Autumn Lundberg & Andre Colbert: From MKE to LA and Back, MKE Art & Creative Scene, Stories with Lil Wayne and more

SPEAKER_00
0:00

Wisconsin is we ranked last in art funding, which is crazy because Georgia O'Keefe and Frank Lloyd Wright are from Wisconsin.

SPEAKER_01
0:09

A funny thing about that tattoo that I did on Wayne's face that people know about is I had only been tattooing for like 10 days. So I had done a tattoo on a rapper's face like a couple days prior to that.

SPEAKER_02
0:22

So you started with face tattoos on rappers, basically. You didn't work your way up.

SPEAKER_00
0:27

Being an artist in a smaller city, I think, gives you an upper hand these days.

SPEAKER_01
0:32

I'm from Milwaukee and it's like silent. And then everyone would be like, but then there would be that one person always a security guard or something like, oh, I love Milwaukee.

SPEAKER_02
0:44

Hey everyone, welcome back to Milwaukee Uncut. We've got a local art power couple in the building. Autum Lundberg and Andre Colbert. Autumn is a very talented multidisciplinary artist with over 250,000 TikTok followers. She's got an amazing ceiling installation she just announced coming to the Ascent downtown. And Andre is a pro skater, turned tattoo artist and owns Sanctuary Tattoo Gallery in Milwaukee. He's also signed to Young Money. He's tattooed Lil Wayne, skated and toured with Wayne. A lot of good stories from both of them. They both lived in LA for a while, but now are back in Milwaukee. So we talk about their careers, the Milwaukee art scene, and being in Milwaukee as a creative versus other big markets. Before diving in, I want to thank our partners who make Milwaukee Uncut possible. We'll kick it off with Nicolai Law, the Midwest law firm injured. Get Nicola and Russ and the team will take great care of you. Drink Wisconsin Wheat Beverage Company, best vodka brandy and canned cocktails in the game, available at bars and liquor stores across the state. Now available at Amfam Field. Make sure to check out their corner bar over in Wright Field. And last but not least, our friends over at Annex Wealth Management. If you're looking to get your finances together and have a goal that deals with your money, your earnings, your investments, go talk to the experts at Annex. They have an amazing team ready to listen and help you with your personal goals. Annex Wealth Management, know the difference. All right, let's dive in with Autumn and Andre. Alright, everyone, welcome back to Milwaukee Uncut. We have an artistic power couple in the building. Would that be accurate? We've got uh what they say. Autumn and Andre Autumn Lundberg, a multidisciplinary artist, mixed media and sculpture. If you don't know exactly what that is, check out her Instagram or TikTok. Really cool, good-looking artist, is how I would describe it. She was the first ever NFL creative technologist before doing this. Um, also a designer for a light company. Did I see that? Yeah, yeah. Um, has worked in the service industry. She's also the artist in residence at the Ascent, just announced her new ceiling installation at the Ascent as well.

SPEAKER_00
3:07

Yes. Congrats on that. Let's go. Thank you. Thank you.

SPEAKER_02
3:12

And then we got Andre Colbert. He is the owner of Sanctuary Tattoo Gallery over on Water Street. Professional skateboarder, signed to Young Money. He's toured around with Lil Wayne. He has tattooed Lil Wayne as well. I have among others. I'm excited to get into your story. And you both lived in LA. You are back in in Milwaukee before let's get right into that. How did you guys meet? And when were you in LA from and why'd you come back? When were you in LA?

SPEAKER_00
3:46

I was in LA from 2009 to 2016. And then I came back to go to school for industrial design. But I started my art career out there. And then Andre and I met in 2020 I don't know.

SPEAKER_01
4:02

I don't even remember the years I was in LA exactly. I was there for like six years.

SPEAKER_00
4:07

We but we were there around the same time. I think we were there if my math is correct, from like 2011 to maybe also 2016.

SPEAKER_01
4:15

We met uh through some acquaintances and uh exchanged social media and whatnot. Yeah and then didn't speak for a long time, kind of after that. And then yeah, and then I don't know.

SPEAKER_00
4:27

Yeah, reached it. When the time was right, yeah. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02
4:30

When you were back here. What what brought each you did? I didn't. Where are you from?

SPEAKER_00
4:39

You know where? Let the people know. I'm from northern Wisconsin. I'm from Rhinelander.

SPEAKER_01
4:44

Woo woo. Rodegg, Rodegg.

SPEAKER_00
4:46

Rodeggs, yep. So um born and raised Rhinelander, Wisconsin, and moved to LA when I was 18. And then back to Milwaukee when I was 26. And then back to LA and then back to Milwaukee.

SPEAKER_01
5:00

I'm a Milwaukee mutt. I lived all over the city. South side, north side, West Dallas, East Side. I moved to Chicago. I was living in Chicago kind of on weekends from 13 to like 17 and living in Milwaukee in Chicago part-time. And then 17 officially moved out to Chicago until I was probably 21, and then I came back to Milwaukee and then went out to LA. And now I'm back in Milwaukee.

SPEAKER_02
5:32

Yeah, and what what brought each of you out to LA?

SPEAKER_00
5:37

I went out to LA because I knew I wanted to pursue something in the creative realm. And I was kind of between all the typical big cities, New York, Chicago, Miami, LA, and just I preferred I preferred LA. You know, New York, I didn't want to struggle in New York. It just it's it's the most expensive. And it seemed a little harsh, a little cutthroat. And Los Angeles, you know, at least if I'm working multiple jobs out there, it's nice weather and it's a little bit more like laid back, and and there's a big um creative scene out there, obviously. So everything goes out in LA, and Chicago is just too close to home. But I love Chicago now. But yeah.

SPEAKER_02
6:27

And is that when you got the NFL job while you were out there?

