On turning a passion into a business

How do you juggle all of your practices?

I’m still trying to find the balance. I have my nine-to-five, and then what I call my five-to-nine. This year alone, I’ve taken on tons of client work, more so than I have in past years. Sometimes I don’t know how I get it all done. Waking up, working out, getting to work on time, training for The Soccer Tournament (TST), and then right after work trying to meet all my client deadlines and still keep the creative juices flowing. My calendar is my lifeline.

I relate to your say yes attitude, though it’s not always sustainable. How do you find energy for all your work, and also make time to rest?

It’s hard to call a lot of it work because I love what I do. I’m still trying to find the balance in it all. When my job was just football, I had all the energy in the world to get home and create. Now, as a designer, I use my creative juices for my nine-to-five. Sometimes by the time I get home I don’t have energy to create because my battery is drained. I’m tired from looking at a screen or thinking through footwear processes but you can’t tell your client that. You literally have to go and create. It doesn’t matter how you’re feeling—the deadline is the deadline. I’m starting to get better at finding the right balance to deliver on what works for me when it comes to my artistic practice.

I read that the onset of the pandemic put a halt to your football career, and this is when you turned to art. I’d love to know more about how you began muraling and when you decided to pursue this seriously.

During the pandemic, I was in Minnesota, in the heart of all the George Floyd protesting. I was documenting the movement with my camera. It had been a while since I was doing photography and it was a good creative outlet to let people know what was going on. It felt as if the media wasn’t portraying it the way it was actually happening. The act of protesting is physically and emotionally draining. During times like these, people seek justice and as citizens, demand more from our judicial system.

There were many boarded up buildings and businesses looking for artists to beautify the city by painting over all the plywood. One of my friends asked if I wanted to do one. He basically said “you’re the only artistic person I know.” I said sure. I had never done a mural before, so I sketched up a concept and went down there the next day. I started doing a mural but I hated it. I washed it all out then sketched a better concept, redid it, and posted it online. That was my way of protesting, with art instead, and telling stories about kids or the community and what was going on during the protests. People really liked it. You get told, “Oh, it’ll take a year, or a lifetime to find your artistic style,” but people were gravitating towards me and I kept developing [my style]. Then I got asked to do another mural, and another, and private commissions for people’s homes. I was like, “whoa.” I didn’t go into it trying to get paid, but it turned out creating murals was my passion, which I turned into a sustainable business. Sometimes I get mural inquiries from people who say they’ve been following my work for a few years, and have this wall they want me to paint. It still always blows my mind. In the best way possible.

Was there a mourning period with your athletic identity?

I’m a pretty practical person. I speak to a lot of players who don’t know what they’re going to do after football. I already knew what I was going to do. In between my football seasons I was pursuing footwear design. Football can end whenever. I wasn’t going to be the person who was going to be lost. I know that’s not for everyone. They don’t want to think about the “after.” I’ve been pursuing footwear design since 2015. I wasn’t going to go into the industry immediately because I was still traveling and playing football, but I kept those networks, those connections. I was making sure I was learning with my mentors, taking courses and internships. The career I’m in now wasn’t a far-fetched thing.

You weren’t looking into the abyss being like, what’s next.

I could have joined the footwear industry in 2017 but it took me until 2021 because I still wanted to play. I was close to signing with another team but there were visa issues because of COVID. I was like, “You know what? This is a sign.” I had two footwear opportunities and ultimately chose to work with Nike, and my art was doing well. I told myself “Maybe it’s time to go the creative route I’ve actually been preparing for anyways, for years.” I didn’t leave football behind either, I still play. I’m fortunate to work with former D1 or former semi pro former players. [At Nike] we play pick up in the mornings or the afternoons.

There’s active athletes and former athletes, and some people are still training for the Olympics in their respective sports. It’s cool to hear their stories and understand where they’re coming from when we’re connecting in the office. I’m still close to the game, and now I get to help athletes by creating footwear for them. I have random things like TST that come up and I’m playing again. So no, there was not a mourning process. It’s more of “how do I incorporate football into my new creative lifestyle?” I’m not playing at the same high level but it’s part of my daily activity.

Painting murals seems like such a physical and demanding process. You’re on your feet, standing for long hours, climbing ladders.

It’s exhausting! I don’t go to the gym on muraling days because I’m already prepared to get in a workout. Sometimes I have 10 or 12-hour days. I’ll dedicate my entire weekend just to one project. Doing murals is also about connecting with the community. When you’re doing something in someone’s community, they’re watching the process. More times than not they have questions or simply want to chat. I usually paint with one headphone out. One, for safety and two, to make sure I’m connecting with them. When you’re doing something in someone’s community, they’re watching the process. I see the same people every day walking their dog at the same time. They start going, “It’s looking good.” But after completing some crazy long hour days, I don’t want to do anything. I admire my hard work…Then it’s like, “Gotta go back to football training.”

What was it like to work with Serena Williams on her shoe inspired by the denim skirt she played in?

