Will Bryant Channels Hill Country Rides to Inspire Canvases, Murals and Brand Collabs

One of my lasting impressions of Will Bryant, the Austin-based artist and brand collaborator, is from a photo shoot in which he’s modeling his own endo customs collab with a few other models. The colors and patterns are true to Will’s artwork - colorful, outrageous and fun - think PeeWee’s Playhouse (more on that in the show). The other models mostly conjure the blase, indifferent blue steel even though they’re rocking the VERY playful outfits and kits. Will, on the other hand, has a big smile in almost every photo like he couldn’t possibly contain the fun he was having. This was an observation I made without knowing much about Will and I am pleased to say that his spirit similarly shines through our interview. Although Will's creative process is not all fun and games, his mission is to make the work make YOU feel good. There are some gems in here including the story behind Will’s Breakfast Club collab and how cycling impacts his work - so stay with us and enjoy the first artist interview on Hill Climbers.

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Theme Music: Summer Vibes by Rizik

Transcript

0:10

Hey. This is Sam Huntington, and you're listening to Hill Climbers. Over the last 10 years, I've ridden bikes in Philadelphia and then LA and more recently, Austin, Texas. And it's been one of my life's pleasures to meet 100 of cyclists over the course of this time. And, sure, there's been friendships and camaraderie built around some healthy competition on group rides and and on Strava, and and that's great. But Hill Climbers is really paying homage to those, cyclists I've met that I admire off the bike. These are individuals that have really fascinating stories. They're they're building businesses or or they're part of the cycling zeitgeist in alternative ways. And I think it is a fantastic opportunity here with this podcast to tell stories of what they're doing off the bike that, maybe you you would never hear about on the group ride riding next to them. One of my lasting impressions of Will Bryant, the Austin based artist and brand collaborator, is from a photoshoot in which he's modeling his own Endo customs collab with a few other models. The colors and patterns are true to Will's work. Colorful, outrageous, and fun. Think Pee wee's Playhouse and we'll talk more about that on the show. The other models mostly conjure the blase in different blue steel even though they're rocking the very playful outfits and kits. Will, on the other hand, has a big smile in almost every photo like he couldn't possibly contain the fun he was having. This was an observation I made without knowing much about Will and I'm pleased to say that his spirit similarly shines through our interview. Although Will's creative process is not all fun and games, his mission is to make the work make you feel good. There are some gems in here including the story behind Will's Breakfast Club collab and how cycling impacts his work. So stay with us and enjoy the first artist interview on Hill Climbers. Will Will Bryant, welcome to the Hill Climber Show. Thank you so much for joining us. Absolutely. Pleasure to be here. Yeah. You you were, on my target list from early days. I'm not I'm not sure if you knew that. I I really want to touch on a little bit more in the show with with the guests, is is design, especially, you know, obviously, we'll get into your your career and and your artwork. But there's so much in cycling that is aesthetic and so much So much. And so much to talk about. Uh-huh. Yeah. So I I just, I've been thinking about this for a little while, and I'm I'm very excited to have you here. Yeah. Pleasure to be here. I'm excited. Cool. Looking forward to it. Good. So, you know, the the easy first question, which is which is a good one for you is is what's the story with with bikes? How do you get into cycling as you're as you're doing it now as a roadie? Great warm up question. Yeah. Because, bikes are really, really important to me at this phase of life. Thus, I think me being on this podcast in a way. I I mean, I grew up, of course, as a kid riding bikes, had some dirt jumps by a lake near my house down the street. But cycling in itself as a sport was not something I really knew about, was aware of. There were some strays in Texarkana, Texas that would be out on the road. Like, it just was not a place where you would you would see that that often. And they were usually I'm thinking of 1 in particular, it was like a triathlete. Okay. Owned a gym. I feel like that was the person I thought of when I thought of cycling. It reminds me of the movie breaking away. Just like fields, like, only one cyclist for, you know, miles and miles and miles and just fields and flat and yeah. For sure. I mean, there's some piney woods Okay. Where I'm from. Alright. Not a lot of hills. Right. There's only, like, a couple of neighborhoods or wait on the Arkansas side of Texarkana that you would have to, like, find elevation. But I had different people throughout my life, Jeremy Dunn, Gideon Tsang, and and the kind of the crew around them. They were notable people that, like, rode bikes. Okay. Did other things. And those other things I was involved in, whether that was art or, basketball. Mhmm. And I commuted a lot when I lived in Portland, like that was I did I moved there without a car Right. And commuted by bike. And you put on the whole rain suit. I'm leaving a 4 hour contemporary art critique of grad school really in the gutter, then literally in the gutter, and it's drizzling in 40. And was that, like, cathartic in a good way or or not so much? It allowed for deeper reflection. Right. Better art. Every single evening that I did that, it was definitely, like, why am I doing this? Both riding in this situation and why am I in school. And, yeah, it was cathartic, I would I would say. But those two figures, like, Gideon helped me get my first bike, which is a Soma Doublecross. Can you share with who the who these gentlemen are? Oh, yes. So Jeremy Dunn started the athletic with his wife, Julie, and has worked throughout the cycling industry for years. Mhmm. Julie is an incredible cyclist. I think 14 time national champion out of France. A joke. Be like, so cool. Yeah. But, I mean, all these things I kinda knew about, but didn't crash. And and for the listeners, what's the what's the athletic? Oh, the athletic is a brand that has Xchange's hands, but they've they started I don't know exactly when, but it was based in Portland, Oregon and really hit the the scene with socks. I was, like, at the time, not many people were taking a lot of risk and doing fun patterns. Sock doping? Sock doping. Alright. And it and it was it it got massive. And then but there's also Jeremy's interest in basketball. So the shop, when they had physical stores in Portland, there was this crossover, which was how we got brought together. We played basketball, in Portland in a couple of different pickup games, and he would go ride for 60, 100 miles, come in and play basketball. Like, what are you doing, and how and why would you ever do that? And why are you also the person running the most on the floor? Like, completely mesmerized by the athleticism, endurance that it takes. And now that I've done some of that, I kinda get might feel good to go for a ride and then do this other thing Yeah. With younger legs. Yeah. Than, yeah, where I'm at now. But, we so we were playing basketball, but we wanted to do something together. So we did a basketball themed capsule collection through the cycling brand, and there were some cycling elements involved with that. And what what year are we talking? 