Meet Chris Rockwell

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Chris Rockwell. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Chris , we’re so excited for our community to get to know you and learn from your journey and the wisdom you’ve acquired over time. Let’s kick things off with a discussion on self-confidence and self-esteem. How did you develop yours?

Oh boy, right out the gate with this one. I mean, when I was a kid, I was skinny and scrawny, plus my family didn’t have much money. So I was wearing terrible clothes sometimes, lots of secondhand thrift store gear before everyone was into that stuff. So I got picked on constantly. I begged for new clothes, and so my family finally was able to pull a little bit more together to buy me some better threads, more name bands, things like that. But I still got made fun of. Everyone said I bought knockoff because my family was poor. So since I couldn’t win either way, I just started getting what I liked, and stopped caring what other people said. It’s funny because I learned that lesson again as an adult making music. I put together an album like six years ago with trappy synthy sounds, auto tune, really trendy, to try and ride the wave and get more fans and fame, plus hoping to make more money. I ended up getting the worst review on any album I’ve ever released. So now I am committed to just doing me, making the art I wanna make. To hell with everything else.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

My personality didn’t really develop. It was kinda downloaded at birth. I’ve always been this way, drawing, writing, creating. I was directing movies on the home camcorder when I was 13 years old. Now I direct my music videos. I’m writing and producing my own music. I co-own and operate an art and poetry publication Soup Can Magazine and put a piece of my own art in every single issue. My partner Amanda and I organize pop-up events throughout New Jersey featuring live music, art, and poetry performances. We’re even organizing a massive food drive on June 23rd in Atlantic City called Candemonium.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

I work well in team settings, probably because I played team sports all through my childhood. I kept that going throughout my life, and now I have a team around me of my absolute best friends. We all work together, collaborate, inspire each other, and push each other. No single person can ever be successful alone. Anyone who says they did it all by themselves isn’t giving their team the flowers they deserve. A tight crew that you can trust is worth more than anything. Not only will it bring ideas to the table that you wouldn’t have had yourself, but it’ll humble you. It helps you keep perspective and remember the truly important things in life, which are never money.

Before we go, any advice you can share with people who are feeling overwhelmed?

It happens a lot. I try to take a quick inventory in those moments, and do a short mental list of what I’m presently grateful for in the midst of that chaos. It’s usually when I have a lot of work on my plate that I have to pause and be thankful that a lot of people even want to work with me, and if they want me for my services or talents they’ll usually be more patient, because they don’t want to settle any more than I do. Also, if I take a look and there aren’t that many people involved and I’m still overwhelmed, it just means that I’m putting the pressure on myself. And that is one thing I have a lot more control over. So that helps, because I know the changes are up to me.

Contact Info:

Image Credits

HoneyBri Photo
Amanda Stewart
Conni Freestone

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