Once…
When I was a kid…
I was in my parent’s basement.
Imagining I was a famous rockstar.
Playing the air guitar and just going crazy.
My oldest sister Stephe saw me, but I didn’t see her.
She must’ve gotten such a kick out of it that she ran back upstairs and got all of the other kids.
All seven of them.
They all stood on the stairs watching me, smiling.
I remember seeing them out of the corner of my eye at one point, but I acted like I didn’t.
I recall the feeling I got performing for my siblings.
In a family of nine, it was hard to get attention.
Neglect, sadness, and loneliness were ironically common in such a huge family.
~But right now, they’re all watching. And they love it.~
Finally, I finished my performance. And all of my siblings saw that I saw them, and we all started laughing.
It was fantastic.
In those days, I’d draw pictures and illustrated books for my family and friends. This one time, this crazy dude who was a friend of the family saw an image I’d drawn of a giant eating a normal-sized man. And he just erupted in this wild cackle he had and couldn’t help but show the picture to my mom.
It was splendid.
My energy and performance and art have always magnetized people.
When I present my creativity to the world, people really feel it.
Even now, in this writing, can you feel it, these slithering words jumping into your consciousness, making you think of whatever I write?
I just want to make and create and have fun and for everyone to love me and for me to give something special to the world.
I want you to feel encouraged through my actions and feel like you can also do whatever is on your heart to do. That you can live out your creative visions. That you can beat mental illness, alcohol, drugs, or whatever else you’re battling and to overcome it and live, just, as you.
LIVE YOU.
Right now, in my mind, I’m reeling, because I just got laid off.
Something special happens, when this happens.
You get to start anew.
Sure, it’s tough.
It is tough.
I’m sorry I lost my job.
Something about restructuring the team.
But I’m OK.
I felt weirdly relieved when it happened because I feel like I’m destined for a greater role.
But, until then, I’m having this wild idea that maybe I want to take this opportunity to work for myself and finally become what I’ve always wanted to become:
A rockstar.
No, not necessarily a guitar-wielding, mic-spittin frontman.
Not necessarily.
I want to be the captain of my own ship. I want to be the king of my castle. I want to be the guy who people look at and say, “Wow, that dude really made it.”
These things don’t happen in a vacuum. I realize I’m talking to you right now and telling you this story and in the back of our heads is this fundraiser thing that you’re certainly aware of.
So why am I running a fundraiser?
My vision is to start my own business. I’ll offer a lot of different things. Like:
- free *unqualified* therapy
- clothing, apparel, accessories ($30–$50)
- Pins ($1–$3)
- art prints (free–$10)
- prints with cool phrases on them (free–$10)
- Copywriting ($50/hr)
- spending the day with people ($250)
- active-listening Zoom calls ($100)
The way I’ll market myself? Through:
- Free *unqualified* therapy
- Free handouts / brochures / prints
- Performance art
- TikTok / Instagram videos & photos
- Signage
- Musical performances
This way, I can do what I always wanted to do…art…and also make money off of it.
Admittedly, I’m still figuring things out. I have to see what works and what doesn’t, and come up with ways to optimize what I’m doing to really get people to buy what’s there.
But the important thing is I’m trying. I’m seeking clarity. I’m taking action in little ways to make some magic happen.
The only thing standing in my way is time. And time is money.
If you believe in me and want to support my efforts to make people feel less alone in this world, carry the torch for mental health and bipolar wellness, and be happy doing what I’m best at, please consider giving Whatever You Want. I realize I’ve come to you for help in the past (unless I haven’t), and now I’m coming again.
I’m doing this incredibly vulnerable thing by asking for money. See, it’s not easy. But I believe people are usually generous, and I am generous, so that’s the energy I shoot out with.
If you give, I’ll feel so good. I’ll love you forever. I’ll try to thank you profusely. I’ll pray blessings upon you. And my prayers work. They really do.
I’m 34 years old, and I’m slowly creeping up on mid-life or not really but sort of maybe I’m having an early mid-life thing, and I’m wondering what impact I’ve had on the world. And I don’t know if I can just go on forever proofreading stupid content my entire life. I want to make MY dreams come true. Not always someone else’s.
I want to perform and be excited and chase happiness and peace and be the most unlikely gosh darned person to succeed.
I know it’s going to be a long, dark road, and that’s why I need your help.
One of my main problems in life has been obscurity. And I need to build that following so people take notice of me and buy from me. That takes time, and/or paid ads.
