Do you remember the moment you realized what you wanted to do professionally? Was it magic? Was it scary? We wanted to hear from some of the most talented artists and creatives in the community and so we asked them to tell us the story of the moment when they knew they were going to pursue a creative career path.

Benny Cosmic

Ever since the age of 5 I’ve always been singing and dancing. I used to be in church choir with my Nana (grandmother) and people would tell me I had a great voice. Then when I was about 12 or 13 I was busking in North Hollywood at City Walk where Universal Studio is and met Jason Mraz. He complimented me on my version of his song “Geek in the Pink” and told me to keep it up. Read more>>

Jonathan Fackler

I can remember having a passion to draw as early as four years old and would watch my favorite cartoon show, SpongeBob SquarePants. If I wasn’t watching the show, I was drawing all the characters. One day while drawing at the dining room table, my mom and grandmother noticed my ability to replicate the characters accurately and they were shocked by the details. Read more>>

Anya Zhang

I have always known I love art-related things. I love the stage, I love performing, and I love attention, which, in a way, is quite peculiar for an introvert. Throughout most of my life art has just been a hobby. But I guess when you like something for most of your life, and you never stop thinking about it, it might be that you really want it. When I graduated from graduate school, I knew for a fact that the major I studied was not entirely what I wanted. Read more>>

Princess Monique Filmz

I’ve always known. I will tell more on the day. Read more>>

Tricia Minty

Music has always been a life passion of mine. I started playing the piano when I was about 5-6 years old. I grew-up with language delays and was a late talker, but music was an outlet for me to express myself. Although I couldn’t read, I was able to learn how to read music very easily and it was the first time that I felt good at something. This sparked a drive in me to push myself and pursue music. Read more>>

Olivia Tee

The journey of the creative is one I think we can all relate to. In my soul, I knew I didn’t want to work a routine job, but I felt it was all I could do. It wasn’t until the end of summer that I started pursing what I really love. Being laid off at my content writing job spurred me to buy an ice cream machine, a juicer and start making pizzas from scratch for my business. My wants are simple but it took years to muster the courage to finally start. Read more>>

Arielle Carrera

At the age of 11, I had my sights set on acting. Just like every other kid during that time, I dreamed of being on the Disney Channel and doing the iconic “and you’re watching Disney Channel” intro. One day while listening to the radio, I heard about a chance to win a trip to Florida to perform in front of casting directors and agencies; and take acting classes. I turned to my mom, brimming with excitement. Read more>>

Ryan Rubin

The year was 2009, a week day, sunny and 75 some would say. I’m just joking but it was 2009. I guess you can say I was the funny friend in the group and everyone kept telling me you should do stand up. So I found a comedy club in East Brunswick, NJ called The Stress Factory and they did a weekly open mic so I signed up and did my first ever stand up set and when you get on stage and make people laugh, it than becomes a high you never wanna stop chasing. Read more>>

Ian Jackson

Attending college in Atlanta introduced me to a diverse range of classmates with many of them having unique talents/skills in the arts. I have always had a business driven mindset, but didn’t understand my own fascination with arts until I dropped out of school and was faced with a challenge presented by my mother. She asked me to formulate my passions into a business, and thus ORDINARY ODDS was born. With fashion, music, and storytelling as passions, I realized my own potential career in this industry and also how I could support others through a platform I could build. Read more>>

John G White

Was there ever a time? Writing and photography have been part of me since high school. I’ve been rather fortunate to have created both a journalist and artistic “career” from my inner passions. I’ve always been creative whether it is in cooking, working with wood or even earning my way through college playing in a rock band. I don’t know of any other way and feel fortunate the paths, if that’s what they’re called, opened for me. Read more>>

Donny Apollo

I first realized I wanted to be an artist pretty early in life. I used to watch Lenny Kravitz, Slash and Jimmy Hendrix videos a lot and saw them playing guitar and thought they were the coolest thing on the planet and I wanted to be like them so I taught myself how to play guitar. The dream faded for a while and into adulthood after working a few dead end jobs and being in college, I realized I wasn’t happy and that making music was what truly made me feel fulfilled. So I started rapping and making pop music instead of rock and metal like I used to play on guitar as a kid and here I am now, really doing this. Read more>>