SPEAKER_00
6:30

No, so actually, so this is how that went. So I went back to school for industrial design, and then we have to if you want to work in industrial design, you are supposed to get an internship. And so I knew I wanted to go back out to Los Angeles, and so I wrote them a heck of a cover letter. I didn't qualify for any of their internals, but my cover letter was it was like stand-up comedy. I knew that if the right person got it, that I that it could work, and and it happened. And so they they brought me in and I was their first person in that role. They had a disruptor who was incredible, a genius, and um so I was their creative technologist, and then I was fully planning on going back. The job was waiting for me, and that's when the when COVID started. And it was around that time when COVID started that I had met Andre, and I was basically just kind of twiddling my thumbs in Milwaukee, waiting to get that email saying, Hey, we're ready for you, because they were on a hiring freeze. And the I was getting commissioned um to create artwork, large bodies of work, and so I ended up renting a studio space and I paid for it in full, which I don't in times I don't know why I did that, but I paid for it for the year, and it was the very next day that I got the email saying, Hey Autumn, here's the link for your job, we're so excited. And it was it was one of those moments where I just thought like, okay, I feel like it's not meant to be. And I and I told myself, if the money's still in my bank account, I'll just email the landlords and say, Hey, I'm gonna, I'm actually moving, you know, sorry about that. Oh my gosh, that money was gone. And so I just laughed about it, you know, in instead of thinking about the what ifs, I just embraced it and I thought, I'm not supposed to be there. I'm not supposed to work for someone else and give someone a bunch of really great ideas, and whether it's an NFL or who, um, but they they don't always do anything with those ideas or they get twisted and diluted to the point where it's not really it's not as cool as as when you first uh proposed it, you know. So so now I work for myself and I love it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02
9:08

And what brought you out to LA and how how how did you get on on your path to doing all this?

SPEAKER_01
9:15

That's a great question. How I got on the path. Um I didn't know I was gonna move to LA. I'm gonna probably shout out a couple skateboarders here, but uh I was with my homie Chaz Ortiz, we were spending a lot of time together, and we were planning on getting a place in downtown Chicago together. And then out of nowhere, there's a skateboarder named Paul Rodriguez, who's a very successful skateboarder. He had a property available that he was willing to rent. So he contacted my good friend Manny Santiago, uh a guy named Spanish Mike. I don't know if Bashin was Bashin Salabanzi was with us at the time yet, and then he contacted me and Chaz. So we all decided to just group up and move together. And um, for me, it was kind of like a surprise almost. Like, um I'm thinking we're moving to Chicago, I'm all in, and the next oh all right, cool. LA. Here we go. So we went out there to skateboard essentially.

SPEAKER_02
10:15

So and then when did when did you get signed by Young Money? And what how when did all that happen?

SPEAKER_01
10:21

That wasn't for a long time after I had lived in LA. Um were you just grinding as a professional skateboard? I was just grinding as a skateboarder out there, and we were basically P Rod had this private skate park in LA. It's really hard to skate the outdoor spots, tons of traffic, tons of security. You drive 45 minutes, you get kicked out. You drive another 45 minutes, you get kicked out. So, P Rod, his sponsors got him this private skate park. So it was cool because it was like a little mecca of like all the best skateboarders in the world are just like trapped in this private park together. So um we were grinding in there a lot, filming a lot of stuff, and then Paul was kind enough to bless me with a video part in his skate park with my homie Chaz and this other thing called like a full clip or something, and then he posted that on all his social medias and whatnot. And I'm assuming that's how Lil Wayne first saw me was from P. Rod basically broadcasting me to the world.

SPEAKER_02
11:26

So, did you get a DM from Lil Wayne, or how did that come about?

SPEAKER_01
11:29

Or something's team if Wayne even knows how to DM, but um no, it's kind of a long story. I don't want to take too much time away from all because she's the real no one.

SPEAKER_00
11:41

She's the real thing. I'm intrigued.

SPEAKER_02
11:43

I'm intrigued. He's do you know do you know the answer? You could talk about it.

SPEAKER_00
11:47

Well, no, but he he skimmed over why he was living in Chicago when he was 13. Because being 13, living in Chicago in a high rise by yourself is pretty abnormal. So I think you gotta explain some of that too.

SPEAKER_01
12:03

So when I was a kid, I was I've been skateboarding kind of for a living since I was 13. So I had a sponsor out in Chicago, and they were the main brand, like in the Midwest.

SPEAKER_02
12:14

How did how do you get discovered at the I'm not super familiar with the skateboarding world? Were you winning competitions and they just found you, or how did that happen?

SPEAKER_01
12:20

So that's a great question because then it's so different to now. Now you can post an Instagram clip, you're seen by the entire world. Back then it was more of an art, like it was impossible to be discovered. And skateboarding teams used to do something called demos where they would just show up and skate in front of the kids, and that was really incredible back then because there was no Instagram, so you only saw video parts and that you would watch over like how you used to watch a movie on repeat. You know, who does that anymore? Who even watches the same movie twice anymore? Right. But when we got skate parts from someone, they filmed it for two years and we watched it every day. So then you never get to see these guys until they show up to your local skate park and skate in front of you. And they the team ended up doing that, but I was such a poor kid that I didn't know they were coming, and I paid to skate that day. So I was like, I don't mean to be rude, but I'm skateboarding today. Like my mom had to get the change together. My mom didn't even want to bring me here, so I skated with them with the pros, and they were like, they they let you skate with them after the sky. I'm sure they weren't happy with it at first, but I started skating, and then um, after skating with them for a bit, we kind of were vibing a little bit, I guess you would say. And uh they were like, yo, we're taking you in, you with us now. So uh the bell would ring on Friday when I was in middle school, and I would take a cab, or my mom would take me to the Amtrak, and I would like watch all the kids going home, like mom, yeah, it's Friday. I was right to the Am track straight to Chicago to go work and go skateboard for the weekend, and then um Sunday night or Monday morning would come around, and then I would go back to the Amtrak and go right back to school. So I just spent my weekends. How old are these guys? Are they they're grown men? Yeah, 20s, 30s, and a lot of them are legendary skateboarders, which I didn't even really comprehend at that age. So now that I'm a little older, I'm just so grateful that like I had these legendary skateboarders as like roommates when as a kid. You weren't partying with them when you were 13. Did did they did they take care of you, or were you as uh a famous Sean White quote, I was drinking Mountain Dew, baby.