Getting to work with another Black female athlete was huge and inspiring as my first project at Nike. I predominantly work in performance now, so it was interesting to work in lifestyle. But she’s so iconic in what she did in the sports world. Tennis is very structured and rigid. No one had ever worn a denim skirt before on the court. No one has ever broken tradition the way Serena has. She wants fashion to be part of how she plays and dominates the court. The team loved that. We ran with this to create a silhouette designed by the first Black footwear designer in the industry, Wilson Smith. Wilson and Serena are quite close: he’s created her tennis footwear and some of her iconic pieces. So the Air Uptempo was not just a story about Serena, it was a story about two legends. Working with Serena was an unforgettable experience. But it still doesn’t over shine my goal of wanting to serve all athletes in footwear. It doesn’t matter what level you play for.

What motivates you to work on footwear?

I’ve always been slightly obsessed with shoes. And I’ve always told myself that when I hang up my jersey I want to make sure I’m leaving the world of sport better than where I found it. I felt that I did that as a small contributor in growing the women’s game. Now, to work on footwear and help athletes compete to the best of their ability motivates me.

I’ve read that you put an emphasis on negative space and the problem can be knowing where to leave space. How do you know when a project is done?

That’s always the tough part—when enough is enough. But I like to look at the full story and if I’ve really told it. I work in stages, so once I finish stage one of the sketch, then add in color, I try not to go back. I’ll add little details, but I follow this process so I’m not just adding to add. There’s a point where I feel like I’m just adding to add—that’s when it’s done. If you continue to always work, a piece will never get done.

I feel like that’s an athlete thing too, always wanting to do more and be very self-critical. What artists are you inspired by and how did that influence your own style?

I don’t have many artists who influenced my style directly but I’ve always liked drawing hands and feet. Maybe that’s strange, but cartoon hands or cartoon feet pop up in a lot of my work. I’m not a huge fan of drawing people. If I can get away without drawing faces and skin tones, I will. I like when the viewer interprets a piece in their own way. Sometimes I’ll draw abstract faces. Combining faces with faces is quite cool and it’s something I enjoy. An artist I enjoy looking at is James Jean’s work. He does a great job of making you feel like the piece is moving and his prints often have a 3D aspect to them, which is quite unique.

I see movement in your murals, too. I know you just finished competing in TST but what role does sport play in your life now?

I like to move in general. I still live a very active lifestyle. When I’m not training for football, I’m trying new classes or climbing or doing Hyrox. I’m quite adventurous. When I go on holiday, I’m going to go surfing, paddleboarding, kayaking, hiking…

On the pitch, there is a creative aspect when you play the game. I love changing positions and never letting the opponent know where I’m going. Playing on the wing doesn’t mean I won’t pop in as your fullback or you’re number nine or completely change from the right to the left side. I like that initial thinking and moving off of players. And I find movement in my art, especially for some of my abstract-shaped pieces. You can hang them in any direction. When elements start to overlap, shading and depth allow the piece not to feel stagnant.

How do you define success or failure?

For me, success is getting out there and posting my work. I don’t care if it gets one like or 1,000 likes. As long as I posted it, that’s a big deal to me. I enjoyed it and I created it. If I don’t share my art with the world, that’s a failure. I’m a firm believer that talents are to be shared because you never know who you might inspire.

How did you figure out how to make a living through your art?

I didn’t start it as a business, I started my art as a way to express myself. It was literally my form of protest. I was sharing art so communities could speak and have gathering places to talk about topics. Then I started getting asked to do art and it flourished, so I turned it into something. I’m quite business-oriented. I have contracts, I have invoices. I have a business email. So it was an easy transition once money became involved. It was also unexpected when money became involved. I wasn’t expecting to get paid to do something I like. When you start something with money in the back of your mind, you may start to second guess yourself. The only expectation I had was to share my work with people. Slowly I created something I liked into a business.

It can be fulfilling and other times draining. When I’m constantly doing work for other people, it’s hard to find the time to create for myself, like a solo art exhibit. But I’m selective. I don’t take on every project if it doesn’t suit me. If it doesn’t, I will recommend a different artist and give someone else another opportunity. Because for me, it’s not really about the money, it’s about the body of work I’m putting out. I want to be proud of each piece I scribble my signature on.

When you’re not working with Nike or clients, how do you nourish your creative side?

I’m always trying new things, even with client work. My personal art develops when I’m following a brief I wouldn’t have thought to do. I can interpret it with my style but I would’ve never created this body of work otherwise. That’s why I’m selective with the client work because it’s a breath of fresh air once the work is done and every time it gets better and better. But I fuel myself outside of that through activity, hanging out with friends, and live music. I always find time to do things I want to do, whether it’s travel, or playing in a soccer tournament. I’m a weekend warrior.

You’re a multi-hyphenate.

That’s funny. My family always tells me that. They’re like, “Shade will always find time to do all the things she loves.” I just make the time. I’ll just do it.