[REMMY.] What's up man! Glad we're finally getting to do this. It's been a crazy year already! Getting to watch you craft your image has been amazing man. Tell our fans first who you are, and how'd you stumble across UG?
[DEMETRIUS.] What’s up family! I'm happy to be doing this. Thank you for the opportunity, I really appreciate it. So, my name is Demetrius Graves, I am a Las Vegas based freelance photographer. I came across UG about two years ago. The first artist I came across working with UG was Tessi. I thought his work was phenomenal and he was a cool dude. After a couple of months of me following him, I started seeing more of UG. Finally, I decided to go to their website and instantly it was love. What they were doing with bringing people together has been a dream of mine since high school, and to see people actually do that was inspiring and let me know that what I wanted to achieve can be done. I thought to myself, "this is something I want to be apart of”.
[REMMY.] So how is living out in Vegas man? It seems like it lives up to its name pretty well! I've been a couple of times myself; so I couldn't imagine living out there with Sin City as a backdrop to everyday life.
[DEMETRIUS.] Living in Vegas is definitely an experience. Honestly, I have a love/hate relationship with my city. Growing up here versus just moving here or being a tourist determines how you feel about Vegas in my opinion. If you’re some one who likes the fast life, partying, drinking, gambling, etc., Vegas is for you. If you’re someone like me who’s more of an outdoors person, wants different adventures, or likes to just relax, Vegas isn’t it. Don’t get me wrong, you can do those things here, but only for so long. I love the creative scene here because we have so much room to grow. The talent level here is amazing, everybody does their own thing, but I just wish we came together more as creatives. Vegas kind of has this "crabs in a bucket" mentality but it is slowing changing and that’s what I want to be apart of, so we all can eat. There needs to be more love here.
[REMMY.] What would you say is your overall goal and vision for yourself? Do you think you're on the right path or like many of us find yourself in creative ruts?
[DEMETRIUS.] I would say my overall goal and vision is to be an anchor for people to come together. I’m at a point in my life where I just want to see people love each other and accept each other’s differences. So I try to show as much real life in my work as I can. I do think I am on the right path but I still think I’m far from where I want/need to be. I say that because I'm human and I know I’m not perfect, which is why I do find myself in creative slumps. Sometimes I let things in life or emotions take over and I lose focus. I’m learning to remain focused while dealing with those things.
[REMMY.] What inspires you to create? Would you say your creative drive is "self-manufactured", meaning your able to keep yourself motivated for the most part? Or do you find yourself looking for inspiration? I know we all pull a little motivation from others but I've noticed some others like me seem to be able to manufacture "creative energy" out of our own life experiences and goals.
[DEMETRIUS.] It’s pretty easy to keep myself motivated but when I do hit a slump, I’m inspired by other art, such as music, writing, videos, paintings, etc. I’ve always been into art as a whole since I was younger; Michael Jackson being the reason for that. I used to watch documentaries on how he worked, watch his music videos, and listen to his music. In my opinion, the creative things he did were next level. I always wanted to match that, but in my own way, if that makes sense.
[REMMY.] What's on your mind right now as a rising creative? I mean anything. I feel like we all have so much to say and never really get a chance, you know? So what's got you thinking right now...
[DEMETRIUS.] What’s been on my mind a lot lately is the world. No matter how much negativity goes on in the world, this planet is beautiful at end of the day. I wouldn’t say I’m super religious, but I am a strong believer in God and I know he just wants us to love each other. We are all made the way he intended, but it’s on us to accept that. We, as humans, have to accept our differences and stop trying to conform each other into what we think is “right”. I think if we all just took the time to at least try to understand why different people do different things, the world would be a better place. But when I say "try to understand,” I don’t mean just googling something. I mean actually going out and trying to get experience with what you want to know. You can never truly understand something without experience. Love will win.
[REMMY.] I like to leave off with a quote, something that you keep ready for when you do lack inspiration, that go-to energize...leave our fans with one of your favorites...
[DEMETRIUS.] One of my favorite quotes is, “never let it rest until your good is better and your better is best” -Tim Duncan. It just reminds me to keep going no matter how bad things get. Go be the best you that you can be.