SPEAKER_02
14:43

But yeah, it was any any crazy story from those early Chicago days that stand stands in your mind.

SPEAKER_00
14:49

You gotta tell them about how you hurt your ankle.

SPEAKER_01
14:54

The week before I moved to LA, I broke my foot. I had a weird, a lot of weird, unfortunate stuff happen, and then uh I was kind of getting my shit together. Excited about moving to LA, trying to skate more, get it, get it together, and then I ended up breaking my foot. So we move out there, and that's when I kind of got more into art. I was already into art, but that's when I really started really honing in on it because I was hurt when I was out in LA. So designing a bunch of logos and working with big skate brands and whatnot, and doing designs, and um something just told me like it wasn't something. My my peers, my homies, they were like, yo, like, you gotta get it together. You're too talented. So I really got back on my skate game, and I was skating the best I've ever skated. I was super proud of what I was doing at the time, and then I broke the same foot again. So I was just like, I think it's time to hang it up. I'll go full time in the art stuff, and uh something just told me like, give it one more try, one more go before you hang it up. And um, I went to a Rob Deerdek, does a contest called Street League, and all my roommates are in the contest, so they have like the best uh medics and stuff there. So I like hobbled in there with the broken foot, and they're like, Oh, you should try this new therapy that we just came up with. So I went home that night and tried it, and um I could walk the next day with the broken foot, and my foot was so bad that my heel couldn't touch the ground while I was sitting. So like I would I was riding this uh this exercise bike just trying to get like movement and whatnot. And um P uh I don't know how much Paul was involved in this, but his filmer Spanish Mike was like, hey, we need to drop your video stuff. And me and my homie Chaz had filmed the whole video part. They're like, but the part won't come out unless you film this thing called a full clip, and that's how it like introduces the skate part. So um I was like, dude, I'm hurt, and he was like, Yeah, but if you don't film it, it doesn't come out, and it's gonna you gotta film it within like a week. So uh I was like, okay, so I started skating in my driveway on the broken foot, just trying to figure it out, and I was kind of getting away with some stuff, so that I was like, whatever, I'll show up and see what I can do. And I ended up doing some tricks I had never even done before while filming, and uh it was excruciating, but we got through it, and um it's a whole like you asked me about the young money stuff and whatnot. Um the video comes out, it does really well, it did well for me at least, and um a couple weeks later, someone was like, Hey, Lil Wayne's cousin's gonna come to like a house party that we were having, and I was like, Oh, cool, cool, cool. And then, you know, it's LA, you don't know who's who and who actually know whatever. And when I met the kid, I told him, I'm like, hey, my name's Andrew Cobra, nice to meet you. Oh, dang, I told him how I said it. But uh, he was like, Oh, you don't gotta tell me who you are, bro. He was like, Wayne is a big fan of yours, and I was like, What? It was so surreal to me that I didn't really take it seriously, but um, I was like, What are you what are you talking about? And he was like, dude, we we watch all your videos on the tour bus and stuff. Like, he fucks with you heavy, and I was like, Oh, okay. And I never knew what video he was watching, and it just hit me about a year ago. It was the video that I filmed on the broken foot that I wasn't gonna go through with because I was gonna retire, I was gonna just hang it up.

SPEAKER_02
18:38

So, yeah, that's she wanted me to tell the story because I thought you you got far by just pushing through situations you shouldn't you shouldn't have been in. I think that's a good lesson to people. Yeah, yeah, I guess, yeah. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00
18:52

That's that persistence, no quit. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02
18:57

Well, what do you say the biggest break you got was that helped really jumpstart things for you? Was there a moment you when you were like, I can't believe this is happening to me?

SPEAKER_00
19:08

Honestly, so I've I feel like I've had a few. The first one, the first pieces I I ever sold were to really big collectors. Like the first pieces were. When did this all happen? I was 22 years old. Okay.

SPEAKER_02
19:25

And so you were in LA at that point in time.

SPEAKER_00
19:28

I was in LA, I was working at a CrossFit gym, I was front desk, and you were just hustling with art on the side, especially. Yep, yep. And um, and my bosses, they were awesome, awesome guys, and they would um they would play poker at night. And in Los Angeles, the poker scene is crazy. And so the people that would come in the next day to work out were some of the poker guys. And these poker guys, well, they were also art collectors. So I just got really lucky. And then um yeah, the the first person I ever sold something to, I actually I sold it through a middleman. I think it was technically his assistant, this other gentleman. And um I knew that I knew that the guy was a big collector, but I didn't know to what degree. And I actually met him at a different event then, and he was chatting with someone and uh my boss, and I walked up, I said hi to my boss, and then the guy looked at me, he said, You're Autumn, the artist. And and we had that moment of you're James, like you're the collector. And he went off on this tangent where he was telling me how I was creating landscapes of other worlds, and I should never stop doing what I'm doing. And my piece is in good company with Magrittes and Picasso's, and and he just went, he was so encouraging. And for my my you know, first or second sale ever in my life, I I really held on to that. Um because he seemed like he seemed like someone who has some good taste. Um and then fast forward, I also think when the when the NFL took me in, they created that position for me, which feels still so surreal to say, because you hear stories where people say, Oh, they created this this role for me or something.

SPEAKER_02
21:28

So going back to just the NFL thing. So you so earlier you said you had just like put a deposit down for the studio when they told you you got the job. Did you then end up taking it, or what how did that all play out?

SPEAKER_00
21:40

No, I I hit them up and I said, Hey guys, I just paid $14,000 for this space for a year, and I can't get that money back. So uh, and they were so nice about it, they said, Hey, we're not going anywhere. We think you're Really talented, you know, to see where this can take you. And then my first client after that conversation was Jarvis Landry, who's a receiver. Yeah, yeah, big Pro Bowl guy. So that kind of felt very serendipitous. And I also think having that having the NFL on my resume gives me some credibility and it allows these people, whether they're an athlete or someone who is uh a big collector or who has a big budget, it lets them trust me because they see that I've been in those spaces where I've I've worked with large budgets before and I've you know come through.

