PK 037: Derek Rodenbeck on Swapping Comic Book Art for LVN UP Clothing

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Derek describes LVN UP as illustrative clothing that celebrates life through art

“It’s extremely hard. It makes you wanna cry sometimes. But it’s supposed to be hard. The sooner you accept that, the sooner you can work towards your goals.”

Derek Rodenbeck spent seven years of his life working towards being a comic book artist. In doing so, he made huge sacrifices, drove crazy distances just to get to art school, and even put his health at risk. But recently, he decided to abandon all this and launch LVN UP Clothing instead.

So what prompted him to make such a huge decision? What made him quit the career as a comic book artist he’d worked so hard for?

The answer lies in fulfilment. Ever get to the place you thought you wanted to be…only to discover it wasn’t really ‘all that’?

That’s exactly what happened to Derek. Try as he might, he just couldn’t get any traction in his career. And, as a result, he began to feel frustrated, disillusioned, and unfulfilled.

Then a chance conversation with a friend got him thinking. How about if he translated his love of art to a clothing range rather than the pages of a comic book?

Before too long, Derek had made his mind up. He attended a business seminar devoted to ‘non-jobs’ – defined as ‘doing the thing you want to do, but actually getting paid for it’.

New Knowledge and LVN UP Clothing

During the seminar, he got to know several businessmen who advised him on how to proceed. And, after being mentored by them, he learned many of the skills that don’t come naturally to artists, such as marketing, mindmapping (where you write down and therefore visualize your ideas and goals), and that mysterious thing called ‘business sense’.

Feeling emboldened by this experience, Derek started thinking about how he could make his dream of launching a clothing brand a reality. And, with that, LVN UP Clothing was born.

Although his new venture is still in its early days, Derek says he’s already been working with artists from all over the world and is confident about the future. He describes his clothing range as a ‘Museum without walls’ and gets a real buzz when he sees people wearing his cool T-shirt designs.

It’s not been easy. In fact, it’s made him almost want to cry with frustration at times. But Derek now feels fulfilled, knowing that each day, he’s taking a small step towards his ultimate creative goal.

Listen to this week’s show and learn:

• Why you shouldn’t be afraid to try something completely new
• How to see your art career as more of a business
• How to stay strong when nothing seems to be going right
• Why changing things can actually make you a better and more successful artist

People on this Episode:

Mitch
Derek

Mentioned in the episode:

LVN UP Clothing on Facebook

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Cheers,

Mitch

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