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What Do You Do?
Someone once told me that when I'm asked
"What Do You Do?"
I need to talk about my art.
Since childhood, Art has definitely been the heart of my journey, the piece that connects all I’ve done through the years. And to this day I remain an artist with an eye for the beauty of life in all things.
From a Grade-School, Fire Station coloring contest Award, to early T-shirt & sneaker designs, and designing my future home – my childhood imagination was always dreaming in full color & searching for fun.
I played college basketball.
As I entered Junior High, I took the idea of artistry to the basketball court. Always looking for my own way to enjoy the game with as much fun & flare as possible. Doing my best to “Be Like Mike.” During the years of improving my skills I learned the definition of persistence & commitment – traits that have been challenging but necessary in every walk of life. The hard work led to 3 state championships, a national runner-up and a college basketball scholarship, where I was lucky enough to start as a freshman & score 25 points against the #1 team in the nation.
I started a band.
My college basketball career ended early after countless injuries – and I focused my art on Visual Communication & Design, painting, ceramics, sculpture and many late nights in the art building. I also dove into creating editorial cartoons & comic strips for the school newspaper while being a DJ on the University radio station. The pursuit of creative artistry quickly moved into making music.
With Basketball in the background, I holed up in a small, soundproof garage to learn the drums. Soon I had a band together to write some songs, record an album, play tons of high energy live shows & even get some radio air time.
After combining drums & my senior Graphic Design project I realized that maybe my seemingly separate worlds could blend together well. With several record companies suggesting a larger market for our band, I took an Art Director job at music industry-focused Ad Agency in Minneapolis, and our band jumped from small town to the big city.
I worked at an Ad Agency.
As I worked to hone my design craft, continued to write new songs, and meet some new people I was fascinated by one particular aspect of my new job at the agency. We were regularly auditioning actors at our office for the commercials we created, and I was immediately curious. As a kid I had written small plays to perform at school, made stop motion home movies with GI Joe, Star Wars and Transformers and always imagined I’d grow up to be Indiana Jones, but I never considered being an actor… until then.
I went to Hollywood.
Through several years of acting training & auditioning in the Twin Cities, I booked a few commercials & short films and decided that if I truly wanted to give myself a chance, I needed to head to Hollywood. Shortly thereafter an actor friend and I had a new start in what seemed like an entirely new world of Los Angeles.
Through the next decade, LA was my home as I focused my artistic craft on theatrical performance- on stage & on camera in commercials, primetime TV shows, (some faves like CSI, Law & Order, Drake & Josh), independent films, plays and even starring in a movie filmed in Italy.
I put together a photography exhibit of my experience in Venice & Tuscany that showed in LA, along with other solo art shows during my time in Hollywood. With the help of many amazing, acting teachers & coaches, as well as a vibrant community of artists & friends of all kinds, the energy of the times was electric.
The art & craft of acting, requires being hyper focused on a scene, the flow of what’s happening between two characters, their desires, the way they communicate and yet simply being in the moment. All of this sparked my interest in psychology. How can I be completely present in a scene or moment & yet view it from another level at the same time?
During these years I was running my design studio & working with clients of all sizes, types & industries. Diving into a client’s needs mirrored the character work necessary for creating any new role. I began to focus more on the deeper meanings of life. Why do we believe what we believe? What are we here to do? Who am I?
Interacting with so many different types of people, from all over and so many varieties of businesses & their demographics- prompted me to look closer at what connects us all as Humans, regardless of our individual paths.
I turned into a total book nerd.
With this reignited curiosity, I began researching from the most ancient books to current conspiracies to find some answers. Each answer brought many more questions and I moved more & more away from acting and the social scene of the big city. After hundreds of books, years of meditation, countless modalities & workshops, I had a life changing meeting with my higher self in a lucid dream. At that moment in 2014, my mission was clear and I decided to live my own movie, and no longer try to become someone else’s written character.
Through a number of synchronistic spiritual meetings, events & occurrences, I dove as deep as I could into what this realm (and the others) are all about. Years of my non-fiction research were put together in a playable manner in my board game, The Powers That Be.®
I launched a board game.
What started in 2003 as a fun game design project, originally based on Mafia films & TV shows, grew into an entirely new type of multi level, board game. As my research expanded, many more dots were connected and the game grew to an immersive experience about the global geo-political structure, and the hidden hands of power in our world.
The questions between players became as entertaining as the game itself. The ideas from the research & the game have spawned sequels, a mobile app and a film script, with a new Kickstarter campaign coming soon.
I wrote a book & began YouTube.
The evolution of fact finding and diving into the depths of the Earth experience led me to ongoing experimentation & study of many forms of spirituality, metaphysics, cosmology, philosophy and many more long words – all contributing to a spiritual awakening and a clarity of consciousness that inspired me to write my first book, Guide to Spiritual Awakening.®
The artistry of writing is something relatively new for me, and I’ve been doing my best to share some knowledge in an entertaining way. The writing, design, research & acting all come together through videos with a variety of techniques on YouTube & Instagram – through my organization, ENLTN® and my avatar, Echo®. The book is set to launch in 2025.
I offer coaching.
Through the various adventures and pursuits of performance & creation, one thing has remained – the concept of art – which has grown into the idea of living life as the ultimate masterpiece. As a designer primarily, my creations have been focused on serving the needs of others, helping solve a problem or create a new solution. The essence of service is truly our greatest gift that we can share with others, however that may be for each of us.
Over the years, I have coached & taught Basketball, Painting, Design & Communication in various forums. Now my 1 on 1 Coaching programs are focused on mindset & performance. It can be tricky at times to always believe in yourself, when the results haven’t shown up yet – or to continue to tell yourself that you can do it – when you’ve never done it before.
I use a blend of my favorite techniques from years of study – to help stay present, positive and focus your heart, mind & time on your optimal life. And yes, you can do it.
The adventure continues...
Throughout all these avenues, I have continued to paint & create for myself and others. And as the adventure continues, the journey itself lives as the destination. The core tenets of my life remain: peace, love, truth, freedom, service and, of course, art.
Got A Project Or
Partnership In Mind?
I’m always open to hearing ideas and creating new solutions on what good we can bring into this world.
If you need a new brand, space, or personal focus… a commissioned painting or even just a coffee chat – get in touch.
If you need a new brand, space, or personal focus… a commissioned painting or even just a coffee chat – get in touch.
Say Hello:
Greg@GregHain.com