We recently connected with Bryan Montenegro and have shared our conversation below.

Bryan, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

As an artist, taking risks is something we do on a daily basis. They come in different sizes. A small risk can be trying a new style, or experimenting with new tools. It’s the larger risks that can really make an artist sweat. I think the biggest risk I took was quitting my day job.

A few years ago I was working 3 jobs. One was well paid as an IT at a large insurance firm, the other two were side jobs. I would manage a tattoo shop after work 5 days a week, while also juggling my freelance artwork commissions.

Although the insurance job paid well (plus benefits), I knew this wasn’t my calling. I believe strongly in chasing your dreams and doing what your heart desires. It must’ve been in August, I went to lunch, tired and depressed with work. Knowing I had a ton of potential, but no time to let it blossom. I was sitting in the parking lot of a nearby Wendy’s as I was typing my resignation email. My hands were kind of shaking and sweaty. I sat there for about thirty minutes reading it over and over making sure I truly meant every word in that email.

Finally, I sent it. At that moment I had felt free. It felt like a weird balancing act between fear and freedom. Knowing that I had all the time in the world to focus on my artwork was great, but on the other hand all my benefits were gone, my steady income, gone. Moments later I found myself at the nearest art supply store buying supplies for my next project. Looking back now, I know I made the right decision.

I find myself now as an established full-time artist. I became what I had always wanted to be as a child. And this is not to say that life is perfect, being an artist is difficult. I had to make a lot of aggressive changes to my lifestyle. Not to mention all the wonderful people in my life that were there to support me, including my close friends and family. It was a steep climb, taking losses every day can really weather you down. But as they say in Jurassic Park, “life finds a way” and I found a way to make it work.

Bryan, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Some people may think of me as a visual artist. Others only know me for my music. My goal is to deliver an entire experience.

All my life I’ve been an artist and a musician. It’s a passionate obsession of mine to tie both worlds together.

When I was in high school, I would start metal bands with my friends. And one thing about bands is that, in order to practice, 5 different people have to coordinate their times together. Most of the time this wouldn’t work, so I found myself taking advantage of the time on my hands. When my bandmates weren’t around I would make us logos, websites, graphics and all types of content.

After a few years of that I noticed that I had a skill for creating artwork and content, so I started offering my graphics to the local promoters. Sometimes I would exchange a free flyer for a chance to jump on the lineup. Rarely ever would I actually get paid, even when they promised I would.

When I was old enough for college the obvious major for me to take was graphic design. But after so many years of designing on my own, college felt like a waste of time and money. Eventually I dropped out and pursued my clients on my own. While my peers were stuck in design school, I was busy sending invoices to clients and working full time at a web design studio.

In 2012 I discovered the booming new industry of electronic music. Again I took matter into my own hands and began selling artwork to the local promoters while also attempting to make my own music.

My goal was to find a balance between art and music. Not just making it for others, but making it for myself in order to inspire others. I made it my mission to express myself using the mediums that mean the most to me.

Alright – so here’s a fun one. What do you think about NFTs?

This is a touchy subject because I know the greater population isn’t ready for NFTs. The way I see it, is that NFTs are simply a new and misunderstood technology. Much like the birth of the internet, it was misunderstood at first, and now everything runs on the internet.

From a fan’s perspective, NFTs are great way to support your favorite artist. Personally I enjoy releasing NFTs as a way to commemorate my music releases. I treat them as art collectibles.

The hardest part about adapting to NFTs is having to teach others. Much like any new technology people react to it with skepticism. It’s a challenge to get people on board. You have to know a certain amount about computers in order to adopt the idea. Gas prices or transaction fees, are also very expensive on certain blockchains such as Ethereum.

But I don’t let difficulties like that get in the way. Luckily there’s a blockchain for artists called Solana that works at very affordable gas prices. As of now, that’s what I use to mint my NFTs.

: Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

There’s a huge vision driving my creative journey.

Part of having a goal or mission is the ability to envision it with precise details.

My goal is to travel from state to state on tour and perform on stage, playing my own music with my own visuals perfectly synchronized. The goal is to deliver an entire experience. I want people to walk away from that experience with their minds absolutely blown. An experience that they’ll never forget.

Contact Info:

• Website: blxkmntn.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blxkmntn/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BLXKMNTN/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/blxkmntn
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQ4S0bSOUiWC_ID6ygOubEQ
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2Hop8XZ4bSF0HeVjxXfYMW?si=ZeRX9_h-RHi1CZ7t_2qWQQ

Image Credits
Photography by: Maddux Mehal and Caleb Brown