We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jarod Reyes a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Jarod thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

At my previous job (Cheba Hut “Toasted” Subs) I was in charge of building the brands visual identity and had a big role in the in-shop experience. All of the cool counter culture themed wall posters, the merchandise, murals and other printed collateral my team was responsible for. We had always saw ourselves as a partner of the designer industry and loved to celebrate different art styles and interpretations of our brand while still keeping our counter culture roots intact. This led to me collaborating with tons of artists from all over the world, muralists, illustrators, badass graphic designers-even working with some huge names like AtomicChild, Mike Fudge, Burrito Breath and the Lincoln Design crew. These guys all loved working with the brand and I had formed great relationships with pretty much all of them. One thing I had noticed after working with so many of these designers was that they loved to to design, but didnt really love the other side of the business-the marketing, self promotion and contractual aspects of industry. They just want to create. I had asked one of the muralists one day what their interest would be in joining a team where they still had full autonomy of their current client list and even organic clients that come to them, that I would just be another resource for leads. I would build a website, promote their work and bring them new jobs. He told me that was exactly the type of partnership he was looking for. This type of business model was a bit different than other artist management agencies where some dont allow artists to do any work without the managements involvement and they have to share the clients they already have. This was where I felt Nine Lives could stand out and feel different. In all honesty what gave me the courage to take the leap was being laid off from my job after being with them for 14 years. I had called up some of the designers I knew and gauged their interest on my idea and they were all about it. So I figured with nothing left to lose why not give it a shot. I built a website and the rest was history.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I got into design at a young age, mostly influenced by graffiti and street art. My older cousin was really good at blockbuster lettering, and when he lived with us for a bit, we had opposite schedules. Before he’d head out, he’d leave behind a piece for me to check out. I’d draw one in return, and he’d leave notes critiquing it. That back-and-forth was my first real design education.

In high school, I’d head to The Root in Boulder to grab the latest issue of Day in the Life. I’d cut out my favorite pieces and slide them into the front of my binder like a personal gallery. I never really got into painting big walls myself—just dabbled here and there for school projects.

When it came time for college, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. I figured, hell, I like art—why not give it a shot? So I started studying visual communications. A few years in, I ended up switching majors and graduated in hospitality and tourism—my other passion was snowboarding, and I thought I might work on a mountain or a cruise ship. Still might be my retirement plan to be honest lol.

Eventually, I landed a corporate role at Cheba Hut, moved into marketing, and that’s where everything clicked. It reignited my love for design and a couple of years in I took a trip with a good buddy of mine, Colby Clites, to Creative South and it was so inspiring it is honestly is what helped spark the creation of Nine Lives Creative.

Nine Lives Creative is a design solutions agency offering graphic design, illustration, full-package branding, and murals. Really—if you can dream it, we can deliver.

We work with a wide range of artists, each bringing unique skills to the table. From menu design and full-scale murals to product packaging and concert posters, our crew has done it all. Our artists have worked with heavy hitters like Liquid Death, Kid Robot, Meta, Umphrey’s McGee, and a ton of other brands across the globe.

Sure, we sell a few merch items on the site—but that’s not really our focus.

What we’re leaning into is murals. As a company, we’re shifting toward mural work because there just aren’t enough accessible, full-service resources out there for business owners. We see a gap in the market—and we’re here to fill it.

We’re not just talking paint on walls. We’re talking full-service mural execution:
Creative ideation, wall prep, travel logistics, material sourcing, and everything in between.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

When I started Nine Lives, I also went back to school to earn my MBA in Marketing. The timing couldn’t have been better—I was building a website while learning digital marketing in real time.

That course taught me a ton about building an effective site that actually generates leads. I dove deep into SEO, keyword strategy, and the inner workings of Google. All of that played a big role in driving early traffic, and now we’re starting to see more and more inquiries roll in.

I’m also running paid search ads with the help of a buddy who does it professionally, and that’s been bringing in solid traffic too. Honestly, it all comes down to consistency. You’ve got to keep testing, optimizing, and refining your site.

Most of my visitors are on mobile, so I put a lot of effort into making the mobile experience smooth and fast. I’m constantly tweaking the landing page and checking performance to make sure things are moving in the right direction.

Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.

Kind of, yeah. My wife sent me a reel on Instagram showing someone making custom products at home, selling them on Etsy, and talking about how easy it was. I thought, hell, I can totally do that.

The Super Bowl came around, so I made some bingo cards and threw them up online—ended up selling over $1,000 worth. That was the moment I thought, wait… it really can be that simple? Just believing in an idea and going for it.

Once I got a taste of entrepreneurship, I was hooked. I couldn’t stop thinking about new ways to make money. I sold stickers during the election, tried to jump on trending moments, and focused on what people were searching for in real time.

That gave me the confidence to finally put a website out there and see if anyone would be interested in design services. Turns out—yeah, they were.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.9livesagencies.com/

Image Credits

Victor Vasquez
Bekah Badilla
Candy Kuo
Danny Evans
Courtney Lewis