THE FALLN1

Might sound cliched, but music is quite actually woven into my soul. I have been singing for as long as I came into consciousness and my brain started developing memories. I have always aspired to be a successful artist, who is true to his craft, and a master of his skills. Michael Jackson is one of my biggest inspiration since I was a child seeing him perform for thousands of people and people calling out his name and just waiting to see a glimpse of him has always motivated me to have that for myself. Read more>>

Jakari Jackson

When I was a young boy I use to watch the popular TV show Martin he was a very funny talented character that i very much looked up to because of how well he changed his characters effortlessly and from that day forward I always knew that someday I would be an amazing strong performer one day doing exactly what I love to brighten my happiness and everyone else’s Read more>>

ZIJIE ZHOU

I believe it was during my internship at the documentary department of VICE China while at university that I realized I wanted to pursue this as a career and learn more about it. Before interning at VICE China, I was always a very obedient, model student at home and school, trying to play the role of an excellent student. However, my experience at VICE exposed me to the subcultures in China and various individuals living within them. Read more>>

Ivan Blue

I always knew I had a creative side from drawing, to writing, acting, etc. Since a kid, I loves performing. So, I think its one of God gift. I always have a different look or perspective on things. See music, art in everything around. I always love to create not just art, but live art, connections or all styles. Read more>>’

Tony West

I knew I wanted to pursue music when I was five years old and I pointed to a poster and asked my uncle, “who is that girl?” He said, “that’s no girl, that’s David Bowie.” My life was never the same for me. Shortly after that I discovered punk rock, hard rock, and all kinds of music. The first record I ever bought with my own money was The Stones ‘Tattoo You.’ Read more>>

Estimated Principles

Drew (bassist, 20 years old) – ” I started playing music with my father when I was a freshman in high school. We started by just playing songs together that we both knew and enjoyed, but then I wanted to try my hand in making my own music, and my dad helped me learn how to do that. I enjoyed the process of making something new and sharing that joy I felt with my father, and seeing his face light up when we played something we created together. Read more>>

Brandi Brooks

When I was about 4 or 5 years old, I could recite every commercial that came on from start to finish. I could do it in their voice and mimic their gestures. I knew then, I wanted to be in commercials when i grew up. Of course I did not know those people were actors at the time. I did not know you had to be an actor to do commercials. I thought that was only for TV and Film. I started taking theatre classes as an elective in 6th grade. Thats when in dawned on me that unless you are a natural born talent, you must be a trained professional in the field to master it. Read more>>

Feel Jones

I first knew that I wanted to pursue a professional path as an artist at 5 years old. In kindergarten, each child in my classroom was given a blank yearbook to complete summarizing the year, and in that yearbook the last page had a question for us to answer. The question was, what do you want to be when you grow up? I wrote, “A Musician.” At five years old I knew then what my path would be. Read more>>

Anthony Wright

It was in 2007 when I started writing first book and stage play script that I knew it was time to start sharing my visions with the world. Read more>>

Tricks

I embarked on my musical journey and ventured into DJing at the tender age of 14. During a summer camp for college courses just before entering high school, I had the opportunity to connect with fellow producers of my age who also participated in the camp. Despite the fact that Jersey Club music wasn’t as widely recognized nationally at that time, I greatly admired shadowing and observing these producers. Throughout that summer, I immersed myself in learning the nuances of producing Jersey Club music, leveraging the local popularity it had gained. Read more>>

Sean Boyle

I’ve been extremely lucky to have had such selfless, supportive parents. The two of them constantly encouraged me to follow my own path, try new things and dedicate myself to whatever I chose to accomplish. Read more>>

Daniel Hirsch

I have always loved the art of storytelling. I remember being obsessed with Disneyland as a kid. Ever since I watched the Disneyland sing-along video I was hooked. I would make dark rides in my garage and pull my younger brother and his friends through on a red wagon. Read more>>

Emma Banko

I’ve been drawing ever since I was little. Every school notebook I had in middle school was filled with doodles in the corners of the pages of my friends, favorite animals, and book characters that I loved. As soon as I found out that you could actually make art for your career, I knew that was what I wanted to do. I had so many supportive people in my life that pushed me to apply to SCAD and pursue art seriously. Read more>>

