We were lucky to catch up with Shawn Coss recently and have shared our conversation below.

Shawn, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Are you able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen?

It’s taken about 10 years but over the last 4 years my brand and art have been able to support me full time.

My clothing brand, Any Means Necessary, started in my best friend’s basement while he was still climbing ladders for a cable provider and I was in the midst of nursing school. At first the brand was a pure hobby. Just putting my art on shirts but had no real direction. Around 2014 we did a run of 50 shirts of my Feeding on the weak and poor design and sold them at an art show I was a part of. Within the first hour we sold out, I got paid back the $200 I put in the front the run, and since then we’ve never had to put money back into the company.

A major step for us was in 2016 when I released a series of art based on mental health that kind of sky rocketed me to a viral level among online news outlets and magazines. We used that viral moment to release a booklet on all 32 pieces of art and we realized then we were on to something. We realized we had become the voice for mental health in a dark art sense and have since championed for those who feel they have no voice.

Around 2018 we decided to make a big boy move and got our first 400 sq foot office space. Little did we know, that within 3 years we’d be busting at the seams, having fire marshals called on us for packing hallways and fire exits with clothing. At that point we had started to figure out how to run a business, and create proper releases for art and clothing. At the same time, we got our first wholesale account with Zumiez, which created a need for even more space. We then moved into a 3000 sq ft space in downtown Akron that has become our base of operations for the last few years until this year where we have once again busted at the seams. We have recently just expanded into an additional 5200 sq ft space.

Looking back, having some type of business knowledge probably could have sped up our scaling much quicker.

Shawn, 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?

My name is Shawn Coss, and as far as I can remember I’ve always created art. It wasn’t until 2009 when I started working with Cyanide and Happiness did I realize you can make a career out of art. I’ve always been one to be in the limelight and crave that attention, whether it was in plays or in bands, I always was the front in center. With that drive, I think that’s why I’ve become so successful in the art and fashion world. I refuse to let anyone outwork me, and feel the constant need to prove people wrong that you can be a successful artist without compromising your art’s integrity.

We’d love to hear your thoughts on NFTs. (Note: this is for education/entertainment purposes only, readers should not construe this as advice)

It’s a hot topic but I love crypto and I enjoy nfts. I think like always, there are bad actors who get in and ruin it for everyone but the idea of artist’s making real livings of digital collectables is something that won’t go away.

I think people need to turn off the news and forget their political allegiance and do the research yourself on how nfts will be beneficial to the art world in the near future.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

Stop treating artists’ and creative’s jobs like hobbies and devaluing our work. We don’t shit on surgeon’s prices because it’s an acceptable profession by the masses, but for some reason when an artist charges a price for hours /days/weeks of work it’s somehow not worth it. As a society we can do better

Contact Info:

• Website: www.anymeansnecessary.com
• Instagram: @shawncoss
• Facebook: @shawncossartist
• Linkedin: @shawncoss
• Twitter: @shawncoss