My Story

I grew up in St Pauls, Bristol, in a community that was tough but full of life. My mum is Scottish, from Saltcoats, and my dad was Jamaican, from Montego Bay. Both had rough upbringings and made their way to Bristol, where they found each other. My childhood was shaped by their struggles, their creativity, and the spirit of my city.

Mum raised me with art at the centre of everything. She ran an after-school arts group at the St Werburghs Farm community centre and used to take me down to Bristol Harbour, where we’d visit the Arnolfini art gallery and then stop at the old Scrapstore on the docks. We’d bring back scraps of materials and spend the week building and painting. That constant creativity was my anchor.

Dad’s story was different. He’d grown up religious and strict under his own mother, then drifted into Rastafarianism as a young man. He ran a Rasta club in St Pauls and grew his dreadlocks all the way down to his ankles. But by the time I was old enough to really know him, he’d fallen into drugs, first crack, then heroin. He was nicknamed “Smiler” once, known as a gentle giant at 6’3, but the man I saw was broken and distant. He died of lung cancer when I was 18, just ten days after my birthday. I buried my emotions, angry and numb, and it took me years to cry for him. That absence shaped me: it left me determined to be the kind of father I never had.

School Struggles

School never made sense to me. At Sefton Park Primary, I spent more time outside the headteacher Mr Jones’ office than in class. Teachers called me stupid because of my dyslexia, diagnosed in Year Six. The truth was, I just couldn’t learn their way. All I wanted to do was draw.

I chose St Thomas More for secondary school because my best friend Junior was going. Year 7 was fine, but by Year 8 I was being bullied. I wasn’t cut out for the street “bad man” life. By Year 9 I left and moved to Fairfield Secondary, right between my primary and my house on Ashley Hill.

Fairfield was more my world. It blended kids from St Pauls down the hill, mostly poor and minority families, with kids from St Andrews up the hill, mostly white and middle-class. That mix taught me not to see colour, just people. Some had big houses and pocket money; I didn’t. But when we played together, it didn’t matter.

Still, school didn’t click. Teachers let me draw just to keep me quiet, which only pushed me further from learning. By the end, I walked away with just one GCSE: a B in art. Everything else I failed.

By then I was already drinking and smoking. My first drink was a shot of vodka at age nine, thanks to my mate’s uncle Sylvester. My brother chain-smoked weed upstairs, and me and my best mate Karl used to sneak his spliff butts and smoke them down by the old factory. By 16, drinking and smoking were just normal to me.

Discovering My Path

With only one GCSE, I blagged my way into the entry-level Art & Design course at Brunel College in 2004. That place changed everything.

I’ll never forget walking into the classroom: every wall covered in art supplies, chalks, paints, inks, clay, paper, things I’d never had before. After years of busted-down supplies, this was heaven. Cathy, my tutor, gave us freedom. For the first time, I excelled in education. I got top marks - Triple Distinction - and carried on. Over five years, I explored everything: pottery, ceramics, glass, oils, printmaking, ink, sculpture, screen-printing. It was the foundation of who I became.

That diploma got me into university.

University of Hard Knocks

In 2009, I started a Digital Art for Computer Games Design degree at Glyndŵr University in Wrexham. I chose it because of my older brother Jaz, who’d grown up in the first PC generation. He passed his old computers down to me, and by nine I had my first tower PC. By 14, I’d played or completed Doom, Duke Nukem, Quake, Wolfenstein, Half-Life, Thief, Unreal Tournament, Civilization, Lemmings, System Shock, Tomb Raider, Diablo, Command & Conquer, Worms, Baldur’s Gate, Rome: Total War, and my all-time favourite, Dungeon Keeper. Games were part of me, so combining art and games felt natural.

But the course was a disaster. It was brand new, and they hadn’t even hired a proper lecturer for digital art. My first year was animation, second year was 3D modelling, and only in the third did they hire a digital art teacher, far too late.

