Meet Johnny Muñoz | Artist also known as OG Johnny

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

Hi Johnny, what role has risk played in your life or career?
Risk taking for me has always been a game of opportunity and failure, The amount of risk one takes is based on your willingness to open yourself up to an opportunity where you may fail but that failure is worth more than the feeling of regret of restraining reward and passion or the potential of. As an older brother and as THE oldest grandchild on both side’s of my family, most of my life has been about taking risks, per se, and becoming the example of the consequences of those risks, success or fail, whether intentional or not. I got accustomed to failure but my support system was amazing and a great source of comfort in those failures to stave off the resentment of life. I was the test child so to speak and as the oldest of my families next generation, I looked up to my aunt’s and uncles who were charismatic and artistic; naturally I wanted to be as cool them. So in many ways, first risk of my art career was deciding I wanted to draw as a hobby when I was about 7. The act of just making art is risky because what if it comes out ugly? What if nobody likes it? And the questions as to why to even draw to begin with can go on forever.
The 2nd risk came when I was much older, 25 to be exact. At this point in my life, i’ve been working corporate jobs, nothing fulfilling to me but was the societal safe route to middle class. Art became just a distant hobby, reemerging every so often in the forms of doodles on random pieces of paper that I would save as perceived valuable ideas if pursued. It wasn’t until a friend had invited me to the Austin Hope Outdoor Gallery, a graffiti park in Austin, TX with large donated walls for the public to paint freely on. Here is where I found a passion for being able to paint on a large wall for little out of pocket cost and no fear of incriminating myself. I began to paint large characters out there since it was something I would want to see if I visited there rather than the 1000s of spray painted initials, hearts and penises. This broke me out of the shell of the possibility to make my ideas come to life and on a large canvas that people really seemed to enjoy. It was then that I felt I had found a passion and a way to network with people. I began to take more risks with my art once I began to develop certain skills to help manifest my original ideas rather than copy and if people were willing to buy it then all the better.
Two years later, the park closes down and I began to not be able to get the same stimulus as I once was able to get from painting at the park with an audience watching and complimenting me. Soon my passion waned for painting and I moved to painting on canvases. Although I still enjoyed it, it was a much more tedious process of painting and was done in a much more boring setting. This gave me room to procrastinate become inconsistent and as any artist would know, that consistency is key when creating.
A few years pass, covid hits and lockdowns came, would seem perfect for any artist looking to turn their hobby into a career. To have to stay home, which theoretically provide ample opportunity to paint to escape home inside of home. However, in the same stride that covid was affecting daily life, I found out I had testicular cancer. So although it was not an ideal situation, to find out when I did worked out because I wasn’t missing out on anything since everything was closed. No FOMO. The lockdowns were such a great opportunity to submerge myself in my art but unfortunately I was not able to get comfortable enough to paint due to the effects chemo was having on my body. I would do what I could but I told myself that when I get better, I was going to just go for it. Life is precious and unexpected, and I was not getting any younger. So I had to up the ante in my risks if I wanted the reward of doing art for a living and not for shits and giggles.
Now I look for opportunities where I can take the risk to move towards that goal. I wanted to get mural jobs and I know that Houston has an amazing art culture and great appreciation for street art. I decided to drive up to Houston and find a spot to paint. I ended up meeting the Owner of Eado Gifts Glass and More who gave me a space to display my art which happened to be in a traffic heavy area. The overwhelmingly positive reactions I’ve received from that now fuel my drive to keep pushing to how far it can take me. So in many ways, the risk I took coming to Houston to paint my style knowing it may not be well received has resulted my first time ever being asked to be interviewed for something I created with my mind and two hands.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I am currently a Team lead on a tech company project. I lead a crew of 13 awesome professionals each very unique individuals who I love to get to know. I was once in there position and I enjoy getting to know them and what their goals are, encourage them, and how I can help if any in moving towards that goal from the current stage they are in. Seeing my colleagues grow whether in life or in a work setting makes me very proud. I ultimately aim to be a mentor for those who seek to grow within the company as I have done before them. Very early in my career I had a great mentor that trusted me to move outside the scope of my normal job duties. It was not easy and was a great sacrifice to take on responsibilities that I was not being compensated for. In many ways it was that fake it till you make it come up. The delay of gratification pays off in the end because in today’s work field, experience is key meaning you have to have a history of showing you can do the job before someone is willing to pay for the job; anyone can say they can do it.
I want the world to know that you are all each unique individuals, original to the core. Seek what is good and leave your unique mark in that journey so others are proud to have known you for you.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Considering I live and grew up in Austin, I am very familiar with the Austin scene and there’s a lot of fun things to do around the city. If my best friend was visiting, I would like them to visit during the spring. Spring time in Austin has a lot of things going on such as SXSW and the weather is great to enjoy the outdoors which is where I love to be. To start off the morning, we would grab breakfast tacos at one of the many awesome taco trucks around the city, after which we would grab some beers and head to a greenbelt to hike to a shady spot on the river. The greenbelts around Austin are beautiful outdoor social gather spots where you can hang out in the cool waters, have some beers, jam your favorite playlist, meet new people, and enjoy the views. After soaking up the sun at a greenbelt and working up an appetite, it’s time for some good’ole fashioned barbecue. Austin is known for the barbecue and my favorite place to go for some brisket, sausage, and smoke chicken is Brown’s BBQ. They are a small food truck in front of a corner bar and have some of the best meats in the city. After having our fill, it would be a great time to take a walk down Congress where there are tons of unique shops that display the cities unique artists and also have some ice cream. Once the sun sets, it’s time to party. Austin a few different parts with stretches of bars/clubs and Rainey street would be my choice to take a friend. It is a young hip crowd and there is a bar for every type of mood. Bars close at 2am and after a night of dancing, conversing, and drinking, we’d close out the night like how we started, getting tacos.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Wow, I do not know where to start. My story is full of so many characters that deserve recognition that have all had unique impacts on my life. Heck, I even want to shout out the bad ones who made me that much more stronger. If I had to start though, the first who deserves recognition above all is Jehovah my God. I then have to of course give my mother and father my undying gratitude for making me and the family that came along with them who’ve contributed to making me the man I am today. They showed me more love than I deserved. Shout out to my sister whose been there since day one, who is head strong and does not tolerate any disrespect of me and to my best friend Daniel who is the biggest supporter of my goals and has inspired confidence in myself and encourages me to take more risks. I can not thank enough all of my friends from school and work that have helped keep me motivated through cancer and now motivate me to follow my dreams

Website: www.grwnwear.com (work in progress)

Instagram: www.instagram.com/ogjohnny23

Image Credits
No image credits applicable.