SPEAKER_02
22:44

So and how how did you already evolve from doing the landscapes in your early 20s to seeing these really cool ceiling installations that I see on your Instagram account?

SPEAKER_00
22:56

So I knew, like even when I was little, I loved the architectural type installations. And I obviously when I was little, I didn't know how to say that or how to, you know, communicate that, but I just knew I liked going into the spaces where stuff was hanging from the ceiling or you know, it looked it just looked cool, it looked whimsical, like I love, I love Disney, you know, the hodeg is the mascot, I love Harry Potter, I love like I love everything sort of ethereal and magical, and and how do I create that? And so I you know, I guess that was always kind of like my life goal of like how do I figure this out? And it started with 2D, you know, pretty like abstract kind of. But I knew when I was in my mid-20s that the creative industry was really moving quickly as far as um different softwares like 3D modeling, CNCing, um 3D printing, uh knowing how to even just like draw on an iPad. You know, I wasn't doing any of that. I was complete completely like oil paint, acrylic, you know, just with my hands. And so I went back to school for industrial design because I knew that I needed to learn how to create those architectural type installations. Like how who who created the uh Statue of Liberty? Who created Mount Rushmore? Who created these uh, you know, the Eiffel Tower, and how did they know how to do it safely? How did because if we're putting something outside, well, it can't fall over, it can't, you know, like you you start to think of how it how the public interacts with this piece of art. And so I knew I had a lot to learn. And I had um looked into different art schools around the US. I looked at GRISD, I looked at SCAD, I looked at gosh, there's um, you know, some some some schools out in California. Um, but the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design had a really great industrial design program. And I knew that what I wanted from it was sort of atypical, because a lot of a lot of the a lot of my peers who were in industrial design, they were they were really embracing the product design side of things. And I just wanted to learn like how to, you know, I just needed to learn the tools, the manufacturing, the um the materials, and then I was gonna just take that information and kind of run with it and do my own thing. So yeah, but to go back to your question about another big break. My first client who trusted me with creating a ceiling installation for her, I hadn't I had nothing in my portfolio that proved that I could do that. And it was a pretty aggressive concept. And I'll always be grateful for her because without her, I I wouldn't have been able to showcase that um ability from learning how to do everything with industrial design. That was one of my first uh jobs where it really crossed over.

SPEAKER_02
26:17

So she were you nervous at all taking that job on? It see it seems like kind kind of similar to Andre. It seems like you both just kind of like you you say yes and figure it out a little bit. I don't think push through.

SPEAKER_00
26:32

I wasn't nervous because I could see I could see how I wanted it to look in my head. So I knew what it was going to look like. And I think there are some scenarios, like even now with Ascent, where there's no room for error. And that's just what it is. So you move accordingly and you take you take things slowly. You know, the my first ceiling installation we took just about a year. Granted, there were we were kind of working with her schedule as far as traveling and other renovations within her home, but it worked in my favor because I wasn't trying to speed through it to create it. And so I was able to sort of play project manager as well and talk to these different construction teams and electricians and show them the concept, explain it, so that the people that were a part of it doing some of the physical creating that I wasn't doing, they they understood the end goal. And I think that was also really important. But I mean, I don't know. I mean, I I fully believe in like betting on yourself.

SPEAKER_02
27:46

So going back to your story, so the cousin says little Wayne's a fan of you. Do you get signed shortly after that? And who what was your first interaction with with Wayne himself?

SPEAKER_01
27:59

Um it's actually funny because my first actual interaction with Wayne was at that at one of those street league contests. Uh a good friend of mine was competing and he got me some floor seats. And um I'm sitting down and there's like a velvet red rope next to me, and I'm like, who the hell would be sitting there? Is Rob Dear gonna sit there? Like, he needs a red rope, like at his own shit, you know? And then out of nowhere, Lil Wayne just walks up and sits down next to me, and I'm like, this is fucking so random. This is insane, you know? And I took a photo with Wayne, and he was super nice. I was like, bro, you mind if I get a photo? He's like, absolutely, and um this is in the time when like people don't really get photos like that. So then now me and Wayne are like best friends to the to the city of Milwaukee, even though I didn't even know him, you know. And then um shortly after that, it wasn't even so the kid actually wasn't Wayne's cousin, he was a really, really close friend of his, and um, who also skateboards and was kind of Wayne's like skate homie, and he would tour with him and whatnot. And I didn't meet Wayne through him. Um, Wayne was skateboarding one night, and um the dude that was filming it was like hit me and my homie up, was like, hey, I kind of need like a ride out to go film Wayne. Do you guys want to go? And at first we it was far, so we were kind of like, uh, and then he talked us into it. And uh we pull up and it's like a movie set, and there's catering, there's like all this shit, but he's really like skating in the streets, though. I don't know if you know anything about skateboarding, but it's illegal. Like you're trespassing, you're not supposed to be there. You have to jump a gate to get into this school to get to where we are. Like, I we literally climbed like a 10-foot gate, jump in, and then there's like a hundred people, and we're like And catering, and catering and stuff. We're like, how did they get all this shit in here? This is like closed private property, you know? So Wayne shows up and he's with his homie Marley G. And uh a couple of my friends knew Wayne, but no, everyone was just like staring at him from like across a schoolyard, and he was skating this little stair set by himself. And I'm like, why are all these people here? If they're like not kicking it, like I don't understand what is happening because when we go skate, there is no catering. I'm like me and my homies, you know what I mean? I assume not. There's a generator, a light, and a filmer and a photographer. Yep. So I'm like, I didn't understand because that's what he wanted. He just didn't know that, like, that's how it goes. He was so new to skateboarding at that time because Wayne skateboarded. So um, I'm like, this is weird. I'm gonna go, I'm gonna go like bother him. And all my no, no, no, leave him alone. I'm like, nah, nah, fuck that. Like, and the homie had just told me that he knew who I was, so I was like, I'm gonna go say what's up to him. So I walk up to Wayne and I'm like, hey, what's up, bro? He's like, Oh, what up? And I was like, How you doing, man? Like, what are you doing in LA? And he's like, Oh, I'm good. Uh, I just got off a tour. And I was like, Word, how many stops was it? He was like, shit, like 37 slime, and I was like, that's it. And then him and his homie looked at me like, what the fuck did this dude say? I was like, no, I'm just fucking with you, bro. That sounds exhausting as hell, you know? And he's laughing, he's like, Who the fuck does this dude think he is? You know, so that kind of like broke the ice. And then uh I could tell he fucked with me after that, and he was like, he had worked on the Carter 5 at the time, I think it was the Carter Five, and he was like, Yo, you want to hear it? I'm like, Duh, like what the of course I want to hear the Carter Five. So him and I are just chilling, listening to the Carter Five, and then like now the homies are starting to kind of like spill over and we're all hanging out and shit. And uh he was doing his thing, he was skating this little stair set, and um he wasn't getting close to this trick, like not even close, but he would he wasn't trying it often though. He would try it and he'd come up and like smoke a blunt and then try it again. And I was like, and I was skating the set with him, and I was like, bro, you mind if I give you some advice on that? And he was like, of course. And I was like, do the trick that you're doing down the stairs. I was like, do it seven times on the ground, and then on the eighth try, grab your fucking board and go straight at that stair set and do exactly what you did on the ground, but instead of going down to the ground, let do it and let the ground come up to you. And then he was like, Alright, cool. I was like, do it just like the flat. So he's doing the seven front one eighties, the trick is called, and I was like, What the fuck? Like, I just fucking told Lil' Wayne what to do, and he's fucking listening to me right now. Like, this is insane. And then he does the seven, goes to the stair set, just like I said, and he stomps the trick perfect first try. And after that, we were like bread and butter. That was it. So he would travel to LA. P Rod gave me a key to his private park, and then like was that his private park that you were at? No, we were in the streets. Oh like we were somewhere where we weren't supposed to be. I don't know how they got all that catering. I don't know. It's just no, someone was setting it up for him. Okay. So the dude that was setting it up was doing too much. Wayne didn't know that. He was just trying to go skate. Yeah. But that's how the guy was setting it up. So yeah, after that, we were bread and butter, and he'd come skate the private park, and Paul gave me a key, and then him and I would just skate all the time and stuff like that.