2,011. 10 or 11, I think. Somewhere in there. And yeah, and then Gideon is one of the most grounded humans I know on the planet. Remarkable photographer, just an incredible human. You're better for being around him. And he never forced the thing, but just, like, kept showing me things, and it didn't click until COVID. And it I was on a trail run, discovered the VELA way. I was like, what is the Veloway? Can you share with the the listeners that aren't from Austin what the Veloway is? So Veloway is a 3 mile loop down in Southwest Austin. There's a decent amount of shade, a surprising amount of elevation in just 3 miles that's, like, rolling with only one actual kicker. So I did that short little 15 mile ride, went back into the garage. I was like, that was kinda cool. And then friends, Zach Coons and Matt Rainwaters were both more into cycling than I was, but we kind of started riding together and that's where it was like, this is sweet. I had quickly had done like a 50 miler, Almost passed out because I had never been on a saddle for that long and didn't nutrition, hydration, all the things that All sounds familiar. Figure out and I Some of the some of the hungriest moments of your life. Right? Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it was, it was definitely a difficult transition, but the that instinct of I mean, growing up being an athlete, I didn't really care about art or design to any big degree. Like, no one knew I was gonna do what I do now for a living. And we'll we'll get into your, you know, your your story with, where you grew up and and kinda childhood. Looking forward to discussing that too. But those those first climbs, like, I I every time I go up Redbud, I think of the first time I rode up Redbud with Zach and Matt and just the excruciating amount of pain. Yeah. People choose to do this. Yes. Why? And then you finally get to the top and you're like, I did that. And you get the view of the cap. You get the view. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, there's always payoff. And and for, again, folks that aren't from Austin, Red Bud, like most of the Austin Hills, is just as a steep. It's not the longest, but but it will get you. I mean, probably what? I think 6, 7%. Yeah. And when you haven't done anything Right. On a bike. When you're a beginner, that that hurts bad. It hurts really bad. My son is 5 and any sort of incline incline, he's like, no thanks. Right. No point. I don't know. It'll be worth it. It's like it wasn't. So I I really love this story for a few reasons. 1, I already mentioned. I mean, on the show I want to talk about all the various influences, on life that that we dedicated dedicated cyclists have outside of cycling. Mhmm. And, me personally, I came to the sport when I was, you know, basically 30 years old. So I had so much of my life that I lived before I ever arrived at cycling. And then, you know, obviously the sport has influenced my you know, had a huge outsized influence on my life. But, you we have this in common because, sure, you had a bike, but you didn't really fall head over heels until COVID hit when a lot of people were introduced to it, you know, in in a way in in the the kind of lifestyle fashion that that we live. So, yeah I love having conversations with people unlike me that have been riding a race since that since they were teenagers. And I also equally love the conversations of someone like yourself who's come to it after living a very full life without it. You know? Yeah. It's it I don't wanna say it feels wasted. Like, I've entertained that thought of, like, I would probably have raced had I found this earth. And then maybe that's probably for the best that I didn't. Yeah. Being competitive and driven, and it would take up a lot more time than it already does. It's it's the only way you can you can be good at racing your bike. It's spending a lot of tires a lot of tires, a lot of hours training. For sure. Yeah. For sure. And I I've just had other things I was interested in. And, culturally, I feel like I came in at a good time. And, like, I had done kits for Gideon and his crew and some racers in Austin. I'm like, that that was my entry point. Yeah. Getting to first design things that were worn on a human body going fast and through different urban and, outdoor environments. It's, like, so cool to see pattern at that scale on the form of a human and being used. It's like a functional form. Isn't that poetic that you you designed kits before you, like, really got into it? Oh, I think yeah. I mean, it finally hit where I was like, I can wear the thing that I've already worked on, which was exciting. And honestly felt more comfortable than wearing a graphic tee or something, because my work tends to be very loud and vibrant. So oftentimes I wouldn't wear the things I had worked on. Interesting. And then cycling kinda clicked where I was like, yeah, this is the time to wear it. Right. Let's take a step back. Sure. And, you know, you are you are a a true Texan. Can you tell us just a little bit about where you grew up and and your childhood and maybe some, like, your early childhood influences? Yeah. Absolutely. So my all my immediate family is from Mississippi. And I would spend summers there at grandparents and going back. But for the most part, all of my childhood upbringing has been in East Texas. Mhmm. And in Texarkana, there's not a large music or art or design scene. Might be surprised. Probably not. Yeah. But it was a very, like, comfortable, safe, community driven area that, like, I had a great childhood. Like, I'm not knocking it. I just knew that based on what interest I was developing, basically, indie music, album art, sports was not gonna take me far. I knew that I it's, like, the thing I love the most, but I was developing these other interests. Not so much drawing yet, but, like, a little bit. But the And was it was it typical, like, MTV and, like, Oh, yeah. Skate Magazine? Like, how how are you getting your your input? I mean, what what was on TV, for sure? And then, like, Spin Magazine. I remember seeing the strokes on the cover Right. In, like, thrift store suits and chucks. I was like, I'm that. I've I don't own any of that yet, but that is who I wanna be. Like, that seems cool. And I had older friends that were in bands and were exposing me to different things that I, like, just didn't know about. So music was the first thing that really captured me even though I had no musical capability. It was just like, I'm loving finding new bands and the visual culture that was associated with those things. And then, like, a deeper rooted childhood element, obsessed with anything wacky. So Pee wee's Playhouse was massive for me, as a kid. And then I definitely reflected more on that in grad school, like, dove into why and who was making the things. And it was a very bizarre cast of artists that tip like, wouldn't end up on a kid's show. Like, it wasn't supposed to be a children's show. Yeah. Turned into that from, like, an LA stage production thing that was, like, I think in an adult theater, like, was geared for adults. Not a kids thing. And it became, like, a variety show, geared towards children, like, kind of infiltrating suburban America in being I mean, there's there's some enduendos hidden in there. Oh, I'm sure I can't even imagine. Yeah. It's there, but, like, playful in it, arms distance, not, like, right in your face. Right. But then the the colors and the patterns and all of the art history, like, clashing and meshing. And and so it