About Us
TLDR: (Short Version)
“The Power of 9 Lives.”
I focus on the present as much as possible, knowing that if I need to reinvent myself, I will. I totally enjoy creating art for people who love the same things I do—sneakers, sports, and pop culture.
Today, I only create limited editions. I love infusing my unique creative perspective into my favorite sports and pop culture references. It lets me tell my own stories that resonate in new ways. It’s like twisting something known into something creative that not everyone has.
My supporters mean the world to me, and I love hearing how my art impacts their lives. I especially love teaching other aspiring artists how to meet their own breakthrough moment.
The 9 lives mentality weaves through every touchpoint in my life. I designed my Benji the Cat logo as a steadfast reminder. I am making the most of my 9 lives, and I approach every single day with confidence that no matter what happens, I’m here and I will make it. If and when another obstacle presents itself, I know I’ll be ready to recreate myself once again.
I will never stop telling people - you want that? It’s possible. Failure can be a pause, but it doesn’t have to be the end. Just remember, for every setback, there’s a comeback. That’s the power of 9 lives.
The Power of 9 Lives: The Anderson Bluu Story (Full Story)
Rethink, Reshape, Renew
“Approach life with a 9 lives mentality. Reinventing yourself, especially in the face of failure, is one of the most important things you can do to reach your dreams.”
If I had a dollar for every obstacle in my journey to become an artist, let’s just say, I could buy a house full of Air Jordans. I’m Anderson Bluu, sneaker artist, graphic designer, and content creator.
From a young age I had a strong entrepreneurial spirit. I was scrappy, athletic, and always ready to work for money, even when I was 12 or 13. I sold mixtapes, I shoveled snow, and I started drawing and selling my sketches to classmates. If I were lucky, by the end of the week, I’d have enough to buy my favorite video games. (Street Fighter was my go-to.)
“My first superhero was my father.”
My parents were a big influence on me, especially my Dad. He moved from Trinidad to the US where he worked on the police force. He was good at his job, but he was deeply unhappy in his career. I could feel incredible tension and dissatisfaction dripping off him every day after work. Watching this strong, smart, and capable man wither under the weight of a job he hated, made me all the more determined to find a career that I loved. I wanted something that fired me up, instead of tearing me down.
What I really loved was sports, music, and art. But I wasn’t super clear on what to do with my life.
I was athletic enough, but I wasn’t NBA bound.
I loved music, but wasn’t going to be the next Jay-Z.
I had artistic talent, but I wasn’t sure I could make that into a career.
At the time, my Dad was steering me away from art and towards sure things like accounting or business. And even art school was telling me “no.” Scratch that dream.
So, what I did was pursue the ”safe path” majoring in business, while I started creating my own art on the side. I bought a heating press. Then I made and sold some cool T-shirts on campus, just to keep that little spark alive. I kept aligning myself with the things I loved: sneakers, sports, and pop culture. Overall, I was in limbo—stuck between two worlds, one foot in the “safe zone” of working for someone else and one foot in the “dream zone” of knowing deep down I was meant to be an artist. The thing I thought I had was plenty of time to decide, but I was about to learn a hard life lesson when an unexpected phone call changed the course of my life.
“Life is fragile. There are no guarantees for tomorrow.“
It is a phone call no one wants to get. “Your father died.” This news was a gut punch that brought me to my knees. I was in immediate shock, disbelief and grief. My dad was only 54 years old and his death caught me totally off guard. All my life, he was a rock-solid man, invincible and steady. The heartbreaking thing was knowing that he had dedicated his entire life to working a job he didn’t love so that one day, he could do the things he loved like travel, see the world, and enjoy life. He never got there. He never got to experience the joy and happiness he was working toward.
For the first time in my life, I understood. Life could be gone in a second, and that meant that every second matters. I promised myself from that moment on, that I would do everything in my power to live a life I loved. And that meant doing what I love- art.
“You have to dream before your dreams can come true.”
It was time to go all in and go after my dream.
I started really pushing my art into the market- SneakerCon, ComicCon, AnyCon that would take me….and I began to build a grassroots following of people who loved the same things I love: sneakers, sports and pop culture.
People loved what I was putting out there and I started getting featured in some magazines. People were getting tattoos of my art prints
Then…
Foot Locker reached out to me in a cold email asking if I would be interested in an opportunity. I high tailed it to Foot Locker HQ in NYC, flip book in hand.
A sneaker designer had just dropped out of a GI Joe Campaign for Asics, and they offered me the gig with a stark warning:
“Don’t get your hopes up. Asics is not known for its limited-edition sales.”
That didn’t matter to me. I was off to Boston where I designed two sneakers in 4 hours. Wicked fast, as they say in Boston.
What happened next?
My designed sneakers flew off the shelves. I became the artist with the best-selling Asics sneakers in Foot Locker history!
This breakthrough moment kicked off a string of successes and completely expanded my possibilities. I’ve been to art shows in Japan, Australia, China, London, and all across the US to meet people, sign sneakers and sell my sneaker art print series. I’ve grown a global fan base of collectors and I’ve sold over 1,000 pieces of my artwork. I have the best supporters in the world, and I’m incredibly blessed to be doing something I love, that other people love too.
“If you find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn’t lead anywhere.”
My path wasn’t always smooth though because life isn’t always easy. We all know that. The pandemic was a huge roadblock, just as I was gaining momentum. But when I got stuck at home, like everybody else, I had to think outside the box and that’s when my TikTok videos really took off.
The pandemic was tough, isolating, and disruptive but it also gave me time to record educational videos which quickly turned into a foundational part of my business. I started teaching other people how to become artists or how to start their own design business. I demonstrated specific art skills and shared tips to help aspiring artists develop their own talents. And as my TikTok videos became increasingly popular, doors kept opening. My following has grown to over 1.2 million followers which blows my mind when I stop to think about it. It would blow my Dad’s mind too.
Thanks to my TikTok platform success I’ve experienced incredible collaborations with renowned partners like Disney, YouTube, and Adobe. I was invited to help hand-create Mt.Rapmore, a huge New York City mural commissioned by Spotify. I can’t tell you how meaningful it is to see my artwork alive on the streets of the city I love, honoring rap music icons that inspired me over the years. It’s amazing when I think of little 12-year-old Anderson who used to shovel those streets for ten dollars.
To say it’s been a dream come true is an understatement. It’s been better than I ever dreamed.