SPEAKER_02
33:33

So very cool. Um, what what's something that people misunderstand about about him? What's he about he like? Yeah.

SPEAKER_01
33:42

Um, I think something that people misunderstand about Lil Wayne is that he's just literally brilliant. I mean, there's people that understand that, but I don't think they truly understand to like the extent of it. Like he's weird, bro. He's weirdly brilliant, like he's one of one. It's it's crazy watching him do what he does. When he's in the studio, yeah, just in in general, the way he exists, like he's what you think he would be. Like, even when he talks to you, it's in like raps, like in bars. Like he for real, he talks that way. So, and until you spend a lot of time with him personally, you don't even know how to decipher those bars. But then when you start to understand him, you're like, damn, he just gave me like shit that I'll think about every day for the rest of my life. He'll give me bars that I'll live by, but just in conversation like you and I right now. But um, yeah, his process is crazy. He I just think he's super misunderstood. And uh sometimes I'll like watch an interview or something that he'll do, and like people will be tripping on him. Why how could he say that? And then I'll just text him like he doesn't write stuff down, does he? That's what I'm trying to explain.

SPEAKER_02
34:57

So he doesn't write that down.

SPEAKER_01
34:58

That's what I'm trying to explain. He just like he talks that way, but he doesn't shut off really never, never, and he's working. Like, if I hit him right now, he's in he's working right now. So, oh, let me actually something that people don't understand about Wayne. I got you. He will never not work. So when he first started skateboarding, people were busting his balls about it, giving him a hard time. Like, pause. Like, yo, he doesn't why is he skating? He's trying to take from us. What they didn't understand is he skates through the night instead of sleeping because he won't not go to work. So, like, all these skaters that does he sleep at all? He sleeps, but if he skates, he's choosing not to sleep. So people that were skaters like, this dude's not a real skater. It's like, would you give up sleep to go skate? He's more of a skater than the skaters. Like, he literally will he'll work, he'll be at the studio, he'll hit me. You at the park? Yeah, I'm here. All right, cool, I'll be there in a second. He'll pull up, we'll skate from 12 at night till 10 in the morning the next day. And he'll be like, when we're all done, we'll be chilling, kicking it. He'll be like, Yo, Dre, you trying to come kick it at the studio? I'm like, What? Yeah, I'm about to go to work. No, but thank you, bro. I appreciate it. Yeah, I would love to, but no, I'm going to sleep, bro. We've been skating till 10 in the morning, you know, like, but that he he refuses to not work. Yeah, straight up.

SPEAKER_02
36:31

And you've tattooed his face once.

SPEAKER_01
36:33

I tattooed his face, yeah. A couple times. Um a funny story, or not a funny thing about that tattoo that I did on Wayne's face that people know about is um I had only been tattooing for like 10 days. That's a whole story within some.

SPEAKER_02
36:49

I asked Autumn if she was nervous before any projects. How nervous were you to tattoo Wayne's face after being a tattoo artist for 10 days? You can't you don't want to fuck that up.

SPEAKER_01
37:01

Yeah, funny thing about it is And did he know that? He knew Oh, he knew he was like kind of he was kind of talking shit to me about it. Um so I had done a tattoo on a rapper's face like a couple days prior to that because we were on tour, and um that tattoo that I did on the other rappers page started with face tattoos on rappers, basically.

SPEAKER_02
37:26

You didn't you didn't work your way up from I did not maybe a small ankle tattoo or if something low-risk uh no use.