sounds like you were, a fan of it as a kid, let's say, you know, 5 year old, 6 year old, whatever, did your did your interest in it, stay consistent? But when the time you were kind of a teenager, or or was it something you you then reverted to when you started exploring art and aesthetic? Definitely the latter. And I think a lot of the things I was interested in as a kid, Chicago Bulls, Michael Jordan nineties culture in general was obsessed with. And then you just go through high school. I'm just playing sports. Yeah. Just hanging out, being a good dude. That's all I wanted to do. And then college, I get I'm like, I'm deciding I'm gonna study graphic design. And then you start, like, looking back at things and putting some intentionality on why do I respond to Yeah. These really charged color palettes. And then you you dig around and find these influences like teal and purple from a nineties Charlotte Hornets starter jacket Yeah. Just resonates with you. Yeah. You're like, it's the color. It's the, like, this I had I had the, if we're talking about the pullover Yeah. I had the Eagles, mostly black, but Kelly Kelly green and the gray. Yeah. They were it was a good time. Yeah. It was a good time. It's a good time for starter. Yeah. Them and Apex, they had their moments. But Starter Starter was, I think, the top. Yeah. Yeah. But Yeah. So neat. Yeah. But so those interests in college, I kinda dug into a little bit more and then was revisiting some of those things with my mentor, Kate Bingaman Burt, who was then sharing, like, a fire hose of inspiration of, like, you need to listen to this. You need to watch this. Cool. Oh, yeah. So you like Phoebe's Playhouse. Did you know that, you know, Wayne White was on there or Mark Mothersbaugh was doing music in, like, more purpose and intentionality behind the things of, like, I just like these because I like them. It's like, why? And then fast forward a few years grad school, then I had to write papers on that. So it's like you're digging even deeper. Right. So but it wasn't like it carried this through line. Maybe personality wise, like, undiagnosed ADD, you know, just aligns well with a variety program that's all over the place all the time. Yeah. There's some moments that are restful, but, like, it's still It's not about high energy. Yeah. Yeah. Very cool. And and you've also already alluded to Texarkana, you know, being a kid that was really drawn to influences outside of of Texarkana, outside of Texas. Do you do you and and you've also mentioned in our in our conversation prior, I think being the youngest in the family. Right? So, yeah, like, are there is there anything you can attribute to to kind of, what planted the seed for thinking differently and and starting your path to becoming an artist? I I think I innately wanted to do thing not as, like, a contrarian, but I wanted to do things different. Like, I just I can remember From early days? Yeah. Yeah. I was like, I, yeah, I wanna do something different than what else other people are doing. And then you find, like, the subset of people that are doing that. So I'm not different than everyone. It's more Yeah. I just didn't have the Internet in the way that you it exists now growing up that I mean, we we had dial up. But me being raised in, like, the bible belt in a super conservative Southern Baptist Church, I was using Internet to go in, like, satanic chat rooms and bible verses. Like Right. That that's what the Internet was. I wasn't, like, exposing me to things that were actually interesting and compelling and challenging taste. Yeah. And that that was friend group and, like, that were into bands and and showing me, I I mean, I got obsessed with Radiohead and the relationship with Stanley Donwood and Thom Yorke. Thom Yorke's the lead singer. Stanley Donwood's the artist that has done I I think every piece of album art and maybe merch as well for them. But, like, their relationship, that's what stood out to me. It's like, I can't play music, but what if I was doing that for a band? And And I got to do that a little bit early on, like, some of my first client projects were. I I was gonna ask you about that because, you know, like you said, music was a big influence and then you actually ended up, doing some artwork for bands. How did that come about? Pre Instagram, Tumblr, you've had you had MySpace. Tumblr. Yeah. Like before all of that, it was MySpace, and I would send messages to bands. Even being the dork at the merch table after a show. And are we are we talking high school? Are we talking This was college? College. Okay. Great. High school, it was just, like, the one band that was in Texarkana, Pilot Drift. They were they got signed to the Polyphonic Sprees label, Good Records. Okay. So I was making trips to Dallas and going, like, buddying up with everybody that worked at Good Records. Like, what should I get? This is how much money I have What is the thing that I'm not gonna stop listening to? And I mean, it is such a Such and, like, a golden experience that sure you can you can go dig in the crates at a record store but there is now a database on Spotify where there's there the adventure is sort of gone. Right? You'll never have an experience again where you just go digging in the crates and can find something that that you can't find online. Oh, yes. There's so many albums that I've bought that I just bought for the album art. Never listened to. Right. Only had a relationship with the cover. Yeah. Sadly, the music didn't register. Why vinyl sales are doing so well right now. It's because young young folks is not in the vinyl quality isn't even that good. It's it's really about the artwork and identifying with the aesthetic. And the objects. Yeah. Like, holding that. Yeah. And and I'm not knocking Spotify because I have discovered plenty of stuff that I'm obsessed with, and there are interesting components to that. But the, like, relationship and connecting with a human over music Yeah. Whether that in a record store was through the Internet, and that's messaging, and that's how I kept up with buddies that went to different colleges. Like, we started a music blog, basically, so we could keep doing the things we were doing growing up. But the that, like, that going in to the record store, the way it smelled, and there's always something new on all the shelves. And because, I mean, I can't go all the time because it's 3 hours away from where I grew up. Gotta make a count. Oh, so yeah. Just very sacred. Yeah. So cool. A very a very important part of your story is is your family unit. And your wife. Can you just kind of, share the background about your, you know, I guess your your marriage? And and, we'll get into why this is relevant in a second. Yeah. Oh, yeah. So Sally is my wife and middle school girlfriend. We met, I think, 11 and 12, 12 and 13, somewhere around there. And not, I mean, she won't claim that she is, like, an artist or has an eye for anything, which is completely false because I've seen it evolve over all these years, which is what we're gonna get into. But we we met as awkward teenagers. I think he even had braces at the same time for a moment, so super awkward for that part. It's a really sweet kinda mushy Disney story, but we dated all through high school. There's some some breakups. She would go to a specific camp called Canaccuck come back and break up with me. Heart yeah. It's heartbreaking. Yeah. It was brutal, but it it ended up working out. And I think parents both of our parents were kind of alarmed by how connected we were. Mhmm. At a young age. At a young age. Right. Like, that freaks