We had the good fortune of connecting with Austin Alexander and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Austin, other than deciding to work for yourself, what decision do you think played a pivotal role in your success?
It wasn’t a singular decision. It was more of a discovery—one that I have to revisit daily. While perfecting the light bulb, Edison said, ‘I haven’t failed. I just found 10,000 ways that won’t work’. In other words, success only sees what can be done and surrenders to the process. Failure perceives what can’t be done and concedes to the problem. Like Edison, I choose to see solutions that need modification instead of problems in need of solutions.

My success is a mindset. It’s a journey. My means of travel is an evolutionary act of alignment with my ever-unfolding dreams. I accept the necessary conditions to see them physically manifest, and I surrender to the process of receiving them. They appear as a part of my path in time, which is an optional path of faith.

It’s not a particularly easy path, but it’s where I find what I want—in peace, which is perhaps the most common missing piece of the achievement puzzle people call success. Undoubtedly, it’s the most important piece, because, without peace, you’re not successful until you’re dead.

Please tell us more about your work. We’d love to hear what sets you apart from others, what you are most proud of or excited about. How did you get to where you are today professionally. Was it easy? If not, how did you overcome the challenges? What are the lessons you’ve learned along the way. What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story?
How did I get to where I am professionally? I survived. While I’m considered an artist, I feel more like an exhibitional alchemist—a dangerous occupation. My job is to metaphorically carve order out of chaos, draw life out of death, and make peace out of war. I’m aggressively sensitive, and due to the dark side of my muses, I’m prone to a rather common chaotic demise for an artist of my kind. I’m not unique, but I’m rare because I learned how to walk the line.

I acquired the skill to do so thanks to the guidance of a loving brother named Jeff Parker. While a veritable fringe-culture Odyssey could be written about my origin story, for the sake of brevity: as a teenager, I escaped an abusive broken home and traveled the world with nothing but the clothes on my back to where I find myself now. From poetry, music, sculpting, screenwriting, and illustration to graphic design, glass-blowing, and invention fabrication, my journey has been as self-destructive as it has been creative—one that I have faith you’ll find as a journey of inspiration.

However, getting to where I am today wasn’t solely based on beating my demons. Despite ongoing struggles with alcoholism and addiction, in that time, I achieved significant milestones, such as competing and advancing to a World Poetry Slam where I was humbled to represent the kingdom of Hawaii. Additionally, I was honored to receive collaborative support from individuals in the art & entertainment industry whom I’ve always/never dreamed of working with. Most importantly, however, I never gave up on my success; I gave in to it.

After regularly opening for many of my hip-hop heroes, including The Grouch & Eligh (of Living Legends), I moved from Maui to LA with aspirations of establishing myself as a rapper. I specifically mention those artists because I’m grateful for the small yet significant personal roles they both played in shaping my trajectory.

However, my journey took an unexpected turn when screenwriter/producer Gary Goldman—known for ‘Minority Report,’ ‘Total Recall,’ ‘Basic Instinct,’ and ‘Big Trouble in Little China’—took an interest in me. It felt like something straight out of True Hollywood Stories. Under his mentorship, I learned to write screenplays and conceptually produce films. In doing so, he assisted me in creating a hip-hop-influenced sci-fi TV series, now on the slate for production. During its development, I also had the privilege of involving one of my greatest creative influences—Saul Williams, a best-selling poet, award-winning actor, filmmaker, rapper, and musician. While I wish I could tell you more about that project, all I can further say right now is that it stands as my magnum opus. I’ve dedicated nearly a quarter of my life to it, and my experience with Gary & Saul has been monumental. Growing up watching Gary’s movies, and Saul being, without a doubt, the reason why I started competing in poetry slams, speaks volumes. They saw me through some pretty stretching times too. To say the least, their influence has been instrumental in both my personal and creative development.

I’ve come a long way. When I met them, I still believed my creativity depended on self-destructive behavior, a sadly common artistic condition. However, nothing could be further from the truth. Upon abandoning that lie, I discovered a new creative process and realized its potential to assist more than just troubled artists. Everyone contends with the same fundamental issues—resentment, trauma, strife, escape, shame, etc. These problems aren’t always malignant, but those who fail to properly address them fall short, or like me, become prey to their own devices. I believe that when seeking change, the issue lies in our tendency to rely more on critical observation than creative analysis. Unfortunately, the result is often mutation instead of metamorphosis.