SPEAKER_01
37:33

I did not, and the crazy thing about it is all the tattoos I had done prior to that were only on tattoo artists, which tattoo artists don't let new people tattoo them, but all my homies were tattooers, so I only tattooed tattooers and then I only tattooed rappers after that. And um, the first face tat that I did was with a machine I had never even used before, but I brought it on tour, and that was the first tat. I told him, I was like, bro, I don't want to tattoo your face. Not Wayne, the homie, and he was like, I trust you, and I was like, I don't trust me. He was like, No, I'll do it. You got it. And I was like, Cool, whatever. So I did that tattoo on him, and it happened to be in the same spot I tattooed Wayne. So when I did that one, I sent it to my mentor, and he was like, Oh, I don't think you could have it's perfect. So when Wayne, I was so we me and Wayne didn't do the tattoo on tour. He told me he wanted to, but we didn't get a chance to. So then um on the last day, I hit him up and I was like, Hey, so last day we still doing this tat, and he was like, I can't, I'm having dinner with my kids. Another thing about him is he will never miss time with his kids. So once they fly in, family time. So he was like, I can't do it, but if you go, if you'll fly back to Miami, we can do it. I was like, cool. So I flew to Miami. Um, I'm at his house. Yeah, we did that tattoo in his kitchen at his crib in Miami, and um he was looking in the mirror and he was like, What do you think about this spot right here? And I was like, Fuck. Of course, of course, like of course you want me to tattoo your face, but um I had just done the tattoo in the same spot on the other homie prior, a couple, so and it was good, and then I was like, Well, what do you want? And he was like, I want the initials of a friend of ours that had just passed away. And when he said that, I was like, nah, game on. So what I I wasn't nervous, I didn't care. Like, I was really close to the homie, so I was like, Yes, let's do that. Let's definitely do it. I was honored. Fuck nervous. I was honored, you know.

SPEAKER_02
39:38

So hey guys, summer is here. It's time to get outside and enjoy the weather and maybe take a hard look at your financial life, too. Led by our guy who you've probably seen on some of our recent videos, the iconic Dave Spano. They are the ones to call. Annex is a holistic wealth management firm right in Milwaukee that helps you with everything retirement planning, smart investing, estate planning, legacy planning, and tax strategies all under one roof. They'll help declutter your old accounts, dust off your investment strategy, organize your estate documents, and build a plan focused on your goals. That's our good friends over at Annex Wealth Management, annexwealth.com. Know the difference. All right, let's get back with Autumn and Andre. Autumn, what do you what do you say your uh your creative process is like? Is there anything you you do to get get inspired?

SPEAKER_00
40:34

No. Nothing. You just show up and show out. I kind of think, I kind of think when you decide this is my career, this is what I'm doing full time, you are always on. Similar to you guys. It it becomes 24-7 when you see something that inspires you, or you try a restaurant, you're like, this place is great, I want to do something for them. You know, it's it's the same for me where I'll see something, or I'll hear a song, or I'll see some clothes, some textures. Um, and and it's just you're constantly kind of taking note of everything. And um I love nature. I love, you know, a lot of my inspiration is definitely nature-based, and I think that comes from being from northern Wisconsin and having a childhood where I'm literally out with my friends in the middle of the woods. We were exploring at all times. And you know, to to then be reading those, you know, reading Harry Potter, reading all these other like fantasy type books. It just it's it's it's constant. So I don't think there's really a process. I mean, I have like a shit ton of notebooks that are all full of sketches and ideas and one word or like a phrase or a it's and then I just sometimes I'll have something that I know is a gem. Like you just know in the back of your head, like this is gonna, this is gonna be incredible. And then you always sort of circle back to that, and then eventually you materialize it, right? So I don't know. I I personally don't have a straightforward process. I know some artists do, but I think for me, it's just like living life.

SPEAKER_02
42:25

Do you bring a notebook into yoga class with you?

SPEAKER_00
42:28

Absolutely not, absolutely not. No, when when I am working out, I don't care what type of workout it is the whole time. I'm just thinking about like what I'm gonna eat when I'm done. I swear to God, it's just like Bree give Bree gives me shit.

SPEAKER_02
42:42

I bring one into yoga class with me.

SPEAKER_00
42:45

You do not. You do not, you swear to God.

SPEAKER_02
42:48

I thought you were gonna say I was gonna give her a shit in the system back on in there.

SPEAKER_04
42:55

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_02
42:57

It's uh because I'm I'm I'm forced not to look at a screen for an hour, so that's usually when I I get my best thoughts, and I need to I need to write. A soggy notebook.

SPEAKER_00
43:06

Yeah, for real.

SPEAKER_02
43:07

No, you know, when you know at the end of the day, I only got talking to you once after class.

SPEAKER_03
43:13

No, that was for being disruptive because I was I was going too hard to do. You don't jot it in your iPhone. I was grunting a little bit. I was that guy.

SPEAKER_00
43:20

Um I feel like they celebrate it. I feel like they they like that.

SPEAKER_02
43:24

Never mind that that you don't jot that in your phone? What the ideas in the notepad? No, I don't know. I usually just write write them down. What are you saying? Yeah.

SPEAKER_00
43:33

No, um at the end of yoga, you know, when you're just like laying there and you're supposed to be meditating. I will sometimes be like game planning. Like I I'm not at the end of yoga when you're supposed to be, I don't know, I don't know what you're actually supposed to be doing during that time. But I'm definitely game planning too.

SPEAKER_02
43:50

Brie, Brie is not.

unknown
43:52

Bree's not supposed to think about anything.

SPEAKER_02
43:54

Brie's snoring. Yeah, yeah, she is. I look over at her, she's she's asleep. Basically, not me. The biggest struggles you face as an artist and how you overcome them, whether it was an event or two you had to overcome or a setback, or just kind of on a daily or weekly basis doing what you do.

SPEAKER_00
44:16

Dealing with people.

SPEAKER_02
44:27

No, not especially or not not even. Because I know sometimes you know you're doing something for a client.