me out as a parent now. I'm like, absolutely not. Like, no. You need to go date other people, figure this thing out. Yeah. It, we just emotionally connected so well and and went well together. And then over the years have just grown in the same trajectory, which I don't think is as common. I think the one the relationships that do last from the, like, childhood romance, like, you you have to either both stay stagnant or both grow in the same direction. Yeah. Not always at the same speed, but as long as you're both moving forward in the same direction. And we went to different colleges, which I think contributed a lot to us, like, honing in on who we were more as individuals. But we were only an hour and a half apart, so we were able to, like you start arguing on the phone. One of us just drives to test looser to Starkville and Right. Building building the relationship skills of of hashing it out. But we had complete trust in each other. And even if we got put in situations that were you know, could put the relationship at risk, we knew that we loved and respected one another to make the right decision in this situation. So it's like Very, very unique, Will. Like I think so. Yeah. And it and then as parents, like, we align even more so, I think, because we have completely different interests, different personality types. And I think that kinda gets into, you know, what you're asking and where you're seeing is, like, she compliments me in so many different ways and has evolved from a taste standpoint in giving me feedback creatively. Like, early on, every time I show her something, that's not my favorite. Yeah. You're like, that's not helpful. I can't do anything with that as feedback. To now, it's like, I share, you know, works in progress with certain people via text or in person, and she's one of them. And it's often aligns with people that have trained eyes, high taste. Wow. It it's awesome. She's just seen so much in how far my work has come and what I'm trying to do and communicate. It it's very grounding and humbling too. Like, she always keeps humble humble for sure. Like, that is the biggest thing. My head can never get too big with her around and Keeps you honest. The the most endearing and, like, crucial way. So so on this topic, what I wanted to get to is that, you know, I think a lot of artists that are given room and resources to develop and grow and work on their crafts have a patron. And my understanding of your story, and your a patron. She was a partner, during your early days as a budding fine artist. And I I just think that's that's a beautiful part of this of of your story and and your artwork and your brand. Oh, yeah. I mean, the the support both from her and her family and my my parents, especially, but her her parents like, my her father is, like, owns almost everything I've ever made. Mhmm. Like, massive fan. Is already a fan of too many college sports, but then I did a collab with my school in the same conference as Arkansas, his number one team, even though he went to Baylor. But he bought, like, all the things Yeah. Because I did Showing the loyalty. It's so neat. Like, he doesn't need more stuff in his closet, and he's, yeah, a really unique special human. So grateful for them. And that I mean, that's just the same with with my wife, and she she got promoted to the to an outside sales position at the company that she was working at that took us to Portland, speaking of grad school. I had applied, got in. And this was, like, a few years under after undergrad? Or This was 3 years after undergrad. Okay. And we'd been Soon after. Yeah. Give you the full so we'd left the deep south, Mississippi and Alabama. It's where we were both studying undergrad. Got married, honeymooned, moved to Austin. Grad school in Portland, my wife got promoted. I freelanced some through that, but it was really like she was breadwinner, allowed me to go focus for 2 years on a contemporary art degree that I didn't know what I was getting myself into. Like having more of it, I I've my BFA is in graphic design, and I primarily positioned myself as an illustrator leaving undergrad. But then I really wanted to challenge myself both from an aesthetic standpoint, maybe skill, medium. And I in our conversation before, I saw it almost as an evolution where you were a teenager, know, maybe a freshman and sophomore in college, and you saw your friends that were doing things like merch design and and graphic design. Mhmm. And you were like, that's something I I can do. That's something I I wanna do. And then it strikes me like, you you know, the fine art world, is is probably a little more ambitious. Right? Yeah. And so you you start there, and and we made the the Andy Warhol connection. You know, doing doing something sort of more more practical, more accessible, more formal, more accessible. Mhmm. And then the ideas expand. Yeah. And it really like, that experience, it's the people that you're around. I mean, the common thread through anyone's career, I think, is relationships and being connected to people in the planet, is, like, a broad stroke. But, like, who you're there with, Because no one knows, like, regardless of age or where you're at in your life, you don't like you're there to really pry open why and how you do why do you do this, and how are you gonna do what you're to do moving forward. And then you just get inundated with a lot of new new vocabulary, and you can decide whether that applies or you can use it or not because it gets overly academic pretty quick, especially for someone that came in. I'm just like a normal white kid from small town suburb. I'm excited to be here. So we we talked a little bit about this too. I I took a lot of I had a fine not a fine arts minor. I had an art history minor. And the the texts in those classes were some of the the most dense, overly academic, very hard to understand and digest. Like, you you'd spend, you know, 15 minutes reading a paragraph, like like, almost literally. And I do that with normal paragraphs. Right. So then you throw in any kind of theory or what, and it's super dense. Yeah. You're like, I can't Google every word. I'm not gonna finish this by tomorrow. I'm just gonna Not enough time in a day. Yeah. It, Yeah. It is. It is. I don't sometimes it's intentional, and sometimes it's just like that. People align with that, and, like, that's how they see the world and communicate. Nothing wrong with that. I just was like, I don't think I belong here, but what can I take from this experience to both enrich my myself? Because I I wouldn't be who I am as human without that grad school experience. Like, I was challenged because of the cohorts I was in school with and the faculty to think and shift perspective and grow because I mean I was just like a naive sweet kid from the south and then you go into a very liberal, inclusive, welcoming, progressive, like, moving fast and, like, consuming knowledge. And there's there's the realities of life where you gotta if you want to choose this as your profession, it's it's a difficult one, and and you gotta compete. Right? Yeah. For sure. The playing field is. A 100%. Yeah. And, it it was a for it to be only 2 years is kinda remarkable. Like, the weight and the gravity size. Of of that. Yeah. Both looking back at that and then pulling thoughts. And not that I'm rereading any of the papers or that from grad school. I saved some, but I I One day. A 100% transparent. Yeah. Yeah. Well, that yeah. Next decade is when I start revisiting and and reading more. But the there are, like, certain individuals all along this whole journey that have