Meet John de Vinci | Artist & Entrepreneur

We had the good fortune of connecting with John de Vinci and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi John, how has your background shaped the person you are today?
I’m from a place where it’s a lot of talent but everyone don’t necessarily have the opportunity or education to create financial freedom. I’m from a small town called Bainbridge Georgia. Neck to neck with Attapulgus & minutes away from Tallahassee FL. Growing up my parents had me into sports once I hit 4th grade. I was playing football with boys that was a age older then me at that time and I was getting knocked around. Little did I know is that facing those fears created me to be one of the best running backs all through Elementary, lol baby Marshall Faulk because that’s who I thought I was.

Going through middle school playing baseball, basketball, football, then once in high school I started running track; it built a competitive drive in me. Not in a bad way but I guess in good way that every parent would want to see their son have when playing sports.

Once I got in 12th grade I start realizing that I wasn’t going to have a chance to go to college to play football because I didn’t even know if I was going to graduate high school or not. In Georgia it’s something we take called “The Graduation Test” and yu boy was horrible on the Social Studies part. So NOPE! No diploma for me. I had to sit there and watch every kid that i grew up with, played sports with, chilled with, get a diploma and walk. As the hats was falling my stomach and heart was dropping. I swear after they through the hats ups, they was coming down in slow motion if you can picture that. That moment lit something inside of me that lives in me today and that’s to never sleep on myself and treat every opportunity as if it’s your last. Now I’m a graduate from Full Sail University with a Bachelors Degree in Digital Arts and owning my own clothing company called “Fresh & Royal Club”. Perseverance and faith is what got me through those obstacles. I hold myself to those standards today.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I like to call myself the “Graphic Designer that makes DOPE music and influence the world through my brand”. It definitely wasn’t as easy as I thought. I thought I was going to be working with Kanye by the time I graduated college which was 2014 and you still haven’t heard that Kanye West & John de Vinci feature have you? lol. It’ll come, I’m patient.

I developed a lot of myself working at these theme parks here in Florida. I was a photographer at Disney & Seaworld, then a chef at Universal Studios so I was on it. I was having fun but I grew up being a introvert and those places was definitely not the place for a introvert. I learned how to talk to people, how to work in uncomfortable conditions, & how to take great photos. Universal was more of a connection with me because everybody was just talking and cooking. I can do that lol. Long as you get your work done and don’t burn the food.

Working with Cox Media Group back in 2017 was a great experience as well. Had a chance to learn the ins and outs of the radio and music business as well as do concert photography for people like Maxwell, Tom Joyner, Xscape, & even Florida Georgia Line. It was seven different stations so I got a piece of each world which was very cool.

I want the kids and adults to know that your not the only one with anxiety or depression. It’s others here experiencing that with you. It’s ways around it. Everyone get dealt the cards they have for a reason so be accountable for your mistakes, learn from it, and keep thriving for your blessing. No matter the situation, faith, hard work, and manifest will get you through it & to it.

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.
Around Orlando it’s a lot of things to choose from. You got iDrive with the dope restaurants and touring attractions, you have the downtown area of Orlando where it’s never a dull moment. Even if you want to checkout Universal Studios or Disney you have a lot of things to choose from. We’ll just have to figure out what side of town you want to be on.

Just say you want to be in the iDrive area. You have the strip full of restaurants from Dave & Busters to Seafood Buffets. Did I get you there? Also, the biggest Ferris Wheel in Florida called “The Eye” that takes you so far up that you can see Tom Brady’s house in Tampa. Maybe not Tom Brady’s house but you could see a lot of cool things from up there.

The nightlife in Orlando Florida is pretty cool, you just have to make sure you budget yourself and don’t get caught up in buying drinks. It’s a lot of good clubs & bars to choose from hip hop, reggae, Spanish, R&B, country, & I’m pretty sure plenty more. So if you in a bar hopping feel, it’s a good place for that as well. The crazy thing I remember is when you use to always come out the club at the end of the night and it use to be that guy with the sausage or pizza stand standing right in front waiting. That smell hypnotize everything coming out that door even birds flying by.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
First and foremost credit goes to God. A lot of credit goes to my parents, grandparents on both sides, my sister, my fiancé & kids, MashLyfe Inc, Full Sail University, & Cox Broadcasting. It’s a lot of people under the umbrella of these things definitely Full Sail, MashLyfe, & Cox Broadcast so it’s a lot of gratitude to give out to everyone even Disney. The things about me is I’ve worked a lot of jobs and I make sure I take some type of knowledge from each one.

I’ve actually started my own personal library here at my home. I’m starting to get into books and really challenging myself to read and keep learning more. Books from 50 Cent’s “Hustle Harder Hustle Smarter” to “Becoming Michelle Obama’”. Just to dissect everyone’s mind and how they think. You would be surprised if some of the gems you find in books and even the Bible.

Website: www.johndevinci.com

Instagram: @thejohndevinci

Linkedin: John de Vinci

Twitter: @johndevinci

Facebook: John de Vinci

Youtube: John de Vinci

Image Credits
The Photoshoots of me in the Fresh & Royal Summer Collection was taking by “4Real Visions”.