ANAHEIM, CA
At a young age, Franky Castle was fearless in dreaming big— Castle knew and believed it was his destiny to be an artist. However, as he grew older, the childhood dream began to fade.
Castle grew up in the slums of Anaheim, CA, and was exposed to drugs and violence early on. Unsurprisingly, wanting to escape his adversity, Castle began to abuse substances during high school. In 1997, when he was 21, Castle’s poor choices caught up to him, and eventually ended up jail.
At the age of 23, Castle was released and determined to better his life. But his early mistakes continued to haunt him and closed every door to employment.
“I got out, and I couldn’t get a job because of my record. I had no choice, but to become an entrepreneur, I’m going to hire myself,” Castle said. “ So I did that, I jumped, [opened up a] small little place and I just knew that I had to roll up my sleeves and go go go.”
Castle opened up a beeper shop and quickly realized he had to educate himself and learn how to run a successful business.
“I didn’t know anything about accounting, nothing, but I knew I had to save my receipts,” said Castle. Sure enough, with the hunger to learn, he registered for a college entrepreneurship course.
“I would open up my shop in the morning, and then I would take a night class, that’s where I met my mentor. Rest in peace, Mr. Larry Pierce,” said Castle. “Unbelievable man…He was a teacher who was passionate about teaching.” Mr. Pierce had a significant impact on Castle, teaching him to be relentless and learn from failures.
Castle confessed the moment he turned 40; he no longer wanted to open up his beeper shop. “I was a slave in my own store. I lost the passion to compete.” This moment was the start of Castle’s quest to make his childhood dream a reality. He began testing the waters and exploring how the market would accept his art. “I wanted to see if I could sell art to people other than my mom and brother, that was the test.”
Castle kept his beeper shop open a little longer and would work from 9 am-9 pm and them from 10 pm -1 am he would paint. On the weekends, he began hitting art walks. Castle’s hard work would soon pay off, six months after he began to pursue his dream, he was voted top 10 Orange County artists by OC Weekly.
April of 2018 marked two years since Castle officially closed up his shop to become a full-time artist.
This past month Castle had the opportunity to hold his exhibition in Seattle— In a heartbeat, Castle packed his truck and with a limited amount of money, drove to Washington. But unfortunately, during his stay in Seattle, Castle’s funds depleted.
“I had to feel it, the pain, because if it doesn’t hurt, it’s not good enough, we don’t do anything, we won’t make a change,” said Castle. He admits that experience was the best thing that could have happened to him. He slept in his truck and woke up to a landmark, the Space Needle, feeling inspired.
“I had $5 to my name. I didn’t know what I was going to eat,” Castle continues to share his experience as he chokes up. “That’s when I decided, fuck it— I’m going to open up, but I’m not going to ask for handouts. I’m going to start a special campaign, and I called it ‘Prints for Gas’… the response I got was unbelievable. I raised about $700 and was able to get home.”
By breaking through the fear of vulnerability and rejection, Castle invited joy and the feeling of belonging into his life. Since his trip, Castle has not stopped. His mission now is to bring value to other youngsters living in fear. He wants them to know fear is always going to be there, but it is vital to believe in yourself, and it is vital to put yourself out there— Castle strongly believes in a quote that has stuck with him for many years, “everything you’ve ever wanted is on the other side of fear.”
Today, Castle has freed his body and mind from toxins, and now the pursuit of his dream is his dopamine. Learn more about Franky Castle here.
