We asked some of the most creative folks we know to open up to us about why they chose a creative career path. Check out their responses below.

Joshua Montgomery | Joshua Montgomery | Executive by day, Artist by night

Since my youth, art has been my fiery passion, earning me recognition and awards in school and my local community. Despite graduating in 2007 with degrees in Graphic Arts and Marketing Communication, the harsh reality of the Great Recession made finding employment challenging. Undeterred, I entered the corporate world, eventually becoming a respected executive while also starting a family. Read more>>

Cristina Reyna | Digital Creator

Creating video content started out as a fun creative outlet for myself. I’ve always been the person recording every moment to reflect on later. Having memories is what fills my soul with happiness. Whether I’m exploring on vacation or trying new food, I’m going to record and document it. It’s my passion to create something to look back on and appreciate the moment all over again. Read more>>

Victoria Lopez | Tattoo Artist | Painter | Photographer

I would say being artistic runs in the family. I have siblings that play in bands, cousins that are very crafty in crocheting, drawing, painting, and my dad used to play instruments when he was younger as well was an avid painter. In elementary school, I joined my school’s art club. There, we were introduced into different medias, sculpting, drawing with charcoals, oil pastels, different forms of painting. Read more>>

duzsyn. | Artist

Things kind of just fell in my lap. My mom has a strong background in the arts, but in music and theater specifically. With that said, I would say I discovered my singing ability at about 11, maybe a little younger, mimicking artists like Michael Jackson and Chris Brown. I remember having to take choir in 6th grade and winning “best male singer” for my class. Read more>>

Chris O’Neill and Paul Valenti Chris and Paul Show | The comedy Duo Chris and Paul Show.

We were both big into playing sports. By high school, we both gravitated to our local community theatre where we met and got hooked on performing We were motivated by the passion for humor and performing. The skills we learned and adapted now in writing, acting, and physical comedy to produce entertaining and original content. 20 plus years later, we are still having fun and making each other laugh. That keeps us going. Read more>>

Shun Johnson | Designer

My journey into the bling world began in 2012 where I started out making t-shirts once; I’ve done it for a while I wanted to know and learn more. I went on with life and forgot all about the t-shirt business until the summer of 2014 when life hit and hit hard. I found out I had stage 4 Ovarian Cancer while I was undergoing Chemotherapy. A fellow friend that was also going through chemo one day was there making some shoes. Read more>>