What It's About
This truck driver gets paid to tag walls with his art.
Words of Wisdom
For others looking to start a graffiti or art side hustle, Marty suggests widening your portfolio. “Keep thinking outside the box. I started drawing popular cartoon characters - even ones I didn’t know - and posted them online. I usually get inboxes from that. I drew a Frozen character and got a client from there.”
Fun Fact
The first forms of graffiti date back to Roman architecture. Although there was no spray paint at the time, artists would carve messages onto walls. In fact, the word graffiti was created from the Greek word “graphein” which means, “to write.” [Source]
Notes from Chris
Episode 1424
In 2019, Marty Nagel had been working in his career as a third party logistics broker for about a decade. Although he’s now based in Louisville, Kentucky, he was raised in Cincinnati, Ohio—a city known for its rich graffiti culture. Ever since high school, when he went to a few graffiti events in town, he had a fascination with the art. Around the end of 2019, Marty was chatting with a friend when she began to tell him about a special present she intended to buy for her son. She told him that for his birthday, she was going to pay someone to create a small piece of graffiti art on his wall. Ever the graffiti lover, Marty inquired further, and found out that she was intending on paying $800 for just a bedroom-sized wall. Taken aback by the price, Marty offered to do it himself and charge a more palette-able rate, at $350. He also offered to throw in something extra: painting her son’s name in his room in the Wildstyle font. Marty’s friend agreed. Although he wasn’t planning it at the time, she became the first of many future clients. Besides buying the cans of spray paint for each project, Marty did not have to pay anything else to get his new business up and running. He decided to call it Lowkey Originals. His first course of action was to build a large portfolio of work to show off his variety of skills and abilities. To market his work, he made an Instagram account and designed a few t-shirts. He’s been able to keep this steady stream of clients by utilizing social media … and not paying for it. Rather than pay for advertising, all Marty has had to do is run an Instagram and Facebook account. He posts a photo on Facebook every week and asks his friends to share the post. He currently has enough clients to be booked two months out. Through this experience, Marty has been able to pay his rent, make a career switch in the middle of a pandemic without stressing out, and delve into his long-time passion for art. As of now, Marty plans to keep Lowkey Originals just that—lowkey and on the side, complimenting his new day job as a driver.
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- See Marty's collection of artwork at his Instagram account, @LowkeyOriginals
- Aussie Woman Earns Up to $4,000/Month Painting Faces: When she left her job, she found herself longing to reconnect with a favorite hobby. So she grabbed some paints and brushes—and within an hour, found her first client.
- Couple Follows the Signs to Custom Paint Parties: When a husband and wife look to spend more time at home with their kids, they follow the signs and start a unique paint party business that shows them the way.
- Texas Banker Teaches Classes on Painting Your Pet: A former banker hosts pop-up art classes where the paint flies and the creative ideas flow.
SEE ALSO:
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Resources
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