Today we’d like to introduce you to Michael Ulua.
Hi Michael, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I was born in Montreal, QC in November of 1991. My parents were Guatemalan immigrants who had met in NYC but moved to Montreal to start our family.
I lived in Montreal until I was 7, so I grew up speaking Spanish and French. We still had family in New York so we’d frequently take trips back and forth. As a kid looking out the backseat window of my dad’s Ford Tempo, I’d look for any graffiti I could spot as the car radio played my childhood soundtracks.
Even when we’d be home I remember watching my dad as he would doodle on the back of envelopes and any pieces of paper that would be around him. I’d ask my mom to draw as well and sometimes she would, but she’d always admit that my dad was better and would give up. Since then I always wanted to draw. We stayed in Montreal until 1998 when we moved to Memphis.
Having only spoken Spanish and French, I had to take ESL when I started school. Everything was different and new to me and I was struggling to adapt except for art class. I still remember the art teacher speaking to my dad about how “advanced” the details in my drawings were. As I got older, the world of hip hop started consuming me. My east coast roots still had me listening to Mobb Deep and Wu-Tang but I was simultaneously discovering the world of southern rap, especially Memphis.
Eventually, my doodles started becoming graffiti sketches and so, of course, I fell deep into the world of graffiti and hip hop. One of the main artists I remember hearing about is Cypress Hill, and that was thanks to my dad. As a huge fan of Cypress Hill, I ended up discovering Mister Cartoon since he designs all their album covers and logos and I was already loving the look. Once I did my research on who Mister Cartoon was I knew that was exactly what I wanted in life.
It was confirmed to me that you CAN draw and you CAN look how you want and still be successful in this world. As a creative, you’re constantly doubting your future and self-worth. The world tells you you’re making a mistake and you constantly hear “get a real job”. So when I was 15, I asked my pop if he could buy me a “tattoo kit” that I had found online. He made me promise that I wouldn’t try anything on myself, and about a week later the kit came in. I started bragging to my homies in school that I had a tattoo kit, and since they already liked my drawings of course the inevitable happened.
After doing a couple of small (and terrible) tattoos on myself, one of my homies asked to get one. He came over to my house after school one day and for $20 I put his moms’ name on his arm. I was hooked. I just made money doing something I love and it’s a real career. That tattoo snowballed into a successful (and illegal) career as a high school scratcher and piercer. Once I graduated high school, I realized I had to find a way to go legit. After months and months of searching and losing hope, I finally landed an apprenticeship to become a licensed tattoo professional.
As time went by, I realized the photos I would take of the tattoos I’d do could be better. While in Target, I spotted a dope white camera on display that caught my attention. It was a Sony a5000. I picked it up and took some random shots and immediately fell in love with how the images would look. A week later, I went back and bought it. Immediately I started photographing anything and everything and editing the hell out of the pictures.
I started taking pictures of the people around me especially my wife and daughter, and eventually started venturing into videos and just making random clips with slow-motion effects. I would post these photos and videos on social media and after several months, I got my first inquiry about doing a photoshoot. I was a bit hesitant at first since it was just something I would do for fun and had zero ideas about the business aspect of it, but I said yes and just went for it.
It wasn’t terrible, it wasn’t great, but I realized I definitely wanted to do this at least on the side. After months of trial and error, I was finally out here being a tattoo artist and professional photographer. I ended up meeting a club owner while doing a promo shoot for a barber, and he hired me as the photographer/videographer for the weekends. Since it was a gentleman’s club, I got to meet several celebrities and local artists. They complimented my work and one thing that kept coming up was music videos.
I never really thought about it since my directing skills weren’t that great but I was already creating similar content. Eventually, I linked up with an artist who saw my potential in me and we made her first music video. I loved it. I contacted my homie from high school who would stay freestyling and offered him a free video to help me start out. After doing him, his cousin contacted me to shoot his video, and thanks to social media and word of mouth, I was officially out here shooting music videos.
Since then my main focus has been freelance videography while still tattooing VIPs and the close homies and some graphic design thanks to the iPad Pro. My tattoos and camera have taken me through some wild rides and it’s incredible to say that the Canadian son of two Guatemalan immigrants has gotten to be around names like Project Pat, Juicy J, Frayser Boy, and Young Dolph, Key Glock, etc.
I’ve had the chance to capture the real Memphis culture and I’m forever grateful and proud of that. From gangs, guns, drugs, and tattoos to weddings, quinces, and family portraits. I don’t lock myself into any specific bubble, I’d love to see what else is out there.
Alright, 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?
Being an entrepreneur and especially a creative is no easy task. It’s easy to dream of the lifestyle you want and how’d you like things to be but reality loves to keep giving you checks. The beginning is always clouded in fear and doubt, stressing every decision and wondering if you just made a mistake. It’s even harder to continue and believe in yourself when you see somebody else doing the same and they have more success.
The accomplishments and celebrations are always what you see, but you need to focus on yourself and stick to your plan. You have to remember that no matter what you’re doing, most likely you’re not the only one. You can be hungry but there might be somebody else hungrier than you. It’s not easy but the reward is absolutely worth it. There were plenty of times when I wasn’t making a single dollar day after day sometimes week after week.
It got so bad one time that I even had to ask my parents for gas money but feeling sorry for yourself and sitting on the couch complaining isn’t going to bring you success. You have to power through the negativity and think 5 steps ahead. It’s fun being your own boss and working your own schedule but you literally have to be your own boss.
Stay organized, keep a schedule, and learn how to budget. If you expect it to fall on your lap, you won’t make it. Stay consistent and true to yourself and the right doors will start to open.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I guess you can call me a visual artist. I own/run a wedding photo and video business with my sister’s husband, but we also offer studio shoots. When I’m not busy with weddings or Quinceanera’s I’m usually working on a music video or commercial.
I’m also currently the personal cameraman for Sleepy Loco and we’ve been touring the country this year shooting all types of content. I still do tattoos since that will always be my first love but I’m not exactly open to the public, more so just VIPs and close friends and family. Since I started with graffiti, my strong point is lettering. I’m known for my cursive and old English letters, but I also do graffiti-style fonts.
I still dabble with graffiti and keep my garage and shed covered with my tags and throwies. I like to think I’m as rare as my last name. They basically took a Lil Guatemalan baby, let it marinade in 90s east coast hip hop (with some west coast thrown in of course), and then let it cook in Memphis while wrapped with tattoos and graffiti.
The crisis has affected us all in different ways. How has it affected you and any important lessons or epiphanies you can share with us?
The Covid crisis has simply confirmed that humanity just sucks. Yes, there are plenty of good people out there that love and care but for the most part, it’s nothing but greed and violence.
People watching out for their own good and doing whatever it takes to get themselves up top. The world of social media has made people think that their opinion needs to be seen, heard, and accepted by everybody and it’s a call for blood if you disagree.
There’s a lot of darkness in this world, and we all need to sit back and light one up to figure this out. My life has put me around all kinds of people and we really are all the same. All anybody wants is peace and comfort. We just need a huge reset button to get all the pieces put back together correctly.
Contact Info:
- Email: msulua@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/u.l.u.a/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mulua
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/MichaelUlua
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCe5lJSiEV8iq4x0lw2_7fFg
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/msulua
