Meet Baxter Suber

 

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

Hi Baxter, so excited to talk about all sorts of important topics with you today. The first one we want to jump into is about being the only one in the room – for some that’s being the only person of color or the only non-native English speaker or the only non-MBA, etc Can you talk to us about how you have managed to be successful even when you were the only one in the room that looked like you?

I have learned to be true to myself, be as authentic as possible and to not to try to be something that I’m not. Let’s be honest I’m a tall minority man covered in tattoos from my neck to my fingers and to top it off I’m a graffiti artist. I have learned in life that we often get judged by how we appear on the outside and have to rely on being articulate, professional and have to be able to carry a conversation to break the ice. So, I have learned to adapt and have learned how to carry myself in order to overpower the stereotypes that occur in todays society. I’m one of those people that are often quiet, but when I do speak on something it’s often from the heart, backed with emotion, facts, and personal experiences that most others don’t have.

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

I am a graffiti artist at heart and have been for most of my life going back to when I was a teen growing up in the early/ mid 90’s. The thrill of being a graffiti artist is that no matter how many times I paint letters or characters is that it is new to me every time. There are so many ways to create, so many techniques and so many different tools, caps, and brands of paint to use. Most of all the most exciting feeling is being free, free to create how I want to create using a can of paint. I like whatever art I create to make you look, stop and stare, making you forget about everything else at that moment.

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?

Three qualities that have been impactful to me along the way would be dedication, resilience, and determination. Without developing those skills I would not have lasted as a graffiti artist this long, as it’s a forever changing culture. Advice I have for anyone that is in the early stages would be to stay true to who you are and what you want to do with your career. Folks often think that artist can paint anything, failing to realize that each artist has a strong point within their set of skills. For example you wouldn’t hire a graffiti artist to weld a sculpture would you? Learn that every opportunity is not for you to have, sometimes we get so overly ambitious that we go for jobs that don’t fit our style of work and that causes frustration, which ends up with us disliking the entire project as a whole, which then results in a poorly painted piece more often than not. Last but not least, not only do you have to learn how to budget properly, but you also have to be able to know how much supplies you will need without having to reorder more, and you also have to spend time educating the customer thoroughly before you get to work on the actual project. There is way more business than there is art, so make sure you learn the business side of things and be patient throughout the process.

Okay, so before we go, is there anyone you’d like to shoutout for the role they’ve played in helping you develop the essential skills or overcome challenges along the way?

In 2018 I met two artists in different places, I first met artist Ray Albarez through social media as he reached out when he was visiting my hometown and wanted to paint. Second I met Brady Scott during the Horizontes Project also in my hometown. Little did I know that both of these gentleman would become so influential to me that my artistic creativity would explode. They have both provided me with so much life, paint, business, and market knowledge to this day and have helped me to become the artist that I am today. Over the years we have become more like family and we all lookout for each other when it comes to opportunities. I couldn’t ask for a better set of artistic/life friends and wouldn’t trade them for anyone else.

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