We recently connected with Tiffany Van Soest and have shared our conversation below.
Tiffany, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Have you signed with an agent or manager? Why or why not?
If I may, I’d like to share a poem I wrote relating to this topic based off of my experience with managers in the combat sports industry.
Can’t Be Managed
When your job is to fight, play, or entertain
managers are leeches
all the same.
Make their money off someone else’s name
claiming to lend a helping hand
then take advantage of a fighter’s trust and lack of business understanding.
Talk on the phone, send some emails, barely do shit
Let’s see them sweat, bleed, and get hit
before asking for a big cut of what I get
I risk damage.
“Industry standard” doesn’t exist
It’s made up
I’m sick and tired and i’m pissed
These bums
Tryin to get rich off of the shit I did
While telling me to show more skin
Until one proves me wrong
can miss me with that shit
I work way too hard to be led astray
Or for the deals to stop coming but I still have to pay
I’m done complying with “thats just the way”
Or being told “You should look like this, and here’s what you should say”
I know i’m great at what I do so I refuse to be accepted as just a spectacle
Like an animal in a zoo
Talk about me like I’m not in the room
Tired of hearing “we have these plans”
with nothing advancing
I fired a manager
Maybe i can’t be managed
Let’s Understand this:
Im human not a brand, bitch
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 am a martial artist who started out as a rambunctious little tomboy who loved Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Power Rangers. At 8 years old I asked my parents if I could start karate lessons so I could be like my favorite action heroes. It became my first passion and an anchor in my life- something I always did or always went back to no matter what even while I was playing other sports (soccer was my other biggest passion.) I never had goals or plans of being a professional fighter. I actually wanted to be a professional soccer player but my love for combat sports it, my competitive nature, and while finishing college a brave “yes” at a last minute opportunity to make some money in a professional Muay Thai fight changed the course of my life and now here I am a twelve-time World Champion and freshly retired. I will never admit to being the one to choose fighting because I am absolutely certain that fighting chose me. Now recently moved back to Encinitas from Amsterdam I continue to teach private lessons, small group classes, and seminars around the country/world. Outside of martial arts I am a visual artist selling paintings made uniquely with my punches, kicks, and footwork. I am also a published poet and all-around entrepreneur. What I most enjoy about training and working with people is helping them discover their own greatness within using Muay Thai/Kickboxing/Boxing as the vehicle and developing the body, mind, and spirit. I enjoy working with children and adults of all ages and experience levels. I am most proud of my ability to connect and communicate with my clients/students in the way that best accommodates their learning style to deliver quality instruction of the highest level.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
The most rewarding aspect of being an martial artist (and artist) is getting to know exactly what I’m made of and who I am in the trenches, when things are physically grueling, scary, risky, uncomfortable, and I have to hold it all together, remain disciplined, remain focused, and perform or else my physical and/or financial well-being could be at risk. I know I’m equipped mentally and physically to survive. As for being an artist, exploring and expressing the depths of your mind and soul and turning it into something to be experienced by the world is the most real and human thing one can do. It’s not just proof of existing, it’s proof of living this human experience.
We’d love to hear your thoughts on NFTs. (Note: this is for education/entertainment purposes only, readers should not construe this as advice)
They may make for some “oohs” and “aahhs” every so often but there’s something missing from digital art. The same way you can feel the soul of a vinyl record versus a digital rendering. NFTs are to art like credit cards are to money.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://art.tiffanytimebomb.com
- Instagram: @TiffanyTimeBomb
- Facebook: Tiffany ‘TimeBomb’ Van Soest