Meet Dante Laughlin of For Struggling Creatives

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dante Laughlin.

Dante, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
My journey starts with growing up in New Jersey watching my older brother Calvin draw the first outlines for me of what “style” and “creativity” were. It introduced itself to me from his dressing, the lyrics placed inside notebooks piled in the room, his style of talk, all the components that made him different than others provided the proof to me that I could be different too. That I could be a creative person.

This inspiration blossomed into movements like #UCYPHE (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VK1kguFzG8). A source for developing spaces that inspire people to be creative in spontaneous moments. Spaces we developed inspired so many projects and ideas within the grass root creative community that I began to see patterns in the projects being attempted. They were either not hitting their potential or not being completed at all. That inspired the need for For Struggling Creatives to be birthed.

For Struggling Creatives is a creative consulting company that helps creators with common struggles. In 2016 I experienced depression as a result of obtaining my college degree. Attached to his degree came debt and no clear next steps to life. My pain eventually found a voice in 2017 with the first episode of Notes To Self. I confronted my worst fears, insecurities, and struggles to discover answers for my community.

Once Notes To Self (https://soundcloud.com/donteze/notes-to-self-ep1-i-dont-want-to-make-music-that-no-one-listens-too) proved to be motivation for the struggling creative mind Dante added Creative Development and Project Management to For Struggling Creatives. He used his resources to help creatives talk through their obstacles and stay committed to their answers. Eventually, these successful one-on-one sessions lead to community events where creative minds could let down their guard and find solutions to the issues that affected their day to day lives. Even with the positive response, Dante noticed there was still one thing missing. Space. A creative threshold.

In 2019 For Struggling Creatives introduced The Creative Space, the first mobile studio for creatives to use to develop anything anywhere. The Creative Space has converted from a plain 17-foot box truck to an art gallery, concert, meeting, workshop, movie theatre, and so many more amazing things with plenty more to come.

Now, For Struggling Creatives is working to develop Creative Spaces in areas that have been ignored by their owners to create space for creators to thrive and new forms of income to support people who support creators.

Great, 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?
One of the biggest obstacles that I faced during my journey was the flood I experienced in 2018. During the night inches of water filled my basement and car, destroying the space I used to consult and help creatives in need and totaling my vehicle. It was a moment that flipped my world upside down in an instant. I now had no transportation and no place to do my work. Anger and confusion drowned my thoughts for moments before I turned to prayer and dialed in on how could this work for my favor. Why is this happening to me? During the moments of greatest adversity, the human mind is most creative. I simply asked how can I have transportation and be able to have a space to consult in? BOOM, the idea smacked me in the face and I hurried to find paper and pen to make it real. I needed a box truck. The truck could provide the use of a car but the box on its back provides enough room to serve as a creative space to work out of. That moment matured into the traveling creative space now providing answers to others’ obstacles.

Another obstacle I faced during this journey of helping creatives was our failed trip to Atlanta. Here’s a video about it. https://www.instagram.com/tv/B4ShOJ9lvZb/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Please tell us about For Struggling Creatives.
Our mission is to provide resources that allow the creative process to be efficient whilst making the goals of the creative achievable and purposeful. For Struggling Creatives is a creative consulting company formed by the common struggles and answers each creative experience.

What sets us apart is our signature tool The Creative Space. The Creative Space is a 17-foot box truck transformed into a mobile studio for creatives to use for projects. This space has already served as a mobile stage, video shoot studio, photography studio, podcast studio, and more unique experiences that have challenged the idea of what a box truck could do. This tool is revolutionary because it not only enables creatives anywhere but also is easily accessible to share things that inspire us all.

The part we’re most proud of as a company is our community of supporters. For Struggling Creatives owns %100 of all the resources we provide and continue to provide this due to our supporters. F.S.C. Supporters are individuals who contribute $5.00 a week to help us maintain our tools for creatives, provide financial backing for community service events in our communities, and allow us to provide money to support creators with initiatives like our Creative Stimulus Package. (https://www.instagram.com/p/B_QSsnYlqqp/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link)

Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
My favorite memory from childhood was spending nights playing Madden with my Dad on N64 and Gamecube. Those nights mean the most to me now. I used to choose the St.Louis Rams while he played every time with the Miami Dolphins. I remember nights of tears coming down my face because “The game was cheating” or hitting a bomb pass at the end of the game to go up by a few points with seconds on the clock. The ability to spend so much time with the greatest man in my life while doing something we both loved doing will always be a favorite memory.

Pricing:

• Project Development – $65 a session / free for supporters
• Creative Space Rental – $80 per hour / $65 per hour for supporters
• Video Content Creation – $420 +
• Supporter – $5 a week or $18 a month

Contact Info:

• Address: 1212 Charter St. Piscataway, NJ
• Website: forstrugglingcreatives.com
• Phone: 9088123934
• Email: forstrugglingcreatives@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/forstrugglingcreatives/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/forstrugglingcreatives
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/ForUsCreatives

Image Credit:
Brittany Smith

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