really shown me, you know, this it brought me into the inner circle of what was happening there. And, like, that has meant so much to me. And that the ability to what can I take away from this experience? And in my work change, I won't say it got that much more critical, but I became a lot more self aware and knew what I was doing versus just naively making things with happy colors, which I still do to this day, but I'm more comfortable with it and why that, you know, I'm there are plenty of people out there that are activists and very intellectual and can convey things in a way that needs to be conveyed to change culture, to shift perspective, to help others. Like and I admire that so much. I just know that that doesn't work well on me. It's forced when I've tried to do it, but that doesn't mean I'm not helping behind the scenes in in different ways. Well, bringing joy and and lightness and vibrant colors and fun to and we'll talk about this more, but you've really gotten up, you know, in murals and consumer packaged goods, and we'll talk about Breakfast Club. You bring a feeling with your artwork that's a positive feeling. And I think that's a really high calling. So I didn't mean to belittle it. I I appreciate you calling it. Yeah. I mean, it's, like, that that is the purpose. That's that's the why. And it's you can make a difference in in something like that. And I didn't realize that before. And I do I do. And I greatly appreciate it, respect it, and hold in a high regard of, like, this is, like, what what I'm doing. And it's the people that I get to meet, from a week to week standpoint, project to project because it's always, like, changing. I'm in and out with that. So the those exchanges ending up on a text thread with someone I was just emailing with, and they are moving into a different company. Yeah. Both from a networking standpoint, you can go down that route, but it's more of, like, no. No. No. We connected as humans, and I, like, I greatly respect how you do your job and how you communicate in the way that you made me feel. I wanna return that. Yeah. And I really appreciate you saying that. My my livelihood is business development. Connecting with people is is, you know, my livelihood. And, it's so meaningful. It's it's not just business. Like, it's like, you know, the the phrase, Hey, it's just business. Like, I just I just don't agree with that. It's, you know, we're all we're all humans. We all, I think most of us have a a craving to connect with people and and spend time with people that, you know, make you feel good. And so I really appreciate you saying that. I think this is a good time to to really drill down on on your artwork. Just, you know, let let's let's set the stage. You're you're in grad grad school. You're wrapping up grad school. What what path forward did you see for for your artwork, for, the direction you were taking it aesthetically? Because we, you know, we we've seen your art, but, you know, where where where did the the signature kind of squiggles come from, the the color palette, the the shapes and textures. And then, yeah, I mean, you you're you're a multimedia artist. So I'm I'm just curious about all those things. You know? How does It's not one spot. Yeah. I mean, I think the the squiggles and shapes definitely connected to I mean, there's, like, southwestern style work that that would be close to, and then Memphis Group as well, which was pulling off some of that is in addition. And then, I mean, Rocco's modern life. Like, goofy pop culture type things too from, transit bus patterns to porta potty branding. Like, a sense of humor that you find in some of, like, the puns in that obscure thing. Like, this is funny to me. I I love this. And and why why alley carpets. And why shouldn't art be injected in that? Yeah. Like, why wouldn't yeah. Someone thought about this. You can just put a generic, you know, utilitarian name on it, but why not Willie make it with a guy running? Right. It's a great name for a pork body. That's beautiful. Honey Bucket. So gross. I don't know why that's funny, but it is. It's great. Anyway Is there is there something that you can point to that is your artistic drive? Like, where where, where does that creativity come from that that drives you to make art and and put your stamp on the city, on brands, on on a canvas? That's a good question. I feel like it shifted. Earlier in my career, it was like, I have to do this. Like, I'm un unsettled and unhappy unless I'm making things. One of the first phrases I, like, hand drew and made a splash, like, on the Internet early, early days of the Internet was I make stuff because I get sad if I don't. And it was, like, very related. Ended up, like, craft moms were loving it to people, young designers. Wow. Like, it yeah. It was like a wholesome, very anyone could relate. Universal. Yeah. Right? Yeah. And I sometimes feel more sad from making stuff now Okay. Because I'm more critical, and I'm just different phase of life. Yeah. Like, as a self deprecating type joke, I think, is where that lands now. I went really deep with this question and not surface, but I yeah. Early that drive was just, like, I've got to be as prolific as possible and started in undergrad. So much of that, the work that I graduated with, I made outside of class. It was a class progress. I was just churn and burn, making piles and piles of work as much as I could do. And then And you you mentioned kinda like like a ADD personality. Do you think do you think it's a product of that? For sure. Yeah. And now I think I use other tools and have different ways to escape, cycling being the main one at this point, that I've gotta do that in order to then focus or run if I have less time. Yeah. And at that point, I just I played basketball when I played basketball. Yeah. That that's fascinating because I think I think a lot of us identify with having that frenetic energy that, dissipates after a workout. Oh, I I don't have it unless I like Yeah. There are now deadlines, you then have to get creative and find it. That that just that's a pressure that I like, that's the Q4. Like, you Yeah. Who cares what the variables are? You gotta figure this out. Right. And sadly, I think a lot of creatives need that. Yeah. Where I'll get to it when I get to it and I feel like it. That's part of the process. Also, the human condition part partially. It's totally part of the process. Yeah. But isn't that isn't that fascinating that at first you were channeling that energy into into output and maybe not not thinking about it as much? And then and then as you matured, you said, you know what? In order for me to be in the best mind state, emotional, physical state to create my artwork, I wanna have a clearer, more more, calm mind. And I'm more inspired by being outside than I was as a at a younger age. Like, I think that is the other component to why I like trail running and cycling. Right. It puts you out there. And you see things, and then you feel things, and I want to then filter that. Also, wasn't making any landscape driven work, which I'd because of cycling, has become a component of Makes so much sense, Will, looking at looking at your artwork and the shapes and, what you could take away from a bike ride in around Austin makes a ton of sense. Yeah. And it's like, I want those that landscape body of work to feel, like, the memory of being there versus, like, actual representation of what that was. And it's, like, filtered in my aesthetic. And usually, the memory is better than the actual Yeah. Moment. And and we talked about, you know, riding riding bikes, being being