We were lucky to catch up with Dez recently and have shared our conversation below.
Dez, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s jump to the end – what do you want to be remembered for?
I want to be known and remembered as a woman and artist who dared to create a style of art that had never been done or seen before in such a way that no only shocked a culture but inspired it. I want to be remembered as someone who utilized her platform to give back to her community assisting those in need in addition to uplifting and inspiring the youth through the arts.
Dez, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I’m Dez, the Owner and Artist of FlyKickz, I specialize in creating one of a kind art out of sneakers. I started FlyKickz in 2009 while living in New York, when I began this journey, I was learning the fundamentals of sneaker customizing. Since my early years of going sneaker shopping with my father, I have always been inspired by sneakers. As I got older, merging my love for sneakers with my love for art seemed like the next logical step. As a sneaker customizer I had the opportunity to display my work in some of the biggest venues throughout the Tri-state area and meet some amazing people. It wasn’t until late 2016 that I decided to transition from customizing sneakers to creating a style of art that I had not seen done before. This new form of art opened up so many new opportunities for me, not only have I been able to generate a reasonable amount of sales, bringing clients ideas to life on canvas but I have been featured in newspapers, exhibited my work at many venues and featured on TV. I have also been able to utilize my platform to give back to those in need providing numerous lunches, hygiene products and necessities to those within the community, host free workshops for the youth, provide art supplies to young artists, and become an active volunteer assisting with numerous community cleanups. I have done many things that I am proud of, but if I had to choose a moment in my journey that sticks out to me the most, I would have to say having the ability to thrive in the midst of a Pandemic. During the Covid-19 Pandemic I became an active volunteer with Meals on Wheels delivering over 1,000 meals, I learned to better connect and engage with my audience and those that support me, I gained a greater sense of hardwork, dedication, patience, consistency and discipline. More importantly, I learned it’s not about how many sales you make but rather how many people you touch and inspire along the way. There’s so much more ground to cover but my goal is to continue using my love for art and sneakers to create more opportunities that will not only benefit FlyKickz but uplift the next generation of young artists, creatives and entrepreneurs.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
Authenticity has helped me to create the artist I aspire to be. I believe individuality will always separate the best from the rest. When I learned to perfect the way I did things from craftsmanship in my artistry, presentation, customer service and how I conduct business overall while remaining true to my core values, I was able to leave a long-lasting positive impression on current and potential clients. I have always wanted to create fun, fresh, bold and innovative ideas with my style of art and I believe my ability to plan and execute these ideas all while engaging with my audience in a way that makes them feel like they’ve have been a part of the process and watched the seed grow has help to illustrate my hard work and dedication. I believe having the ability to engage on a genuine level is what has helped open up more opportunities for me and helped build a positive reputation within my market.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
Sometimes it can be hard to learn something new, to venture into a space that feels uncomfortable, to take a chance on yourself even when you don’t know how you’ll get from point A to point B; that’s how I felt when I started FlyKickz Carebags in Summer 2018. FlyKickz Carebags started as just an idea to collect and distribute hygiene products and necessities to those in need, I was so passionate about this idea, but I didn’t have the funds or resources to finance this idea. The most difficult challenge that I faced was asking for help, at the time I believed that asking for help would appear as if I was unable to make things happen on my own. I soon realized that there’s more than one way to accomplish a goal and sometimes we have to adjust to the circumstances and adapt to a difficult situation. I wasn’t where I wanted to be financially to finance this project but rather than let that discourage me, I realized I had a bigger calling and I refused to let my pride hold me back. I decided to turn to my social media platform and ask for help. Five years later and we have raised over $5,000 and collected thousands of items to give back to the community. In this journey I learned, alone I can do many things but with the support of my village we can have a bigger impact.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.IamFlyKickz.com
- Instagram: @FlyKickz