We were lucky to catch up with Brooke Desieus recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Brooke , thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

The biggest risk I’ve ever taken was abandoning a future I had spent years preparing for in order to pursue a life that felt true to myself.

When I graduated high school, I had a very clear vision of my future. I wanted to become a scientist. I wanted the PhD, the research career, and the respect that comes with dedicating yourself to understanding the world. I started college on that track and threw myself into science courses because I believed that was what success looked like. More than anything, I felt like I had something to prove, both to myself and to the world. I wanted a life that could be explained in a sentence and measured by achievements. I wanted proof that I was intelligent, capable, and worthy.

So, I followed that path. I enrolled in college and immersed myself in science courses. From the outside, everything looked right. But beneath that, something felt increasingly off. The harder I chased the person I thought I should become, the further away I felt from the person I actually was. While I spent most of my time studying science, I always found myself turning to art, writing, and music whenever I wanted to feel fulfilled or happy. My creative pursuits were always the things that brought me peace.

I remember a particularly brutal semester spent moving between chemistry, biology, psychology, and calculus. I was exhausted in a way that sleep could not fix. It felt as though I was spending all of my energy constructing a life that I would eventually have to escape from.

Around that time, I spoke to my mom and admitted something I had been avoiding for a long time. I told her I did not like where my education was taking me, but I had no idea what else to do because I had spent years building my identity around becoming a scientist.

She asked me a question that seemed almost too simple.

“What is your favorite class you’ve ever taken?”

Without hesitation, I answered, “Creative writing.”

Then she asked, “Why don’t you study that?”

It sounds obvious now, but that question completely changed my perspective. It was the moment I realized I had been pursuing a version of success that impressed other people instead of pursuing the life I actually wanted. It felt like discovering a door in a room I had lived in for years. The door had always been there, but I had simply never allowed myself to see it.

The very next semester, I changed my major to creative writing.

To many people, that decision looked reckless and risky. I received plenty of warnings. People were quick to remind me of their concerns about practicality, stability, and money. But what I had begun to understand was that continuing down the path I was on would have appeared safe, yet it would have required me to ignore a fundamental truth about myself. Choosing art looked uncertain, but it felt right. In a strange way, remaining where I was would have been the greater gamble.

After changing majors, I immersed myself in every creative pursuit I could. I focused on writing, took art classes whenever I could fit them into my schedule, and continued making music in my dorm room late into the night. I still loved parts of science, especially biology, so I added an entomology minor and discovered that I enjoyed science much more when it was something I pursued out of curiosity rather than obligation.

The risk of pursuing something meaningful to me gave me the confidence to keep following my interests even after graduation, which eventually led me into tattooing. Today, I consider myself a multi-medium artist who is constantly learning and developing new skills. Whether it’s writing, visual art, music, or tattooing, I approach each discipline with the same commitment to growth and mastery.

Looking back, the real risk wasn’t changing majors. It was letting go of an identity I had spent years building and stepping into the unknown without any guarantee that it would work out. It was choosing to stop living according to other people’s definitions of success and trusting my own instincts instead.

Choosing art was the first time I truly bet on myself. It taught me that fulfillment and success are not opposites, and that the “safest” path is not always the right one. Years later, I can say with complete confidence that it remains the best risk I have ever taken.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I would describe myself as a multi-medium artist working across tattooing, painting, writing, and music.

My journey as an artist started when I was a kid. I’ve always been drawn to the act of creating, whether that was drawing, painting, writing, or music. I grew up surrounded by artists working across visual, literary, and performance-based disciplines, so creativity always felt like a natural part of everyday life. As I got older, I continued exploring different mediums, and eventually tattooing became another way for me to combine my love of art, storytelling, design, and craftsmanship.

As a tattoo artist, I specialize in bold color work influenced by traditional tattooing, fantasy art, folklore, medieval and gothic imagery, and the natural world. My primary styles are neo-traditional, American traditional, illustrative, fine line, and painterly.

In painting, I primarily work with acrylics. I love how forgiving and versatile the medium is, and it gives me the opportunity to explore color, texture, and composition outside of tattooing. As a writer, I am most interested in horror and fantasy, particularly stories rooted in folklore, mythology, and worldbuilding. In music, I create within an electro-pop and gothic genre.

What sets my work apart is the emphasis I place on artistic fundamentals. I spent years studying drawing and painting before becoming a tattoo artist, and years studying music theory before I began composing my own music. That foundation continues to shape how I approach everything I create. I am a firm believer that strong fundamentals create stronger artwork, regardless of the medium.

The main service I provide as a tattoo artist is helping people transform their ideas into artwork they can carry with them for life. Every project is different, and I enjoy collaborating with clients to create something that feels personal, meaningful, and uniquely theirs.

What I am most proud of is the trust people place in me. Creating something permanent for another person is both a responsibility and a privilege, and it is something I never take for granted. Being able to build a career centered around creativity while continuing to explore multiple artistic disciplines is something I am incredibly grateful for.

If there is one thing I would want people to know about me, it is that I genuinely care about the work. I am always looking to improve, explore new ideas, and push myself creatively. No matter the medium, my goal is to create work that is thoughtful, memorable, and crafted with intention.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

For me, the most rewarding aspect of being an artist is the fact that there is always more to learn and always room to grow.

No matter how long I spend drawing, painting, writing, making music, or tattooing, I never reach a point where I feel finished. Every skill opens the door to ten more things I want to understand. Every project teaches me something I can carry into the next one. I find a lot of fulfillment in that process of continual growth.

I also love the connections that art makes between people. Some of my favorite experiences as a tattoo artist have come from hearing the stories behind a client’s ideas and helping bring those ideas to life. There is something incredibly meaningful about creating work that becomes part of someone’s life, whether that is a tattoo they wear every day, a painting they hang in their home, a story that resonates with them, or a song they connect with.

More than anything, being an artist allows me to spend my life remaining curious. It encourages me to keep exploring, experimenting, and paying attention to the world around me. I think that sense of curiosity is one of the things I value most, and being a creative gives me the opportunity to nurture it every day

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

One book that has had a significant impact on my life is The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. I first read it years ago, and many of the concepts and practices from that book have stayed with me ever since. In particular, I still write three pages every morning as part of the “Morning Pages” practice, and it has become one of the most valuable creative habits I’ve ever developed.

What I appreciate most about the book is that it treats creativity as something that can be nurtured through consistent practice rather than something that appears only when inspiration strikes. That mindset has influenced not only my artistic work, but also the way I approach long-term goals, discipline, and personal growth.

Beyond books, I enjoy listening to interviews and podcasts featuring artists, musicians, writers, and other creatives whose work I admire. I find it fascinating to learn about their creative processes, how they solve problems, how they stay motivated, and how they navigate the challenges of building a creative career. Even when their medium is completely different from my own, there is often something valuable I can take away and adapt to my own practice.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://brookedesieus.art
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/valkyrievayle/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brooke-desieus
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@valkyrievayle
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@valkyrievayle