That’s why I’m excited to be starting a transformative outreach program, drawing on my comprehensive experience and the mentorship of acclaimed actress/writing therapist, Diane Sherry Case—known for ‘Superman’ and ‘Writing for Recovery’. My creative analysis program offers a unique therapeutic writing and expressive route to emotional healing & self-realization. So far, I’ve been facilitating a workshop version of the program with Diane at Alter The Course Retreats in Malibu. Soon, I’ll be extending the initiative in collaboration with the Reality Center in Santa Monica, as well as several other organizations and events arranged for me by the Revolver Group. The ultimate goal is to obtain my 501(c)(3) status and implement the full program in institutions for troubled youth, drug rehabilitation, and criminal reform.

Being of service to the community has always been part of my life, but recently, I’ve discovered it’s a leading element of success. We’re an interdependent species. That means karma or not, reciprocity is the key to our flourishing survival. As Jackson Brown Jr. simply put it, ‘We base our success upon the service of others, not at the expense of others.’ The same sentiment could have been coined by an art director/entrepreneur, and great inspiration to me named Paul Bonet. I had the pleasure of hosting and co-producing a life-changing charity event with Paul called Slam Right!. The event featured an international exhibit showcasing 200 of the world’s top street artists and included a poetry slam between some of LA’s best performance poets. All proceeds were donated to Initiate Justice in support of prison reform. This was a pivotal event for me, not only because of its community & commercial impact but, more importantly, because it provided an opportunity to see and work with my best friend one last time before he tragically drowned a month later. His name was Carl Ray. Regardless of our budget, he selflessly flew in to shoot the event for a fraction of his rate. Having been sober for two years, during that time, he became so successful with his life’s work that he was radiant. It was obvious to me that his abandonment of addictive drugs and alcohol was the lynchpin.

I soon followed suit and started observing the same results. I was asked to lead his funeral, for which I completed one of my greatest works of poetry on the meaning of life in his honor. Without any conscious effort on my part, the piece immediately went on to be scored by a brilliant composer named Pedro Osuna—known for ‘No Time To Die’ and ‘Argentina 1985′. For accompaniment, Pedro also involved multidisciplinary artist and world-renowned solo cellist of the Hans Zimmer Orchestra, SUVVI. It’s an exquisite product, and I feel truly blessed to be a part of the work, which is soon to be released.

Around the same time, I also co-founded and started hosting a monthly charitable event called Poetik LA, now one of the hottest open poetry mics around. Each month, we support a new local charity and provide the platform in exchange for donation-based admission. The event goes down every 2nd Sunday in Silverlake, showcasing a full spectrum of talent—from first-timers to slam champions, and 7-year-olds to 70-year-olds. I started Poetik LA with Daniel Berger and Elliott Paulson. It has been a tremendous support for all of us, and without their contributions, it would be nothing.

While I’m best known for my work in spoken word, and it’s an unquestionable ancillary to my creative career, it’s just the tip of the iceberg—or, better said, the exposed mouth of an otherwise submerged volcano. My value as an artist lies not in my proficiency in any particular discipline but in my abstract form of divergent thought and actionable willingness to apply it anywhere that I’m inspired.

Due to unexpected—but exploitable—inspiration, I’ve had to creatively adapt several times to achieve what have. In bold highlight, I once trademarked and branded a cannabis product that attracted a $2.5 million development offer. Plot twist: Before seeing the money, state laws emerged, halting any possibility of distribution until federal legalization. To say the least, that distinctively sucked, but it didn’t stop me; it inspired me. I then patented an innovative preservation packaging solution that I invented for the indefinitely delayed product, which I modified to be compatible with similar products currently available on the legal market. As a result of not giving up on my success in said market, but rather giving in to it, I’m now entertaining offers from some of the most preeminent cannabis brands in the world. When I got started on the first product, I didn’t know what I was doing. I never branded or invented anything in my life. I barely even smoked weed! The only thing I knew, besides a good idea when I see or have one, was how to faithfully embrace the creative process because, for me, there is no final product until my final breath.

The same can be said for what led me to become a professional poet. Before that, I was a professional glass-blower. After studying in Venice, Italy, and honing my skills for over 20 years, I’m now considered a master of the craft—which I humbly accept. However, during the Great Recession, all of my steady work was outsourced to India & China for literally pennies to my dollars. I could no longer make a living off of what I loved, but I never stopped; I simply allowed myself to fall in love with another way of expressing myself.