I also need to work on my product and craft and really hone in on creating quality content people love.
Let me let you into some things I’m thinking of doing.
This spring, imagine walking through New York into Washington Square Park. You see a curious man wearing a fox mask, dressed in stylish streetwear. He’s surrounded by signs that say
LIVE YOU
FREE UNQUALIFIED THERAPY
FREE PRINTS
OR PAY WHAT YOU WANT
$40 SHIRTS
$50/hr COPYWRITING
$100 1 ½ hr ZOOM CALL
$250 SPEND THE WHOLE DAY W/ ME
I’m still working out the sales funnel, but you get the idea. Check out my Instagram @bramblekid to see what my signs look like. I’m a copywriter and I want to put my selling chops to the test and see if I can sell my services and get paid money for them.
On the days I’m not selling, I’ll create viral content for Instagram and TikTOk.
I’m thinking of doing a new TikTok series called
“Ask Me Anything”
With a sign next to it that says “You Film & Airdrop It, I Credit You”
People will approach me asking me questions about love, life, mental health, craziness, job security, social security, social security numbers, whatever. And I have to answer no matter what. Then I’ll post each video on tiktok and reels and watch the magic views and likes happen.
I think it’s a winning formula actually lol.
If you’re feeling like none of this is going to work, I’m telling you, people in the city got money. And my writing moves people. I sort of do / sort of don’t know what I’m doing, but I’m just trying to find my unique offering to the world and execute on it.
Will you help me?
Blow my mind and make my dreams come true and you can take credit for wherever I land with this stuff.
I have about 3 months or so to get all of this up and running and successful and I could use more time. And again, time is money, so I’m asking for your money. Will you help expand that timeframe by giving to my fundraiser? Pretty please?
Ask and thou shalt receive.
What I really want are some big investors to just drop $1000 on me and say, “fly, kid. Go for your dreams.”
I hope to be able to do that for someone someday. Maybe in not too distant of a future. I don’t know.
All I know is I have this opportunity to shoot out and do something fun and cool and interesting and different.
But it’s a risk.
In the meantime, I’ll be searching for jobs, doing what I need to do to survive, but I have…this…time…right now, and I want to try to make Bramblekid pop while I can.
I’ll be out there all of the time in the coming weeks trying to make magic happen.
I’ll be collaborating and coalescing and discussing with other artists and performers to make it happen.
I don’t have a lot of financial responsibility right now, so I really only need to be able to support myself. So if I can make this thing work for me, and just me, then I’ll be OK. And I can try to grow from there. But for now, I just need the bare minimum to make it work. Though unfortunately, living in New York, that’s a lot.
Story time again…
In Fall of 2020, I had a complete manic breakdown. In 2021, I had another one. Then another and another. I went into a psych ward for 10 days. I thought God was calling me into the woods to meet my new Ukrainian girlfriend who had taken the form of a fox. I saw a bright, white fox in my parent’s backyard, put on my own fox mask, and went out there. Presently, I realized I had gone insane, and called 911 on myself acting like I was a bystander and spoke in a different voice.
It was bonkers.
I had written BRAMBLEKID and PSYCHO and other strange things on myself in sharpie. They put me in handcuffs and shipped me off to the Nut Hut.
See guys, I’ve been through a lot and I’m stable now. Thank God. I’m so happy that now I am medicated, sober, clean, and just drinking lots of water and exercising. My health is of utmost importance. But I’m afraid, if I get desperate and just take the next crappy opportunity in front of me, that I’ll just relive the Cycle of Unhappiness, and still not get what I want, and still not be able to give to people what I really want to give to people and that’s
ENTERTAINMENT
ENERGY
SELF-BELIEF
AMBITION
ENCOURAGEMENT
LISTENING
CLARITY
All of these things that are just yearning to spill out of me. I don’t want to be a retail business. I want to be a business that changes people’s lives for the better.
And for that I need more money.
I need materials and ad money and to pay bills and to get my shop going and to be able to eat. This fundraiser is a general “BLOW MY BRAINS OUT AND MAKE MY DREAMS COME TRUE.”
It’s a desperate call to action. Will you support my efforts?
Thank you for reading. I appreciate it. And I especially appreciate everyone who has helped me along the way. I haven’t gotten to where I’m at by myself. It’s been because of you that I’ve been able to achieve any success at all. And for that I’m eternally grateful. I’ll remember you.