SPEAKER_00
44:33

You you've got to do it. I've been really lucky with my clients. I think it's just the world that the the art world, the people that are in this creative scene. You know, when I lived out in Los Angeles, I was a personal assistant to um a big music producer. And he was part of the black IPs. So he wasn't one of the front four, he was one of the back four. And being around that the the music industry, which I know you might have your own thoughts on that, but there's just it's not even just the music industry, it's just the entertainment industry. There's a lot of really grimy people. And having that discernment of who to say no to, who do you not want to work with, or who do you not want to um almost like befriend, like who do you want to stay away from? And I think so much of our um like your brand, if you will, the foundation of that is your like integrity. And if you're around the wrong people, people are gonna get the wrong idea of you. And in the art scene, especially, there's just it's it's interesting, it's crazy. If you ever go to like Art Basil or any of the big art fairs, it's great for people watching. Incredible for people watching. I mean, it's almost alarming. Um, but so I don't think I've had any personal, like big obstacles other than just like freaking paying rent. You know, I was telling Bree, like every year's different, you know. Sometimes you'll have a wait list, and then other years you're looking around, like, where are all my clients? Like, where are you at?

SPEAKER_03
46:26

It is it is very up and down from like an income standpoint or what you know, yeah, the months, the swings, all of that.

SPEAKER_00
46:33

Absolutely, and like just believing in yourself, I think is huge. And in Wisconsin specifically, Wisconsin is we ranked last in art funding.

SPEAKER_02
46:44

Correct. By a long shot, I believe.

SPEAKER_00
46:47

Yes, in the whole US, which is crazy because Georgia O'Keefe and Frank Lloyd Wright are from Wisconsin, amongst other very talented local artists. But those are two of some of the biggest heavy hitter American artists in history. And we're laugh. And there are there are people in our own city who don't want to purchase from local artists. It just it to me it there's a disconnect. There's something something isn't adding up, but because of that, sometimes I I'm reminded, you know, okay, we don't necessarily have the funding. Sometimes the clients aren't around, but I like what I'm doing. I think I'm on to something. And I know Georgia O'Keefe, I know Frank Lloyd Wright, I know they also at some point in their career they didn't have people cheering them on or clients knocking on their door. And so you just sort of like tap into the uh the thoughts of of people who have been super successful in your same space many years before, and how they sort of found their own success without that support financially and you know, just community-wise, and um and then you realize like it's it's it's an ebb and flow. You just gotta get through it, right? Yeah.

SPEAKER_03
48:17

I I was gonna ask this. Um obviously L LA, one of the creative capitals of of the world, uh, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Wisconsin, the the lowest state in art funding, as you acknowledged.

SPEAKER_02
48:30

Are there benefits to you being here opposed to LA that you see? Do you do you stand out more here as where LA there's a lot more competition? What do you like? Absolutely. What do you like about being in Wisconsin?

SPEAKER_00
48:43

I I love being in Wisconsin for a whole bunch of reasons. Um, being an artist in a smaller city, I think, gives you an upper hand these days because we we saw it with the SoundCloud musicians, where there were these musicians who were putting their music out independently, and the the world was embracing them. And it felt like you were finding someone who was unknown and and the music was real, and it wasn't this pop music on the radio that you hear all the time. And I think nowadays, being a whatever type of artist from a smaller city, you have that same lore, if you will. You because you're not, I'm not an artist in Milwaukee because I like I don't know the facade because I because I like how you have to be a genuine, authentic creative to live in a smaller city and continue being a creative full time. There's nothing fake about that. So I love I also love being in Wisconsin because you can invest more back into yourself. You know, and that's big and fine art, everything is so expensive.

SPEAKER_02
50:06

Do you find that even though there's not the amount of money and funding here, that you still come across people that want to support your work because you are local and you are doing what you do here?

SPEAKER_00
50:16

Absolutely. There's a lot of money in Wisconsin. There's a lot of money in the Midwest. And just because we don't have the funding from the state, doesn't mean that there's not funds to be found in the state. And yeah, it's just about that um persistence and continuing to create a body of work that will eventually be seen, even if it's not, even if no one is, you know, purchasing it from you in that moment.

SPEAKER_03
50:44

Yeah, I've I've got asked that question too, like, hey, Milwaukee on cut, is that too too specific or too small? And I'm like, no, I think it's kind of the perfect size market to do what we do, because we wouldn't have stood out as much if we started this in Chicago or LA or New York. And there's still festivals every week, you got three major sports teams within a couple hours.

SPEAKER_02
51:03

There's plenty of plenty of businesses and money here to get get brand deals and support the show. Like, if and if you I feel like if you do good work and you're a good person and you work hard, like this city will will get behind you. Opportunities will find themselves.

SPEAKER_00
51:19

Definitely.

SPEAKER_01
51:19

That was a definitely a really good question, and I think that was an even better answer. Really? Um that was a that was a good question, bro. People ask some generic questions. That was a genuine because I try try I try and being professional. That was a good question because being from Milwaukee and like being well traveled. I'm interested to get your take too on it for sure. But being from Milwaukee and being well traveled and especially before pre-Giannis. Being from Milwaukee pre-Giannis, that was some different shit. So the New York money did flow in here, yeah. Right. So um I feel like people would always the the real question would have been how is it hurting you to be in Milwaukee? I like how you flipped it. You made you turned it into a positive, and I think that was a dope, that was a real, that was a dope way to phrase that question. It's a dope. And you answered that really good too.

SPEAKER_00
52:13

Beautiful time to be in Milwaukee. There's just there's so much development happening here. There are people that are moving here, uh, businesses that are starting, you know. We have new restaurants, new I mean I love why Milwaukee. I don't know if you guys follow that account, but it's all the new developments, new proposals, um, just all across the city. And it shows you how much people are in investing time, funds, um, into the city. And it's it's exciting to be here and to be sort of part of the, I don't know, like we're we're part of the wave right now, right?

SPEAKER_01
52:53

And it's to me, it's special because it should have always been this way. They're not dumping money into Milwaukee now because, like, oh, we haven't done that. No, they're doing it because Milwaukee's dope. It always has been.

SPEAKER_00
53:07

Milwaukee was huge in the Victorian era, huge.

