Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Bryan Sisk. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Bryan, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

The most meaningful project I’ve ever worked on is something I never planned — it came from a place of loss and turned into something that gave me purpose again.

A few years ago, I lost my older brother to suicide. It was the most painful experience of my life. Around the same time, the restaurant I had worked at for over two decades — my second home — closed its doors. I suddenly found myself without the two things that had grounded me: my work and my brother.

In that space of grief, I started making art again — but this time, I used what I knew best: sushi. I’ve been a sushi chef for over 25 years, and I began using ingredients like tuna, octopus, and eel sauce to recreate the faces of people who inspire me — Salvador Dali, Beyoncé, and many more. I didn’t do it for recognition. It was my therapy. It gave me something to wake up for.

That’s how Maki Master was born — an unexpected blend of culinary craft and artistic expression. I started filming short videos of my process and posting them online. To my surprise, people connected with it. I think they saw the heart behind it — the detail, the tribute, and the healing.

This project means everything to me. It pulled me out of one of the darkest times in my life and reminded me that art has the power to not only express what words can’t, but to keep going when everything else feels like it’s standing still.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My name is Bryan Sisk, and I’m a sushi chef and visual artist from Pawcatuck, Connecticut. I’ve spent over 25 years behind the sushi counter, perfecting my craft — but my journey as an artist started long before that. I come from a family of creatives. My mother is a painter, my grandmother worked in oils, and I’ve always been drawn to expressing myself through art. I’m self-taught, a lefty, and someone who believes that creativity is just as important as skill.

Over time, sushi became my medium. Not just something to eat, but something to create with.

Today, I create hyper-detailed, one-of-a-kind portraits made entirely from sushi ingredients — rice, tuna, salmon, octopus, eel sauce, purple yam, and more. Every piece is handcrafted with precision, from the shape of a cheekbone to the gleam in someone’s eye. I call this project Maki Master — and it’s become my life’s work.

What sets Maki Master apart isn’t just the medium. It’s the story behind it. I started creating these portraits after losing my older brother to suicide. That time in my life was incredibly dark. I had lost someone I loved and, shortly after, the restaurant I’d worked at for decades closed. I needed something to help me cope — to ground me.

Creating art from sushi became my way back to myself. It was therapy. It was healing. And slowly, it became something much more — something I wanted to share with others.

I’m incredibly grateful for the support of my family throughout this journey. My wife and kids have stood by me through the highs and lows, encouraging me to keep creating, even when things felt uncertain. Their love and belief in me have been the steady foundation beneath this entire project. They are my biggest inspiration, and the reason I continue to pour my heart into every piece I make.

Through short-form videos, I now show my process and my story. My hope is that people not only see the detail and originality in the work, but also the heart. I want my art to inspire — whether that’s encouraging someone to explore their creativity, to see food in a new way, or to find healing through self-expression.

What I’m most proud of isn’t just the art itself, but what it represents. Maki Master is about transformation — turning raw materials and raw emotions into something beautiful. Every piece I make tells a story, and I’m honored that people connect with it.

For anyone discovering my work for the first time, I’d want them to know this: I put everything I have into what I do. Whether it’s a custom commission or a video tutorial, it comes from a place of deep intention, care, and authenticity.

This isn’t just food. This is art. This is life. This is me.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

One of the most defining moments in my life — and in my journey as an artist — came from a place of heartbreak.

I lost my older brother to suicide. It was sudden, devastating, and it left a hole in me that I didn’t know how to fill. Around that same time, the restaurant where I had worked as a sushi chef for over 25 years closed down. It was more than just a job — it was my creative space, my daily rhythm, and my extended family.

For a while, I felt like I had lost everything familiar. But instead of shutting down, I turned to something I had always carried with me: my creativity. I began to use sushi not just as food, but as art — crafting detailed portraits using ingredients I had worked with my whole life.

At first, it was simply a way to stay grounded — a form of therapy. But piece by piece, roll by roll, it became more than that. It became Maki Master.

I could have stepped away from my craft. I could have walked away from art entirely. But instead, I leaned into it — into the discipline, the emotion, the expression. That’s what resilience has looked like for me: taking pain and turning it into purpose. And every portrait I create is a quiet reminder that even in loss, we can still create something meaningful.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

For me, the most rewarding part of being an artist is the connection — the way something I create with my hands can resonate so deeply with someone else.

When people see my sushi portraits, they’re often surprised at first. It’s not something you expect — faces made of tuna, rice, eel sauce — but once they take a closer look, they start to feel something. Whether it’s nostalgia, inspiration, curiosity, or even healing, I love that what I make can spark emotion in others.

What means the most, though, are the moments when someone tells me that my work helped them — even in a small way. Maybe it gave them a sense of wonder, or reminded them that creativity has no limits. Maybe it made them feel something they didn’t expect to feel through food. That’s what drives me.

I don’t create for fame or praise. I create because it’s who I am — and because I believe that even something as simple as a piece of sushi can become a vehicle for storytelling, emotion, and transformation.

The reward isn’t just in the finished piece. It’s in the process, the purpose, and the people it touches along the way.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://themakimaster.com/
• Instagram: @themakimaster
• Facebook: @themakimaster
• Twitter: @themakimaster_
• Youtube: @Maki_Master
• Other: Tik Tok: @themakimaster