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When most people think of artists they think of a frail, beret-wearing dude sitting in the park painting boats. Well Abel Izaguirre, AKA OG Abel, is here to shatter all those stereotypes. From Mexico to South Central L.A., he’s faced all his obstacles head on and come out a winner.

Tell us how you got started as an artist.
I always liked to draw as a little kid. It started when I was like four or five in Mexico. My mom was really religious and she’d have me draw Noah’s Ark and stuff like that.

When and how did you end up in the U.S.?
I was about eight or nine when we came to the U.S. It was my mom and my younger brother. We crossed the border illegally…I’m not ashamed to say it. It was something my mom had to do. She came over here to look for her dad. I wasn’t too happy because it was a big change moving to a place like South Central L.A.

How does it feel to achieve the success you’ve had?
I believe in being humble. I’m surprised to be doing what I’m doing now. I thought I was always going to be poor. I would watch TV and see the families that had a dad. Everything was cool. They had a nice color TV and every sibling had a bed.

What would you say is the most important thing that inspires your artwork?
The ability and motivation to progress in life is what inspires me. That and the death of my little brother. He was killed back in ’95 when he was 15 years old. He was shot eight or nine times. He was going to be a great artist. He was going to a school for the arts up in Cal State LA. It’s just tragic to have someone taken away from you. But I learned to turn all that anger and just use it in a positive way, to use it as a fire that lets me create and inspires me.

What would you say to other kids who are growing up in tough environments like you did?
I would say for them to invest in themselves and not get taken by the rip tide of their surroundings. It’s easy to join a gang. Sometimes you don’t have that family that guides you down the right path. So you just gotta be tough and focus on yourself. You’ll see that this is the land of opportunity. We should stop using that excuse that the white man is putting us down, because, you know what, this country is up for the taking.

So why do you think so many kids go down the wrong path?
It’s so dope that our parents come to the U.S. and are so determined to work hard. Paying for the rent and bills sometimes requires for both parents to go to work. In a lot of cases the kids are watching themselves. They go to school, come home, and then they go hours without being supervised by an adult. A lot of times that’s what gets them in trouble.

What kind of stuff do you like for people to take away from your art?
I want people to see things in my heart that remind them of happier times, something that they cared about. It’s just a visual interpretation

What king of projects do you have going on right now?
The hottest selling shoe right now is my shoe from Osiris. It was so popular stores couldn’t keep it in stock. I’m doing the second version of that shoe. I also did the LA Chuck Taylor from Converse. I also create the Locsters, the Hoodhounds, the Hoodpups, which are hot toy lines. I also have my own collection of t-shirts.

Any final words?
To all the kids coming out of the neighborhood, I want to say, Don’t give up. Don’t blame it on society. Go for it. It’s possible. And to the parents out there I wanted to say, give your kids a little bit of time, because sometimes that’s all they need.

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