Rising Stars: Meet Christian Cook of East Hollywood

Today we’d like to introduce you to Christian Cook.

Hi Christian, 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?
My story in LA has been surprising to even myself. A couple of years ago I was broke used the last of my money to fly from SLC to LA and ended up crashing in an old friend from Hawai’i’s garage in Monterey Park. Musty old couch cute dogs rocking chains and everything MP. Immediately on settling into my homies garage I got an inquiry to design a white label product line. I ended up in my buddies garage working 16 hours ago while he tried to kick me out and after a month I had picked up another design job, found a place in East Hollywood, and eventually landed an in house position at a fashion brand. Today I am a free lance art director, still struggling but constantly traveling and executing amazing projects. I’m almost always surprised by how lucky I’ve been but it’s all from full heartedly pursuing creative acts with full passion.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Rocky road all the way. So many ups & downs, successes met my crickets, met by being completely broke and homeless, more than once. Every hardship has taught me to be more resourceful, creative, and fearless. I don’t think suffering is a great place for art to come from, but I sure do think struggling teaches you to value everything and to be more creative!

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m obsessed with visual organization; blocking a scene, color palettes, typography, emotional & editorial imagery. I’m known for my book VANLIFE, a photo book I shot on film in Hawai’i in 2017 on 35mm film. It’s not a very serious book but it’s fun and I love its design, and all the photos of me and my friends having fun in that era of emergent social media. Growing up in the country in Hawaii has made me a resourceful and handy person; we had to make everything when we were kids – shell & flower leis, surfboards, whatever. The elements around us were our entertainment. I’ve always felt that’s given me an innate creative sense that I love bringing to set. I specialize in art direction & design.

Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
I’d give a shout out to my friend David Latimer at New Frontier Tiny Homes – when I was just a humble bartender in the lower east side of New York at a spot called home sweet home, David was kind enough to give me an opportunity to shoot photos on set with him for a shoot with ABC FreeForm in NYC and later to another shoot with DUNKIN’ at Madison Square Park. Sometimes it’s hard to find confidence in the creative world as a humble kid from Kauai, HI but my work with David has become a cornerstone of the confidence I feel today.

Joshua Strickland founder of Hawai’i Camera who taught my everything I know about modern camera technology.

Joss Descoteaux who I assisted for years and who taught me to be a photographer.

Micah Ruiz from Orion Custom Framing in SF who has always been the first person to buy my art whenever I launch sales.

And finally Mike Spyros at Home Sweet Home in NYC who taught me to be cool.

I have innumerable friends I feel so much gratitude on a daily basis for supporting me in my crazy dreams of being an artist. I would be nothing if not for my friends.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.christianrichardcook.com
• Instagram: xiggytzardust
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christian-cook-342318215