Meet Diego Rivera | Entrepreneur, Musician & Creative Director

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

Hi Diego, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
I decided to pursue an artistic career because of how much I’ve been influenced by others art. My purpose as an artist is to positively influence others to be unique and push themselves to be greater. I believe that there’s no limit to how much you can create, especially if it’s to help heal, teach, inspire or, just express. I’m only 21 and I can always see that my generation is very misguided and I want to help show my peers that they can strive for more in life, nothing is out of reach.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My name is Diego Rivera, I coincidentally have the same name as the famous Mexican Painter. This is how I know I was meant for the life of an artist. My friends in the art community know me as EgoSlim I identify with this name because it represents humility. It’s very easy to get caught up in all the glory of being and artist but it’s important to stay grounded. If I don’t keep my eye on the big picture I can lose focused on what really important. The most valuable aspects of life consist in the time and energy we spend with our loved ones, if we don’t take the time to appreciate what we love then life can start to feel very empty. This why as an artist you can’t sell your self short! I had to learn this lesson the hard way, I used to work with other upcoming artist and after making numerous projects I started to see that my work wasn’t being appreciated. I found myself doing free work for people who didn’t really want to see me win just because I thought that if I put in the work it would be reciprocated, when it wasn’t I started to be a lot more cautious of who I decided to work with. It was a necessary lesson because I need to reevaluate my worth so that moving forward I didn’t make the same mistakes. I always started choosing quality work over the idea of just building a high quantity of work. This started to reflect positively on my work because I was as able to get bigger and better opportunities while being surrounded by people who actually see my worth and show genuine support. There is a lot of struggle and work that goes into being a creator but it’s always worth when you see someone connect with your work and leave feeling inspired, there’s nothing more satisfying.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
First things first we are definitely driving downtown to The Burger Joint in Montrose, Houston to get last minute munchies before we get into anything else. Then I’ll probably look and see that there’s a Deep Down South event this weekend and rock out all the stress I built up over the week. Next we’ll meet up with some friends and take some pictures of our outfits to post on Instagram later. Maybe climb to the top of the tallest parking garage to get the best view of the city night lights. I would then probably end the night with riding scooters downtown in the discovery green area.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I want to recognize the work my parents have put into believing in me as an artist. It’s not easy to raise a child that wants to be so different and especially when your child wants to take a career path as risky as being an artist. It’s a very hard position to be in. I have nothing but respect for the love & support they continue to give me through this journey.

Instagram: @egoslim