fun, and and having, a good feeling. And we talked about your your artwork being similar. You know? Oh, yeah. And chasing both of those things. It's like the perfect group ride where you have moments of, actually, wish I wasn't riding a bike right now. Everything hurts. There is no joy. And that lasts it depends on how long the cramping lasts. But you get to the other side of that could be and you still have 50 more miles to go, which is kinda crazy that you can have those different chapters within that amount of a ride. But the the payoff is always there, and especially being with other humans. I feel like that the social aspect of it, which I know there's plenty of people that get into cycling to escape humans. And they go into the torture chamber, and they just go go go hammer up the whole way. And, like, I don't wanna go on a group ride. I get that. I think, man, this is let's use this as a transition for for Breakfast Club. Makes sense. Because my history with riding bikes over the last 10, 11 years is there are a lot of cyclists that are that are not social creatures that for sure. You know sure they may ride in a group but but they're not really there to socialize and connect and build build relationships. So can you give us the The Breakfast Club sort of background story, how you and and Grant and the others connected and how you became such a a big part of the the brand? Yeah. I went on a I think it might have been the first Rafa ride in Austin. Mhmm. And I think that's when it was. And met Grant You might have been, like, early 21 early 2021? Or okay. Yes. And Grant I've been following Breakfast Club. Like, my buddy Zach that I mentioned before that I ride together with a lot, he and I just love the joyful suffering of cycling. Like, it sums it up. It it is. And we normally just do like, he's always pressed for time, but we get, like, a Friday go ride hills. And you're just you're not trying to set any PRs or do anything, but you're, like, really enjoying what pain up a hill is. And it's a special bonding. Anyway, so Zach and I were going back and forth. Like, this breakfast club thing seems really cool. We rode some of the routes, and we're like, who rides This for fun? No. This wasn't even hills. This was this, east route. I'm like, this seems so unsafe. And it also happened to be we had gone when it was especially McKinney. Was that more what a McKinney Parkway? Falls. McKinney Falls. Yeah. That stretch was like trash was everywhere. It was like a a trailer had crashed or something. So the nails and the explanation on on riding east outside of Austin is that the roads are really poor and there are are massive basically ravines in the middle of the right lane. So, it can be pretty hectic if you're in a group and you don't know that those ravines are there. And part of that is resources on the east. Part of that is also soil. Right? I don't know. I don't know why that is. That's a great question. I'm repeating things I've heard. I don't yeah. Don't look to me for answers. But If you're riding east of Austin, just just be careful. A lot of big cracks. You're just saying cracks the whole time. But anyway, so that group ride, Grant had actually taken a photo of me on the ride that we discovered after, but came up to me after the ride at the meteor and introduced himself. And I was like, I'm a huge fan of what y'all are doing. I don't know if there's any you know, can I be involved? Is it you need help with anything? And then it turned into us writing probably a dozen times before I even made it to Breakfast Club because of scheduling and me, speaking of my amazing wife, we don't see eye to eye on this hobby of cycling. I don't even say it's hobby because, like, I'm doing this thing. A passion. It's a passion. It's a passion. It's a passion that that happens to be a large time commitment as well. And financially, it's up there. Yeah. That one too. And that's why I'm, you know, working all the angles I can in a very respectable way. You're like you're like an insider now. I'm Yeah. I've tried very hard. Yeah. Because I the the hunger to do it, but then knowing that all of my projects need to feed my family and not a passion for riding bikes. There are a few boxes to check. Yeah. But immediately, we connected. I think his personality and my personality just meshed really well. So we did a bunch of rides, just he and I, maybe a smaller group. And Grant has a great eye, obviously. Oh, yeah. And I mean, for not he has no training in graphic design, but, like, incredible eye and taste and, just paying attention to so many things. And, we shared we shared that, but then also, like, he's a much more advanced writer than I was at the time and still but, like, would drag me along and help me out. And and that turned into riding that route on oh, now I'm blanking. I guess it is McKinney Falls State. I I don't go east that frequently, so I'm a metal up. I see I'm so bad with road names, but I see where it was, and we're like, hey. We should make a kit. So their second kit was a collaboration with me. And I think we had shot samples of the custom kit, and that that was the first time I actually made it to one of the proper rides, which I was freaked out of riding. I've never ridden with that many people before. And that at that time, it wasn't what it is now, but it was still Yeah. A lot a lot of people. Thirty people. Yeah. A lot. Yeah. But if you've been into cycling, that's not a big deal. But, anyway No. For for everyone, their first few group rides is really intimidating. That's a common Yeah. You know, experience. But the it just progressed relationship wise. Like, we connected on so many different ways, worked really well together. Like, he would push me in directions that I weren't always aligned with my what my gut would be and, like, challenge me in a good way, I guess, is what I'm saying. Where it would be yeah. Maybe it's not always wacky colors. What if we did go more sophisticated? And I was like, well, what if it did have purple? It looks really good with this gold. And he's like, I don't know if I'm ready for that. And I was like, I respect that. And that fast forward, we've been working together now for 3, 4 year. I don't even know how long. And it's the same. It's exciting every time. And I'm there are certain people that I've collaborated with or from, like, a client standpoint or co designer, if you will. There's certain people where it's I will absolutely explore all ends. Mhmm. And then other people are like, that's gonna be another few $1,000 if you want to see another brand. But he is always mindful of asking. Yeah. Like, respects my time. I respect his time. And it, you know, you get to a point where it's like, this is as good this is it. Yeah. There's just other times where you arrive at a solution and it it punches you in the best way. You know, like, we got here super quick. This is awesome. There's other ones that's like a arm wrestling thing, and you just kinda hang on as long as you can, and then eventually you get there and somebody wins. Right. Fruit of the partnership has been, I think, a fruit of the partnership has been, I think a couple kits at this point. Mhmm. I think you did. Did you do the banana? Yeah. That's a banana is a is a, breakfast club, kind of logo is is very prominent. There's a a new breakfast club logo that, man, I don't know if I can describe it. It's it's got kind of like a Flintstones vibe. Oh. Is that was that you or no? Yeah. Wait. The gravel gang 1? Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I've got a range of styles. Like, some of these were things that I used to do a long time ago. Mhmm. And then it's it's come back to, like, this seems applicable because, things That's so cool that you're pulling from from your past aesthetic and applying it to Oh, yeah. Because I don't show I've had so many different websites, so many different portfolio edits. And you evolve and you, you know, you try things on, you try thing and you you know, whether it's applicable at the time, you don't know. But you've got this But you've got this canvas with Breakfast Club and obviously other brands. Sure. Yeah. Where where you can you can, try things out. Yeah. I think Andrew Figgenbaum wanted a Schoolhouse Rocks vibe. Right. So that's where that came from. Right. Mhmm. So cool. And, yeah, other merch, you know, hats, t shirt, t shirts count partnerships with other brands, like like, I have the Bear Performance Nutrition t shirt. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Yeah. And, just like a you guys have put out, like, a lot of product. A lot. And I think this past year, because the graciousness of sponsors, like, we have a lot more partners than we have, we don't have to churn and burn merch as much. And that's why that shifted is, like, that's how anybody can make any money to fund the next thing. Yeah. And now we actually have support. So we're the pressure isn't on to, like, lean into the community like, hey. You need to buy another shirt and hat this month. Well well, also just just another one that I failed to mention was was the new Breakfast Club, kit sponsor Panorama, which you've also had had hands on for their collaborations. And they're you know, they they obviously skew a little bit higher end with, you know, higher priced products. So it's been it's been all over the map with with the stuff that you guys have have put out. And we always try to do the accessible thing too. Yeah. It's like a fun band tour tee to start out that, you know, considerable price point, but not it's a t shirt. Yeah. And that is like an elevated brand. It's it's so amazing to get to work with that team because I respect so many of the people there and what they're doing. But then back to the the community aspects. I mean, that's the biggest thing from this. Like, I don't need another outlet to make work, that I don't really get paid for. Yeah. Like, I do plenty of that, which is fun. It's awesome. I'm not complaining about that. But the reason that I do it is the the people and the connections, like Grant and Preston, their relationship with my family, how they, like, have connected with my wife and my daughter and especially my son, it like, I can't I can't put it to words of, like, seeing them interact and how genuine they they care. And I can't tell you the amount of people throughout cycling. Alec Cohen is one of my best buds that I met. If I wasn't doing Breakfast Club, I don't think that connection would be there. And he's like one of my homies moved back to Canada, but, like, speaking of tastes and Yeah. Energy Yeah. Regardless of, like, anyone's opinions of him and and what is happening in cycling within the sport, dude has an incredible heart, like, adores his family. His poured energy into my family. Came back from LA and bought both kids shoes. Awesome. Like, pair of Jordans and a pair of Air Maxes. Yeah. He's like he's like, I just wanted to do this. Like, can I Venmo? And he's like, no. No. It's like, this is free. Yeah. Super sick. And, like, I I can't narrow down the amount of, you know, relationships I have through cycling. And it's the the people who make this sport so fascinating. And now, like, to the point where, like, I'm paying attention and trying to keep up with races on whatever website. I'm, like, this someone needs to make an app. I don't know how if it's profitable or not, but like it would be neat to know when. So this is a total tangent and just indulge me for 2 seconds. But my my sister-in-law is into sports and we just got her into cycling recently, partially because of the Netflix specials that that have just dropped. Those are Unchained. Yeah. So we are talking to Kelsey about, you know, the tour upcoming. And we go on the Tour de France app. And sure it's got the list of all the teams but as you go as you try to click into each team it doesn't have their rider roster. There's you click and there's not nothing that pulls up, and we're 3 days out from the tour. So we get on Google, and I start googling, you know, team Bismillie's Tour de France roster. And it's, like, not the easiest thing to find for some of these teams that that are are, I thought, kind of is the Super Bowl. This is the Super Bowl. So, for for those developers out there, and we all know some some engineers in town, make an app. Man. It'd be tight. But it it would be very basic. I mean, I get you don't have the coverage on some obscure gravel races or a crit that's We're talking about Super Bowl. Thank you for indulging me on that tangent. I I wanna bring it back to, you know, talked about Breakfast Club Mhmm. That partnership. Can you also just talk about on on the business side and and the business of Will Bryant Studios, you know, how you're working with brands, and I guess kinda what portion of your work and portfolio that makes up and, you know, what portion of your income it makes up, that that kind of thing? Portfolio wise, it probably makes up more than I would like it to. Mhmm. Business wise, I gotta feed the fam. So it makes up a lot. And, I feel like I'm kind of at a unique point in my career where so many other projects straddle this line to where it is fulfilling for me creatively, but I'm also aligning with the brand. I just play well with others. It's like the the baseline. Yeah. That it works out. I think the aesthetic that I have developed and the color pal like, it's approachable and can mean different things, especially the forms can take on new meaning per project per client. It's a malleable. And and just to just to rattle off a few past clients of Will's, Figma, Austin FC, the spur San Antonio Spurs, Lululemon, Nike, Adidas, Airbnb, Facebook. So you've got quite the quite the client list. Somehow? Yeah. Somehow. And what do you what do you attribute that to? I mean, so it must have started somewhere. Right? Not being an asshole, number 1. Like, that's the thing I've tried my whole life not to be. Unless I'm playing the, you know, youngest sibling situation and you're you're technically Yeah. Trying to poke and prod. But if as far as, like, working, if we've agreed to terms, like, I'm gonna go out of my way. And do you think that's a bit out of the ordinary for for artists working with brands? I feel like, stereotypically, artists probably aren't as organized or punctual as And is there attitude often in involved? There can be. Ego is fragile. Ego in any industry within human nature is a fragile thing to navigate. I think I had a harder time prior to grad school with ego and the work, with, you know, commercial work. That's what took you down a notch? Yeah. Many notches. But it was more you've agreed to do this for a brand. Get over yourself. Like, if you're not morally sacrificing, if you don't like the color purple, I'm so like, just get like, do it. Yeah. You can make justifications for your decisions. And if ultimately, they go with the option that you don't like, it just isn't held as sacred to me because, like, I'm doing this for you. These are the 5 options I came up with. 3 is my favorite. 