To make things worse, Wrexham was a 4–6 hour train ride from Bristol. At the start of third year, my partner was pregnant with our first child. I told my tutors, but they offered no support. No mention of taking a year out, no flexibility. I kept travelling back and forth, trying to balance both worlds, and my work collapsed.

I should have failed. But the university didn’t want their new course to look bad, so they passed me anyway, a 2.2, the lowest grade possible. Later, a friend in recruitment told me straight: games companies only looked at first-class degrees. Everything else went in the bin. My dream of working in games ended there. I was 21, £25,000 in debt, a new dad, and back at square one.

Bristol Fashion and McScralpha

In 2014, my brother helped me again. He knew someone at Bristol Fashion, a T-shirt printing company, and I got the job. I’ll never forget sitting in a café with Nuala and Lola when I got the call saying I was hired. It was a relief after everything.

I worked there until 2015, and I learned a lot, designing for clients, branding, uniforms. I became one of their top designers. While I was there, I started my own brand, McScralpha, using the equipment to make my own T-shirts and streetwear, funded by my wages. It was my first taste of running a business.

But Bristol Fashion had a toxic side. There was a heavy drinking culture, and I discovered the bosses were exploiting a loophole, paying college students just £2.50 a day under a scheme that almost none completed. They used it to cycle cheap labour, year after year. I called them out. They didn’t like it. A co-worker threw me under the bus, and I was sacked. That was the end of Bristol Fashion and McScralpha.

Zulu Signs and Collage Art

One of the bosses I’d got on with felt guilty and sorted me a new job at Zulu Signs in Bristol (2017–2019). I started as a designer, then moved into sign fitting. I learned vinyl printing and application properly, which reignited my own art practice.

I began creating digital collages of Bristol, cutting and layering photos of graffiti, buildings, and streets into surreal, dreamlike cityscapes. I printed and mounted them, selling and exhibiting pieces across the city. They became my signature style, culminating in large-scale works like the ones displayed at The Full Moon.

Freelance and Festivals

By 2019, I was freelancing under JAAM Graphic Design. I worked on pamphlets, infographics, and rebrands for major companies across the UK, boosting visibility for clients by almost 50%. I designed logos, album covers, flyers, and more, blending professional design with my own art practice.

At the same time, I stayed involved in festivals. Since 2000, I’d been part of the Tribe of Doris World Culture Festival, starting out as crew and working my way up. By 2021, I was Assistant Site Manager, and by 2022, Site Manager, overseeing teams, building structures, and managing whole sites. That side of my life taught me teamwork, leadership, and resilience.

Mentorship and New Ventures

At Zulu I met David, a traditional picture framer who became a mentor. He sharpened my technical craft, especially in vinyl mounting. When Zulu folded during COVID, I went fully self-employed again. A year later, David brought me into Hobs, one of Bristol’s biggest print companies, where I still work part-time alongside him, balancing design, vinyl work, and my own business.

In 2024, I launched Calmspace Studios, my new venture in art and design. That same year, I worked on the Bristol Unicorn Festival, wrapping a full-size unicorn statue that was displayed at Temple Meads Station. I branded it as the world’s first wrapped unicorn, a playful project that captured attention citywide.

The Road Ahead

My journey hasn’t been easy. From struggling in school with dyslexia, to being failed by the university system, to rebuilding after setbacks in work and life, it’s been an uphill struggle. But through it all, I’ve created art, design, music videos, clothing, collages, installations.

I know my talent is real. With the right break, I can reach further. My ultimate dream is to become a digital nomad: to buy a live-in vehicle, travel the world with my family, explore ancient sites, and sustain us through art and design.

For now, I keep moving forward, one project at a time, blending fine art and digital craft, carrying Bristol’s energy with me wherever I go.

Art and design unite.

Artistic Design Work

Freelance Studio

January 2020 - Present

Creating custom designs that inspire and engage clients through visual storytelling.

Professional Experience

Design Agency

June 2018 - December 2019

Collaborated on diverse projects, enhancing brand identities through innovative graphic design solutions.