Meet Ricoh Danielson

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ricoh Danielson.

Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
Interesting question, I would consider myself an individual whose art is based around my experiences throughout my life, specifically in war as I have seen evil in the world.

My experiences differ from others, this allows me to provide a unique perspective as I am able to apply what I have seen around the world and turn it into something good. Throughout my years in and out of the military, the main areas that stuck out to me the most were parenting and entrepreneurship. With that said, I took my story as well as other hard stories of families being torn apart from deployments and the aftermath of deployments, such as PTSD and other key elements and included it in my book, Battlefield Parenthood. I address veteran skill sets and what necessary steps should be taken to apply those skills to be a great parent.

Being a veteran, we are quickly taught to do everything with nothing. I have seen veteran businesses start from zero, but end up becoming well known around the country (e.g. Grunt Style and Black Rifle Coffee). With that said, I wanted to capture not only my journey but a veteran’s journey as a whole to show that we can accomplish anything with hard work and never giving up. In my second book, The Rise of the Vetrepeneur, I interviewed business owners such as Grunt Style, American Grains, Guerrilla Outfitters, and 18 Series Nutrition. I wanted my fellow veterans to be documented for their dedication and ambition.

I have applied my skill sets to five business that I own and help run. My next chapter, however, will be documenting the veteran transition in another book as well as create a short movie of each of my books in the next three years.

Please tell us about your art.
My art is twofold. One, my art is capturing the journey and stories of veteran business owners and how they are affecting the business marketplace. Two, I am a business owner that not only documents these stories but contributes to these stories. I was able to pull off years of experience from the military and also as being a veteran to create art of capturing our journeys.

The reason I wanted to do and did these art/projects to preserve the veteran stories, so we do not get lost in the pages of history. The message that I am trying to convey is that “we as veteran bring much more to the marketplace than just being veterans of war. We bring insight into multidimensional leadership resulting in being heavy hitters in the marketplace.” What I would like to see people take away from this art is that veterans can bring different valued structure to not only business life but the way of life. We see and do thing differently, however, our unconventional styles that swing back and forth bring the competitive edge. The thing you should know about my artwork is that I am not only the artist but also the veteran that has walked that long, dark and cold path.

Given everything that is going on in the world today, do you think the role of artists has changed? How do local, national or international events and issues affect your art?
In my eye, it does not matter what is going on the world today. These stories and veterans journeys will be there and more are coming. The questions are who is going to help me capture these stories. As we come home from war and go to war, I am sure there will be another war, there will be stories and needed documentation. This will only amplify the need for more art.

How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
People can see my work on my website. For the books, they can be found on Amazon. If you would like to support this art, there are a number of ways we can do that. One we can share the books “Battlefield Parenthood and The Rise of the Vetrepreneur and content from my website. Second, would be to become involved. If you are a veteran, I want to hear your story, if you know if a veteran that is doing great, I want to hear their stories. There are so many stories that go untold and not recognized.

Contact Info:

• Address: 7324 E. Vista Bonita Dr, Scottsdale, AZ 85255
• Website: www.ricohdanielson.com
• Phone: 4807475970
• Email: ricoh.danielson@gmail.com
• Instagram: ricoh_Danielson_
• Facebook: ricoh danielson

Image Credit:
Caleb Santiago Alverado, IG calebalvarado

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