3, I think, is the best one. But if they choose 4 or 2 or whatever the other one is, and you're like, fine. Yeah. I'll do I will make it as best as I can and, like, push this as far as I can go and meet all the objectives and everyone's happy. I gotta think about what's next. Yeah. Like, it it's the next thing. This isn't It it is a business to some to some degree. But it's like I'm and I'm not attitude wise, that doesn't shift at all. It's, I'm in a service industry to some regard. Yeah. And it there are times where people if you're experiencing toxicity from the people within a company, that changes. That's harder. Yeah. But if it's people you respect and then the it's pleasant, We're good. You're good. I I think that that makes a lot of sense. I mean, if you, if you have a reputation of being a good artist to work with who's organized and and efficient, and not a jerk. Yeah. And there's there's a skill set there too. It's like, I can paint the thing, or we can make this as big as you want on anything Yeah. From a digital standpoint. Like, I have those, you know, varying skills. Versatile. It's versatile, for sure. And as far as the process, is it what typically what you described of providing, broad sort of differentiated options and then whittling it down in in revision rounds to to what the client's looking for? I mean, I would say 95% of my commercial clients go through my agent. And Natalie does a tremendous job of, like, outlining. Here are the expectations. Here are the amount of rounds. Additional rounds cost this much. This is when they will be delivered. Wow. All that sort of stuff. Yeah. So she's kind of a partner. Yeah. Yeah. And that's I mean, it's been since 2015 end of 2015. That's 10 years. Yeah. Holy. Shit. That's right. Yeah. Almost. Yeah. Yeah. And that's I mean, it's just so so helpful to have someone who's an advocate for me as a human and as an artist and cares a lot about, licensing and the usage and the rights as an artist around any work. Mhmm. And steered me out of certain projects where it doesn't Mhmm. Her criteria and, you know, like, so and so is doing it. I think I should do it. You're like, do you know what their rights cost? Yeah. Give give that up. And it doesn't mean that the client would then actually make a billboard out of this matchbook design, but they could Yeah. Based on the language around the contract. And that's stuff I didn't really know and have learned through these years of working with with her. But, yeah, those back to the, like, what I'm presenting to a client. I like to put together a tight presentation deck, overviewing the all the options. If inspired and then aligned, I will try, hey, here's the thing I'm pushing. I don't necessarily always say that, but I'm, like, here's an option that I don't think you're expecting, and I got excited about. I explored this. And that would only be, like, in the proposal round. And then you have 2 rounds of revision after that. So, normally, it's narrowed down, and then I hone in on 2 or 3 different directions. And then they make a selection. Then it's minor edits, and then it project shipped. Cool. So it's usually fairly quick. Could be a few weeks or a month. Got it. There are certain ones that are longer if you have more people on a committee and there's more the scale of this and it's through a city and all that sort of stuff. Right. You got more players at the table and people to So so on top of the brand work, can you just update us on on other other outlets, other, yeah, for for your artwork and ways that you're creating? Yeah. I do a a lot of commission works on Canvas, and then we'll do residential murals as well, which that is that's really special. It's like someone likes my work enough to have Inviting you into their home. I mean, I painted someone's back patio. I painted bathrooms. I love doing bathrooms. Like, I I have a friend. His daughter just thought I only painted bathrooms, and I love that. There's something like Pee wee Herman about that. Right? Like, the Pee wee Herman bathroom? For sure. Yeah. Oh, yeah. He had this telephone booth thing that could change curtains and scenery. I've always wanted to have that as, like, my teleconference Okay. Thing. Anyway, that's that's a tangent. But, one of my favorite artists, Amos Kennedy, is a letterpress printer, makes really challenging, provocative text based work. He always he changed my opinion of the bathroom. Like, I always, like, you don't know where to put it, so you put the work in the bathroom. He's like, no. No. No. The bathroom is one of the most special place. You're gonna see that every day. Anyone that goes there is gonna eventually see this piece. Right. So maybe it's not above the mantle, but it's in the most common thing you'll see a lot of Right. In about the toilet, it just it stuck with me. Yeah. Yeah. And then other things, whether that's, like, a girl scout thing or stuff for my kids. I do a lot of stuff for my kids. My my last question is whether you think there are any parallels between your your artwork, your your process, and, you know, bike bike riding or or bike racing. And we've we've talked about how you're inspired by the, you know, by the landscape, but I guess I'm I'm talking more about the the challenges of cycling and A 100%. And your art. Yeah. There I can make forced connections between any sport and art. I mean, because it all comes back to, like, mental fortitude. Yeah. And there are moments of any project or any ride where, like, this is the greatest thing I've ever done in my life, and I'm so happy to be doing this. 2, I don't want to be doing this, make it stop, whether that's a ride or a client project, or I hate what I'm making right now, which is the worst feeling Mhmm. That I encounter more often than I used to. So that you hit that incline of negativity, how do you work through it? And how do you like, the the irony is I'm using cycling to work through the art problem. Right. And then everything else in my life as well is, like, getting ironed out and addressed. Whether that's a solo ride or the group ride just feels more restorative and physically challenging. I feel like there's plenty of parallels there, like Journey Yeah. Chapter. There's parts of the ride that, you know, aren't challenging, and you're coasting behind a wheel. I, comfortable in that draft. I appreciate what you said about sort of the juxtaposition of, like, that that high that you get as well as the the challenge that you get when you cramp or when you when you hit a wall, when you, you know Or your legs are just cracked. Out of it. They're not even cracked. And how they can they can really be back to back. I mean, they can be within a few minutes of each other. And, and and also, you know, how how fulfilling it is when you do get over, you know, that that hump, that challenge. So they're all they're all interrelated. And I think they all come back to how much positivity can you put out. It's, like, less about the watts and more, like, what is your outlook on situation? That is going to make the difference. That's what I'm trying to teach my kids. They're, like, bad stuff is gonna happen, but how do you deal with it? How do you process it? Yeah. Sometimes you can't say time out, and I gotta get on my bike to fix this. It's like you're in the moment. What do you do? Yeah. I think that's a that's a great lesson for for your kids, but a great great lesson for anyone. Fair. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Well, thanks a lot, man. Oh. As I said, this I'm, like, on a high because this was this was, really, we covered so much that that I wanted to. So I I really appreciate you. We only covered things I was into, so this was great. Alright, man. Thank you. Thank you for having me. Yeah. Yeah. You're blessed. My pleasure.