We recently connected with Reggie Baker and have shared our conversation below.

Reggie, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.

One of the biggest risks I’ve taken was moving away from my family in Florida, all the way to Los Angeles. I didn’t really know anyone there but I knew that’s where I wanted to be. As an artist and, at that time, a dancer; I felt that anyone that was driven by creativity should go to LA. It turned out great! Of course there were ups and downs but I stayed strong and kept working. I ended up getting signed with a talent agency and became a professional hip hop dancer. I got to work on sets of music videos, tv shows, commercials, I even booked a tour with an artist. I did this for about 3 years before I decided to go to animation school. I finished with a bachelors of science in media art and animation. I’ve done some animation work for a couple of studios and I’ve also done animated shorts for YouTubers. After that I decided to take the freelance route. Most of my clients are musicians of some sort and they hire me to create their cover art for new songs and albums. These days I’m focused on creating my own animated series, starting off with a digital comic. It’s still in the beginning phases but I’ll be posting more about it on my social medias.

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 a person that loves to be happy. Happy with myself and happy for others. Art does that for me. Whether it be in the form of dancing or animation. It makes my family happy and it makes my clients happy. My family always supported my artwork. They supported my dance career as well but they really wanted me to go forward with art. My clients would sort of give me an idea they had for their cover art but would let me have more creative control because they trusted me. Knowing my clients on a personal level and as a musician, I was able to create things for them that would go along with there niche. I got into dancing from movies like You Got Served and Stomp the Yard! But I’ve been drawing ever since I was in kindergarten. I knew that dancing wasn’t going to be something I’d do in the long run. I also knew I’d be able to draw even into my elderly years. So I decided to enhance my natural, artistic abilities by learning how to animate. Before going to school I only drew sketches on paper. By the time I graduated I was able to draw characters and bring them to life through animation. I also learned how to design digital art and put them on products like t-shirts, coffee mugs, beanies, stickers, etc.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

I didn’t create art for many years. I felt like since it came easy to me that I would just get into when I was ready. That’s exactly what I did. After high school I didn’t pursue art at all! Even though in high school I was known as the artist, I even won a trip to Philadelphia for coming in first at an art contest. Once I graduated though, I was just wasting time partying and hanging out with friends. Once I was old enough to drink and go clubbing, that’s when I realized I loved to dance! I became obsessed with it to the point where I wanted to do it for a living. So that’s when I moved to LA, signed with a talent agency and started auditioning for things. After a few years of working in the industry I started to fall out of love with it. Something inside me felt like I wasn’t having fun with it anymore and everything was more of a big popularity contest. That’s when art was calling me again, I took it for granted for many years. I had to make a pivot and pursue my drawing while I still had the chance.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

There have been many times where I felt like quitting. I felt insecure about myself and thought that I was wasting my life. I even went through a bad breakup and became depressed. I wasn’t near my family and people who I thought were my friends only were my friends when it’s convenient for them. I had to isolate myself for a long time, a few years actually. I hit rock bottom and that’s when I realized I need to make a change, so I started meditating. Started to become more grateful about life. Started reflecting on my accomplishments which reminded me that I can do whatever I want if I put my mind to it. Then I started counting my blessings. Things like family and good health. I started healing and now I feel like myself again and some! Now I keep myself busy with projects and living a healthy lifestyle.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.hierarchythreads.com
• Instagram: reggiebak3r
• Facebook: Reggie Baker
• Twitter: reggiebak3r
• Youtube: @ReggieBaker