Meet Alexa Van

We recently connected with Alexa Van and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Alexa , really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?

I didn’t so much find my purpose as I stripped away everything that wasn’t it.

For years, I tried to succeed by the world’s rules—hustling, masking, chasing the kind of success that looked good but felt hollow. I burned out. Repeatedly. Eventually, I hit a point where I couldn’t go on like that anymore.

In that space, I returned to my art. Music, writing, creating—those were the things that kept me alive, that helped me make sense of myself and the world. They were also how I connected to people who truly understood me. Through art, I could speak a truth I couldn’t put into plain words.

I stopped asking, “How do I get what I want?” and started asking, “Who am I if I don’t want anything at all?” That question changed everything. It led me back to my creativity, my sensitivity, and the deep truth that I wasn’t broken—I just wasn’t built for the systems I was trying to survive in.

Now my purpose is clear: to help other creatives, misfits, and neurodivergent visionaries use their art the way I did—as fuel, as connection, and as a way to come home to themselves.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

I’m the founder of The Bad Creatives, a coaching practice and podcast for artists, creatives, and neurospicy folks who are done trying to fit themselves into a mold that was never built for them.

Through my one-on-one sessions, I blend somatic practices, inner voice work, and creative guidance to help people reconnect with their natural rhythm, release the pressure to “do it right,” and create from a place that feels free, not forced. I’m not here to fix anyone—I’m here to reflect them back to themselves so they can trust their own way of moving through the world.

The Bad Creatives Podcast is the conversation side of that work. It’s where I explore what it really means to make art, live honestly, and reclaim your creative power in a world that often demands you censor it. I speak with other creatives, share personal insights, and dismantle the myths that keep us hustling for worthiness.

What excites me most is seeing the shift when someone realizes they don’t have to earn their right to create or be who they are. That they can drop the mask, trust their body, and still thrive. Watching that liberation happen is everything.

Right now, I’m focusing on expanding my offerings, growing the podcast, and creating more resources for people who might not be ready for ongoing coaching but still want to reclaim their creative life. The Bad Creatives is growing into a community, and I want it to be a home for anyone who’s ever felt “too much” or “not enough” but knows deep down they have something important to bring to the world.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

For me, three qualities have shaped my entire journey:

1. Willingness to be messy!
I stopped waiting until I “had it all figured out” to start. The truth is, you learn so much more by doing the thing badly than by waiting for the perfect plan. I’ve written bad songs, made awkward content, and taken creative risks that didn’t land. Every single one taught me something I couldn’t have learned otherwise. My advice: start messy, stay curious, and let the exploration lead you.

2. Treating life as an experiment.
I’ve learned to approach my art, business, and healing as an ongoing experiment instead of a fixed structure. This takes the pressure off and makes the process a lot more fun. You don’t have to know if something will “work” forever—you just have to try it and see what you like. My advice: swap “success or failure” thinking for “data-gathering” thinking.

3. Trusting my own rhythm.
The most freeing thing I’ve done is stop forcing myself into productivity systems or creative timelines that don’t fit me. I work best when I honor my cycles of energy, rest, and inspiration. My advice: pay attention to when you feel most alive in your work and let that be your compass—even if it doesn’t match the way everyone else is doing it.

The common thread here is permission. Be imperfect, try things just to see what happens, and honor what works for you. That’s where your truest work lives. Let your freak flag fly, it’s your life.

How would you describe your ideal client?

My ideal client is a creative misfit—an artist, maker, dreamer, or visionary who’s tried to follow the rules and realized it’s killing their spark. They might be neurodivergent, highly sensitive, or just deeply aware that the way the world says “success” should look doesn’t fit them at all.

They’re passionate but often overwhelmed. They have a ton of ideas but struggle to bring them fully to life because they’re caught between their truth and the pressure to perform. They’ve probably tried all the systems, strategies, and productivity hacks—and still feel like they’re running in circles or banging their head against the wall.

What makes someone ideal to work with me isn’t that they’re “ready” in some perfect way—it’s that they’re willing. Willing to show up as they are. Willing to be messy, curious, and honest. Willing to look at what’s really going on underneath the overwhelm.

My people aren’t looking for a quick fix or a formula. They want a deeper kind of freedom—the kind that lets them create from a place of truth, not pressure. And that’s exactly the work we do together.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.thebadcreatives.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebadcreatives/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Thebadcreatives

Image Credits

rene madrid