SPEAKER_01
53:12

From my experience, when I travel, because when you're touring, you're doing the same thing every single day. You're in the new city, and now you have those people that are hot there, and they ask you the same fucking questions that the people yesterday asked you, and you do it again and again. So when you're with a crew of people, and then every time, where are you guys from? I'm from New York, I'm from Atlanta, I'm from this, and then they wait on me. This is how it used to be. I'm like, I'm from Milwaukee, and it's like silent, and then everyone would be like, but then there would be that one person, always a security guard, or something like, Oh, I love Milwaukee. There's always that person that's actually been, yeah, and every time the person that's been, I've never heard them say they didn't fuck with Milwaukee. It's wild.

SPEAKER_02
54:00

I'm sure you all have done this before, too. But I've had some friends from California come out and visit. What happens? Their mind is fucking blown.

SPEAKER_04
54:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02
54:08

Every time. What do they tell you when they're leaving? That I didn't know the ocean was here too much. Every time I have to take them to a rooftop that overlooks Lake Michigan or take them down to the beach or whatever, they're like, I thought this was cows and farm fields. Yeah. They are impressed by that. They're impressed by the food scenes, the sports games, you take them to the parking lot. The lack of traffic and the amount of shit there still is to do here.

SPEAKER_01
54:37

Like, yeah, it's it's what you want from any other city, but be in the nightline. Yeah, it's I love how you can go to the same restaurant 10 times in one month, tip them kind of decent, and now they love you and they'll take care of you. Like, where can you do that? And they like know you know you, you know. Oh, what's your hair? Yeah, what can I give you for free? Whatever you want. Throw it in the bag, baby.

SPEAKER_04
55:05

I'm gonna get a tattoo next week.

SPEAKER_01
55:07

Yo, I told my cousin he should get tattooed by you. Yeah, sick. Yeah, I love this place.

SPEAKER_00
55:13

It's it's cool because like we'll go places and we'll just run into people and he'll be like, oh, they have they have this tattoo. They have, you know, it's because we get that in a small city, or we'll be driving somewhere and um I'll be like, babe, I have art over there, I have art up there. It's you know, it's I I love like how small it is because you get that genuine kind of hometown vibe, but but it's big enough to feel like there's a lot of there's still a lot of potential.

SPEAKER_02
55:42

Yeah, yeah, you still meet new people and discover new things all the time, but you do run into a lot of the same people and can go to the same spots, and that's that's refreshing and good and good as well. Um I just asked both of you uh before signing off, what is what is each of your proudest accomplishment or f favorite thing you've done in your your career so far? I'll let you go first.

SPEAKER_00
56:10

You can go first.

SPEAKER_01
56:13

Your question was what is my proudest accomplishment? Yeah, or maybe coolest thing you've ever done. And the coolest thing I've ever done. Honestly, uh I think my proudest accomplishment is being able to give back to people here. Also to be an example that it's possible. Because I feel like being from here, there's a lot of successful people from here, and you didn't know they were from here. And it had to be that way back then. You had to magically be from New York, you had to be from Chicago, you would you wouldn't get an opportunity if if you weren't, you know. It was I don't know why it was like that back then, but now like it was a big deal to me to come back here and still be doing the young money shit and still be doing all that. It was I I consciously came back here to open a business here. Everyone thought I was crazy. They're like, you bought the what? Like, we in Miami. You're going where? I'm going home, bro. Because I'm uh if you need me, I'll be here. I'll fly out at six in the morning if you need me to. But I'm going back home. I wanted the first thing I did when I moved back to Milwaukee is I went to my local skate park and I'd worked there. I didn't need, I did it. Just like I don't want to say charity, but like the park wasn't doing so well. I was like, I'm gonna go back, I'm gonna be present. I want the kids to be able to show up and see me. He's here. Not like a tale or a fable, like I'm here. Yo, but weren't you doing this? Yeah, that was yesterday. Today I'm here. I wanted to show people like you can be from Milwaukee and you could still do dope shit. And you can bring it home. I that it pisses me off when people don't bring it home. Why are you now in New York spending a shit ton of money opening a salon? Why are you doing that here? You know that it pisses me off, honestly. So that was my biggest accomplishment was come back, do something positive, have a bunch of companies, they send me a bunch of clothes and shit, go take it to the kids to the skate park. That shit, you know? Yeah, that shit. So love it.

SPEAKER_00
58:32

A second, all that. I mean, I I feel like you know, but it it really is about the community and about the kids and about showing these younger generations that it is possible. I love going back to my ad and giving um a guest lecture to the industrial design students and telling them, like, hey guys, guess what? Your grades don't really matter. Like that, you know, you take your education and and what you make of it, like whatever you create project to project, like that's that's who you are. It doesn't matter if your teachers approve it or not. Um I mean, I think just being a good example is is I'm really proud of that. I work with a teen once a week, and when he first started coming, he was a little um sort of just down, just feeling really down. And he was 14 at the time, now he's 18, and the art is all colorful, and we're making happy stuff now.

SPEAKER_02
59:38

And is that through a program or you just do that on your own?

SPEAKER_00
59:43

Just me. It's just um I my um I was introduced to them through my sister, and then I met um his parents, and they just asked me, they're like, Well, you want to take our kid once a week for an hour, and it's been four years. So he's graduated. Yeah, so you know, it's just yeah, it's just about like being real, I think.

unknown
1:00:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02
1:00:08

Well, thank you two so much for coming on. It was great meeting. Thank you for having us.

SPEAKER_01
1:00:12

Thanks for all you do for the city. No, thanks for what you do for the city. Yeah, appreciate you, man, for real. Yeah, thank you guys.

SPEAKER_02
1:00:18

We need more views for sure. Oh, we got we got a good team behind it and love doing it. So thank you. Hey everyone, thank you so much for tuning into this episode of Milwaukee Uncut. Before signing off, just want to thank our partners who make Milwaukee on Cup possible. Nicola, Annex Wealth Management, and Drink Wisconsinably Beverage Company.