Interview : Sober

Following your dreams as a creative can be risky and a lot of the time when someone fails in their pursuit of a creative career, it has nothing to do with a loss of passion or even the amount of skill that individual possess. Obviously this is the real world, so sure you could be the most talented individual on the planet but if you don't know how to utilize your talent to make money, then it's pretty fucking pointless in my humble opinion. Yea Yea you can say "It's not about the money its about the art" Which is true to a certain extent, but besides that it's mostly bullshit, because if rappers and designers on the world stage weren't loaded then you wouldn't see a vast majority of people trying to follow their foot steps.

I'm sorry to be so blunt be this is a very under-addressed reality in the creative world. Now I do believe if you want to follow a career in art you do need to have a passion because art is an amazing way to express emotion and a lot of people who design and make music hold their creations close to their heart, so it shouldn't just be a money grab. There needs to be a balance.

This balance was very evident when I talked to Sober. At only 20, Sober seems to have a good entrepreneurial mindset, and the understanding that to have a career in design you need to financially be able to support yourself. He told me that he used to undersell himself and his work but later learned to truly value what he created. Growing up in NYC and currently residing in the Bronx, from my own ignorance I assumed the art scene would be incredible. Sober informed that the scene is not as good as you may think, he mostly has stuck to himself when creating..

Very focused on building his career, Sober is taking the necessary steps creatively and academically. Majoring in Multimedia arts at BMCC in New York, and looking to continue at another school later on, constant work on his craft is doing nothing but helping the young designer. Sober expressed to me that the way he grew up has really crafted the way that he sees things and helped him develop his love for design as he uses it to express his thoughts and feelings.

Being around other supportive creatives has helped Sober push himself to be a better designer. Designers like CG or Travis.Jpeg, (yea that's right its another Interview of a Designer from Locations) and even an old friend from high school who really showed Sober the possibilities when it came to designing. Motivation comes to people through different avenues. Sober is motivated by the people who thought he wouldn't be able to accomplish what he wants to through design. One of his goals is to prove wrong people that doubted his abilities.

Becoming friends with CG and Travis through twitter, they all began talking about their aspirations of building a brand. A couple months later and Sober is now a Co-Founder of the brand we now know here well at Burbs as Locations. I could tell just from talking to him that he is very very team oriented and extremely focused on building up Locations as a brand. The confidence he expressed in his team (this seems to be a theme with all the members of Locations) was very genuinely inspiring and moving. The speed he believes that they can grow at is incredible, but I don't see why they can't. They truly have a roster like the Warriors, unbeatable (Fuck the Warriors though).

I know I have talked a lot about his mindset as an entrepreneur but I think this just isn't highlighted enough when it comes to art. Ok so lets get into Sober's art the. The word I would use to describe it is authentic. The colors that he uses mesh so well together and create a whole atmosphere by themselves. I do believe this is where Sober thrives, his color pairing and choice makes the art so appealing to the eyes, I couldn't look away from my screen while scrolling through his portfolio. His art is not something you typically see and I believe this is what sets him apart from other designers. I could easily see him designing for Childish Gambino (one of Sober's designs reminds me very much of the summer pack ep). Some of the cover art he has done I would describe as having a worn and tarnished look to it which creates a vintage and gritty vibe.

To wrap this up I would just like to state my opinion on why I think Sober will succeed. During the interview Sober was nothing but genuine and presented self awareness. He is obviously dedicated to growing Locations and furthering his career in design. Being a hard worker, and also being honest with yourself is a scary combo, which creates a constant drive to get better. The way he spoke of Locations made me believe in them more than I already did (which was a lot). The whole Burbs team wishes nothing but Success for Sober and the whole Locations team.

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