Today we’d like to introduce you to Noel Gonzalez.
Noel, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
As young as I can remember I was always into art. I would spend most of my time sketching developing my skills from an early age. I had won many awards all through elementary, but it wasn’t until I hit middle school until I finally realize I was good at this. Once I started high school, I began focusing more on the craft. Going to school every morning I would see graffiti all over the city. I didn’t really know much about art or graffiti at the time I just love the different styles of typefaces and lettering this is when my love began for lettering. While in high school I began creating graffiti and really making a name for myself. It wasn’t long until people started recognizing my work. I then started expanding my artwork onto different mediums such as canvas, sculptures, clothing, walls, and murals.
At this point, I had already developed my style and many more. As I was falling in love with street art and design streetwear clothing brands started to catch my attention since most of their graphics were graffiti heavy; it made me love the whole street art culture even more. After buying dozens of graphic t-shirts from different brands, I became less and less interested in buying anymore because I felt like the quality of the graphics on the shirts where overpriced. At that moment I thought to myself what if I started my own clothing brand but had no idea where to start. This was when I decided to start my own brand and make good quality products that people would appreciate and see all the time and detail that went into making these products and not feel like they overpaid.
It took me a while but in 2014, I finally settled on a name Snatch X Run. I wanted a name that was sample but reflected the area I grew up in, it wasn’t all bad but wasn’t sunshine and rainbows either. There was lots of robberies, gunshots, police sirens, and helicopters in my neighborhood. That’s why I thought the name Snatch X Run was a good fit plus I felt like it gave a double meaning. One for being an outlaw or thief and always on the run and two not second-guessing yourself and taking the leap and go for it. That same year I in rolled into The Art Institute of Dallas to better my skills. At this point, I had no experience with any type of software, but I quickly caught on turn. So fast that most of my instructors and classmates thought I had previous experience with graphic design. I continued my classes at the Art Institute building my knowledge to better my brand. In December of 2018, I completed my classes and received my Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic & Web Design and currently spending my time today developing new products for Snatch X Run.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It wasn’t always a smooth road, I did face some struggles along the way. I never really had trouble with any type of art I am proud to say that I am mostly self-taught. When it came to art, everything came natural even till this day. Most of my early struggles where during my high school days. I wasn’t the smartest student and was only good at art, math, and sports. I was the student in the back row of the class that never paid attention and drew on everything. This wasn’t the case once I attended college, I guess it was because I was now paying for my classes. I did struggle a little after graduating high school because I didn’t know what to do, I wanted to go to college, but I was only good with my hands.
During my junior year of high school, I was offered a scholarship for my art but never took it because at the time I didn’t know what kind of career I could pursue being an artist let alone making a living out of it. While in college I did face the challenge of building Snatch X Run while in school due to the amount of assignments. I would launch the brand and be one hundred percent committed for a few months then I would get jammed with homework and not have time for either including my full-time job. I was then left with no option but to put a hold on the brand. After having to put Snatch X Run on hold for the second time, I decided to pause on it until I graduated since I was running the brand by myself but continued to work on designs for it under the table on my free time.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about SNATCH X RUN ® – what should we know?
Snatch X Run ® is my company; we are a streetwear brand based out of Fort Worth Texas. We specialize in graphic t-shirts but soon we will be offering more products such as hoodies, jackets, hats, beanies, sticker packs, pins, etc. We have yet to launch the brand this year but plan to very soon with that being said we haven’t really had a chance to build any brand awareness. Since I started the brand a few years back, I am glad I took my time with the branding of Snatch X Run. Even though everyone doesn’t see the back end of the brand like I do it has truly come a long way and glad I waited to get every detail right before showing the world what we have to offer.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Persistence and passion. Persistence is a must quality for me as an artist. This allows me to keep working to develop my skills and push me into a whole new level. Without persistence, I would not be able to continue improving or creating artwork. I would grow frustrated and tempted to give up and not chase my dream. Passion is another one; it’s what motivates me to create new works of art. You need passion to continue creating even if no one believes in you or your vision.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.snatchxrun.com
- Email: snatchxrun@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/snatchxrunofficial/
Image Credit:
Images: Magnus Div & Noel Gonzalez, Models: Nate De La Cruz, Isaiah Hernandez andChop Lam.
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