We were lucky to catch up with Tarik Mckenzie recently and have shared our conversation below.
Tarik, thank you so much for taking the time to share your lessons learned with us and we’re sure your wisdom will help many. So, one question that comes up often and that we’re hoping you can shed some light on is keeping creativity alive over long stretches – how do you keep your creativity alive?
Great question. My creativity comes from a variety of things. The other creative/entrepreneurs I follow on instagram, anime, but mainly my childhood. There’s a famous quote: The creative adult is the child who survived after the world tried knocking them down, forcing them to grow up…
I used to watch cartoons every Saturday. Now I watch anime daily.. When I’m not watching anime. I’m scrolling on Instagram or watching fashion shows/vlogs on YouTube.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
My name is Tarik McKenzie. I was born and raised in the Bronx, NY to Jamaican parents. Growing up I was always into art. I grew up watching anime/cartoons. One day at a young age, I got introduced to dragon ball Z. I fell in love with the art style and it inspired me to start drawing. At that point, told my mom I wanted to become an artist. It went from me drawing as a kid, then going to art school. I graduated Millennium Art Academy in 2011. That set the tone for where I’m at now.
I was always interested in fashion, but after graduating high school my interest in fashion grew more. So in 2017, i decided to combine my love of art and fashion into one. That’s how my brand, 7Star Graphix (7Star for short) was born. Since then I’ve been featured in one other magazine, did my first fashion show in 2023 & created a few collections. I’m actually working on something for the fall/winter season. Which is also my 5th collection..
This collection was inspired by the belief that a person can get one percent better daily. Not just physically but also mentally and spiritually. My faith in God helped me create this collection.
Want know more. Just follow my brand on instagram at 7stargraphix and be sure to checkout my website: 7stargraphix.com
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
The qualities/skills I can I that helped me along my journey was being self-motivated, persistent & goal oriented. Those are the top things I believe anyone should have in order to be successful..
If I had to add another one. I’d say, student mentality. You can be very knowledgeable but learning new things from anyone is just as important as the others. Being a student, taking advice from others can and will help you in your journey to success.
Alright so to wrap up, who deserves credit for helping you overcome challenges or build some of the essential skills you’ve needed?
So far, it has been my friends, family, girlfriend and my daughter. They have helped me become better daily. Spending time with each one, I have developed/improved on many aspects of my life taking different qualities from each person & also learning from them.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://7stargraphix.com/
- Instagram: 7stargraphix
- Other: You can also checkout my personal instagram: callme_hero
Image Credits
Person photo & the 5th photo (group photo) was taken by my friend, Christian Soto (IG: iconic_v1sual)
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
