We recently connected with Christian Prins Coen and have shared our conversation below.

Christian Prins, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. 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.

You know those movie moments where all the circumstances line up to make a life altering decisions. In that crystalline moment you almost dissociate and vibe looking down on your self. I had just graduated college and it’s so daunting to be just out in the world of no real structure or boundaries. All the grief I was running from caught up to me. The impact of the countless superficial relationships I had participated in was just inundating every moment of my life. I was living with my best friend in like the worst part of Baltimore City, waiting tables at the f*ck*ng Cheesecake Factory. Making no money. Surrounded by close minded, traumatised humans. It was miserable. Drinking and smoking to disappear, because talking philosophy, art, dreams, and spirituality was looked at as if I was pretentious.

In the midst of this depression, I sank to suicidal ideation territory. Then I met a human who was like “you like books, I like books. check out this cool thing, what do you think of this? Do you wanna ditch this this life and backpack across the states?”

I mean the choice was simple, but hard. Quiet literally runaway into the sunset and drop of the grid. Ditch all my obligations with the hope that it’s gotta be better than this. I called my mom and she said, “f*ck*ng run always choose adventure.”

I packed my bag and bailed on a life I didn’t want but was systemically forced into. I ran west working on farms, read books by firelight, digested griefs in native sweat lodges, and just said no to the default world.

It saved my life, best choice I ever made.

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.

I’m simply an actor. I said I would do a thing, so I will do it. I want to be a hero, for those who are made small and dispensable by our society. A person that uses the power of stories to give someone one more day. An unapologetic magic maker and dreamer of dreams that inspires those who feel like the sun no longer shines.

Under this framework, taking one step at a time makes me proud, because I know it’s not about me, it’s about the subtle impact.

I got here because when my brother died I made a promise not to waste my life energy on bullshit. It’s brief and beautiful, so we shouldn’t waste it fulfilling limiting societal expectations.

Best Advice: Buy the ticket, take the ride. Be as life intended and change constantly.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives an a thriving creative ecosystem?

Pay us and invest in ecosystems that validate our work as an integral and necessary part of the human experience.

It’s tiresome to come out of a pandemic where people consumed us and our work incessantly only to go back to the same framework of invalidating our work, methodologies, and value while simultaneously taking advantage of our labor.

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

No rules on how to do it. No timeline or ridiculous success metric. Only the power of creation pulsating from you. I mean I get to make the unreal believable. The fantastical grounded. I get to experience the weaving of human vitality into glamorous and heart breaking tapestries. I get to live in worlds, that my inner child would read about wishing they were real.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @beigebabyjesus
• Twitter: @beigebabyjesus

Image Credits
Jarrett Porter Valeria Aceves Coco Jourdana