselves, which is pretty cool,” Robbins said. “These are pop culture references, and people have a pretty strong connection to the culture that they grew up in. So, if you grew up listening to Queen, and you pull up to my driveway and see the Queen board, you are going to feel like this guy is talking right to me.”

Currently, Robbins primarily operates out of his home, 29061 Lyle Dr., where he sets out his pieces on his lawn for sale. He also sells at festivals and outdoor markets and on his Facebook page, facebook.com/lemmycornhole, or his website, lemmycornhole.com.

However, now that he has proven his business successful over the last five years, Robbins said he is looking to expand. He is currently looking into adding employees and seeking out a storefront in town to sell his creations. He is hopeful by next summer that he will be able to have a retail presence in town.

“I think we’ve got to go legit,” Robbins said. “I haven’t been able to keep up with the demand myself, and it’s a shame to shortsell the brand by refusing to grow at the pace it is telling you it wants to grow at. I’ve tried for five years to see if this can fly, and now it’s gotta grow.”

For now, Robbins said he is proud to be a business owner in Dowagiac and is thankful to all his supporters for helping his business last half a decade.

“Part of this business is me showing that cool stuff doesn’t only have to be in LA or Chicago. We can have cool stuff like this here in Dowagiac,” he said.