Tate Steinsiek

Bryan "Tate" Steinsiek is an American SFX and prosthetic makeup artist. He is best known for his appearances on Seasons One and Five of the SyFy reality series Face Off. Steinsiek has worked on special effects and makeup for several films and television series, including Law & Order, Clash of the Gods, and The Amazing Spider-Man.

Early life Steinsiek was born in Hitchita, Oklahoma to Butch Steinsiek, a boxer, and his wife Tommy Ann, an artist. Steinsiek told the Tulsa World that his mother had been contacted by his preschool teacher after he drew "a horrific monster with big fangs, vomiting blood." The teacher advised her not to allow Steinsiek to watch horror movies, to which she replied "he isn't allowed to anyway." Steinsiek helped found the Tulsa-based groove metal band Pheed in January 1998, in which he played bass. After changing the band's name to Malevolence, the group garnered some local acclaim and, after opening for national acts Ice-T, Suicidal Tendencies, and Infectious Grooves the band relocated to Boston at the recommendation of their label. In 2006, he was featured on the reality series Making It Big, where he won the FX Challenge.

In 2017, Steinsiek worked with seasonal retailer Spirit Halloween to design and sculpt several animatronics and props including Forest Demon, Menacing Molly, and a Hanging Slimer from the Ghostbusters franchise; later that year, the animatronics were finalized and mass-produced by manufacturer Crazy Create while the Slimer was produced by the manufacturer Party Time Latex Arts and Crafts Factory. In 2017, Steinsiek began working with Fangoria, doing special effects for 2018's Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich and 2019's film Satanic Panic. In 2019, he filmed his directorial debut, a reboot of Castle Freak. In 2019, he was also nominated (along with Preston Fassel) for a Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Award for Best Article.

Face Off

in 2011, Steinsiek was selected to compete in the first season of the SyFy reality series Face Off. Out of the original field of twelve contestants, Steinsiek made it to the final episode as one of the top three artists, eventually losing a tight race to winner Conor McCullagh. He was invited back to participate in the fifth season of the series, in which he and seven other series "veterans" were pitted against eight new contestants. In the season 5 episode "Living Art," Steinsiek dropped a clay mold onto his hand, crushing his fingers, resulting in his being taken to an emergency care clinic and receiving thirteen stitches. His fellow contestants helped clean out his mold and apply the first layer of latex during his three-hour absence; however, the final result still put Steinsiek in the bottom of the Spotlight Challenge for the first time of the season. Steinsiek was again runner-up to eventual season winner Laura Tyler.