There was an ongoing open mic next to my glass shop back then. After being inspired by Saul Williams’ movie, ‘Slam’, I wrote a poem about what I was going through. I signed up to share it. That was my first time doing anything like that. I didn’t bring the house down—not even close—but I brought a typical dude to tears. It was like discovering electricity. It was power. I became a conductor of catharsis, and I was amped. Soon, I also discovered these poetry slam things paid. Perfect! I started competing for the cash, and I started winning—a lot. Not only did poetry supplement my income, but within two years, I found myself competing on a world stage, and the rest is history.

I still blow glass, but it’s become a high-end retail hobby. I also like to give lessons because it reminds me of my first mentor, N8. He taught me as much about life as he did about glass, and in death, he galvanized the greatest lesson I ever learned from him. Two years ago, N8 was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. He had only a short time to live. He couldn’t fly, so he asked me to drive him from our hometown in PA to Mexico in search of the last possible treatment that could save his life. I did so without hesitation, but when the treatment didn’t work, he asked me to shepherd him to the grave. You can appreciate the extreme polarities of hope and fear we were confronted with. In caring for him, however, I quickly learned that my primary job was to stay present—something we all have access to but rarely embrace as being important. N8 first taught me of its momentousness 20 years ago, and I tell you now, it is paramount.

When learning to blow glass, you have to stay present. You’re sculpting with hazardous materials, explosive gases, and thousands of degrees. To be successful, one learns not to fear the flame but to respect it. Just as merely hoping for the final product instead of focusing on each step will result in shattered dreams or injury, you painfully learn to be present. In becoming a glass blower, I was taught to see and do what can be done within the moment to succeed and surrender to the process. That doesn’t mean I always get my initial desires. It means I learn from the practice of living and let them evolve with the art of life. By working with the forces of nature instead of fighting them, I can create what I want and conclude in peace. The only way to do that is to stay present—like my understanding of faith, which is as reliant on being mindful as it is on obtaining the goal. I believe success is largely based on such faith. Like skill, it’s something we develop and learn.

On success, Lao Tzu said, ‘Hope is as hollow as fear’. I say it’s also as whole. Both hope and fear compel us. However, an excess of either extreme leads us to expectational suffering. Therefore, serenity, along with success, I believe, lies in the action we take between the two polarities of hope and fear—an action I define as faith. Just as in learning the art of blowing glass, in life, we learn the art of faith by viewing hope and fear as peripheral guidelines instead of points of focus. I’m talking about the proverbial middle path. It’s the line Johnny Cash proclaimed to walk. It’s akin to the line between Yin & Yang that Taoism teaches us to be ‘the way’, and when Jesus said, ‘I am the way’, I believe he, too, was referring to faith. In other words, success requires us to embody faith with equanimity. In Western religious ideology, that means some form of heaven. To the East, it means a form of oneness; yet, for the atheist, businessman, and absolutely every single one of us, success simply means the fulfillment of one’s self-defined worth and purpose in subjective understanding of peace, love, and happiness.

I spent my entire life seeking out that truth. It wasn’t until only two years ago, after my first mentor’s passing, that I finally found it, and with it, my faith. As Lao Tzu said, ‘the student becomes the teacher’. I’ve been walking the line ever since.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
In no particular order: I’d give them a tour of my ‘Urban Jungle Loft’—a vibrant space that I built downtown in the Arts District from the bones of an old jeans factory. Now, it’s home to me, my glass-blowing, music, film, and art studio rental spaces, along with countless plants, books, and pieces of art.

After a glass-blowing lesson, movie, music, poetry, or gallery outing, I’d confidently inform them of my past life as a chef-to-pay-the-bills and attempt to cook whatever they like. However, if that doesn’t work and it’s my apologetic choice, I’d take them out to Little Tokyo, where some of my favorite little sushi nooks hideout.

Finally, whether it’s first or last on the list, I’d get them out of the city as soon as possible because the wild’s where it’s at.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Jeff Parker, Gary L. Goldman, Saul Williams, Poetik LA, Diane Sherry Case, Grouch & Eligh, Paul Bonet, Reena Tolentino, the Revolver Group, the island of Maui, my family, friends, and the dearly departed

Website: AustinAlexander.com

Instagram: @iamaustinalexander

Facebook: @iamaustinalexander

Youtube: @iamaustinalexander

Other: PoetikLA.com, TheRevolverGroup.com, Realitymgmt.com, ATCRetreats.com, HopeAndMic.org Tiktok @iamaustinalexander

Image Credits
Diana Redman – Main Black & White Photo, Full Body Subject Model Photo Carl Ray Johnson – Live Performance Photos Jessica Pearl – Glass Goblet Photo: “Natural Woman” Naomi D. Sheikin – Maui Times/Slam Right Magazine Cover Photos Austin Alexander – Logo Designs

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