Meet Anthony Vidal | Movement Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Anthony Vidal and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Anthony, what role has risk played in your life or career?
Risk is an assured passenger along the road to all of life’s great adventures. In our collective excursions, it often has shown up at the edge of curiosity resting upon the strength of our convictions, sharply delineating the line between “what if” and “what is”.

We are often told about risk and reward as polar ends of a dichotomy, especially along the way of entrepreneurial pursuits, but the truth of the matter seems to be found in the plurality of relativity.

Risk does not happen in a vacuum, and to truly consider the weight of a decision, it must be compared to what is known to be true, valued, or sacred in the eye of the beholder.

The distance between where you started, where you want to be, and where you ended up will all require a stratification of risk tolerance to initiate a change.

When considering the environments we originated from as inner-city youths, and the certainty of the outcomes promoted to us as options, going against the grain and radically redefining our course towards the uncertain and uncharted territory may have seemed like a risk to some, but there is a unique power to be found in starting from positions most would fear to fall to.

Once we realized we’ve lived through the fear that keeps most people stagnant, the power of our transcendence began.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I believe art can be found in the way that we look at the world. What do you notice, what does that make you feel, and why are all important parts of developing a better understanding of self.

Once attained, the perspective you choose to paint the world in becomes your art, and the thing that makes it uniquely yours is the embrace of the fact that you are the only one living this life.

As such, my perspective is deeply rooted in the exercise sciences, and the desire to make the health of mind, body, and spirit inalienable rights that are accessible to all.

I arrived at this purpose after years of losing too many people too soon to the ills that plague my community. Feeling called to be a catalyst of change for people who need it the most,

I felt compelled to build a creative collective of wellness professionals and found multiple ways to harness our talents towards addressing the change we needed to see happen in our lifetime. Nothing that was worth doing has ever come easy for us, and I’ve learned to love that part of the process.

Any challenge that we faced we overcame, and still overcome because we know our cause is greater than any of our individual efforts, and the most impactful lessons have come from learning different ways to find the humanity in us all.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
As an adamant Brooklyn ambassador, I would implore anyone visiting to stroll along the beauty that is found on South Portland and Fulton street in Fort Green, head over to Thompkins Ave in Bed-Stuy during any given warm weekend for a taste of the local flavor, and finish of the day watching the sunset waterside in Brooklyn bridge park.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
First and foremost, I have to shout out my brother Kyle Jones for being a tremendous artist in his own right. We craft from a similar lens, but his distinction can be found in the unabashed expressions of what brings him joy, and that is the light that he shares with the world anytime he invests himself in a venture.

Website: https://www.offthestrength.com/

Instagram: Offthestrength_

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OFFTHESTRENGTH/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCekmgFze0U9jjhzZGQAD1yw

Image Credits
Jason Colon for all of the do the right thing inspired shots Anthony Cunanan for black and white photo