Baira Chernov

I always knew that I wanted to pursue an artistic path since I was a kid. However, I took my first steps in that direction only after getting education, secure job, family. Having a kid prompted me to return into that age together with my son and explore endless possibilities life can provide you, and I was able to recall my childhood passion for creating art. Read more>>

Jiahn Chung

I began my artistic journey as a self-taught individual, without the traditional grind of art studio or classroom experiences before joining ArtCenter College of Design. The intense and rigorous culture never appealed to me, seeing it unhealthy and unsuitable for my well-being. Read more>>

Betty Bangs

I actually was not the “artist” in the family when I first started painting. I have always been creative. I began painting about 15 years ago. I was with someone who could do your portrait with in minutes… to perfection. I had been painting for a few months, so I had a handful of paintings. I set up a little art table in front of my partners work place which happen to be a tattoo shop. Read more>>

Keith Illidge

I was 10 years old. My fifth grade class put up a staged show for the school and our families. I was playing a lawyer to the weatherman. I can’t recall what the whole story was, but it was a fun kid show. I do remember how much energy and love the audience was giving us and I felt, in that moment, so powerful and magnetic. I received a lot of laughs. It made me feel so joyful that I could impact the audience in a way that I never felt I could by just being me. I was very shy then, even now to some degree. Read more>>

Narineh Sarokhanian

During my teenage years and early adulthood, I often found myself dissatisfied with the way my makeup looked, especially due to the challenges posed by problematic skin. However, a pivotal moment came when my mother encouraged me to enroll in classes with a renowned makeup artist in Los Angeles. This experience not only unveiled my passion for the beauty industry but also opened a door to a newfound appreciation for the art of makeup application. Read more>>

Kandi Hernandez

I knew I wanted to pursue doing makeup at the 2008 VMAs I was there helping in production and seen a group of female makeup artists all arrive at one time with these silver cases. I remembered thinking wow that would be so cool to do one day. I had already loved makeup and knew I really wanted to do that. There was something about the way they were all dressed in unison and in unison makeup cases. Read more>>

Nygel Simons

I’ve always known that I wanted to be a creative professionally. I knew that I wanted to be a creative within the fashion industry since high school, I just didn’t know how I was going to go about achieving it. But the way in which i’ve made my presence known (sharing my fashion archive online) is on-brand given my love for style, aesthetic and social media since those days. Read more>>

Angwara Sae-Hoon

Animation was my first childhood love but I didn’t rediscover it until I was a young adult. As a first gen student at the University of Illinois, I was aggressively exploring international relations or business fields. I felt fortunate to be there as my father was originally against a university education but got his blessing when I secured enough scholarships, grants, and part-time work to cover. For a summer, I studied crisis diplomacy and met diplomats at various intergovernmental organizations in Vienna, Austria. For a winter, I traveled and worked as a student consultant for a female entrepreneur, whose business uplifted rural women, in Bangalore, India. Read more>>

SeoYeong Hwang

I have always been kin to creativity and art since I was little. I immersed myself in reading picture books, creating things with random objects, and drawing whatever came up in my head. My interest in art started as a hobby I could look out for whenever I felt creative. However, navigating through a maze of relocations as an immigrant and international student caused an erosion of that interest. I lacked time or inner space to think about art. Read more>>

Roberto Sanchez

“Since my childhood, I have felt a strong inclination towards the arts. Drawing and exploring creativity through sculptures, crafts, and various forms always captured my interest. During my adolescence, I had the opportunity to enter an art school in Cuba. It was there that I really began my journey in visual arts. Read more>>

Maria Ferrer

I have always been into music and the arts since I was a child. My whole childhood consisted of me collecting CDs and spending countless hours listening to the radio and watching music videos. I have always loved music. I went to a performing art school in Las Vegas called the Las Vegas Academy Of Performing Arts where I studied Voice. once I graduated, I loved out to Los Angeles and have been here ever since. I focused on building my career as a vocal coach working with singers of all ages and experience levels however during the pandemic business slowed down and I realized it was time to really focus on my own creativity. Read more>>