Ep. 83: The Art of Leaving Your Mark with Mark Stoddart

We all want to leave a mark on the lives of others. We want to know that we mattered when it is all said and done. We want to know that we made a difference in the lives of others.

Mark Stoddart is a visual artist, clothing designer, graphic artist, writer who is the founder of Live It Wear it, a wearable art clothing company. His work has been showcased in various art galleries, on the Bravo TV network, and in various high-profile establishments across Toronto Canada. He's done partnerships with the former NBA Champion Toronto Raptors, Roots Canada, and the Toronto Blue Jays. He also has various celebrating wearing his clothing brand and has worked with some of the most impactful Black leaders in North America.

He created the Beloved and Flowers movements, 2 movements to showcase black empowerment and black love.

In this episode, we sit down and talk about art, leaving your mark in the world, entrepreneurship, overcoming various challenges, following your dreams, and much more.

Here is some of what we talk about in this episode:

[3:37] Like you said, liveable art, I have to use that one. I never realized that everything I create is something that's tangible in different mediums.

[10:51] I think coming back to my first job from graduating from Sheridan was on textile printing, I always been doing T-shirts at a young age, I always thought that that was the thing that for me can actually express myself was to garments.

[13:00] A good friend of mine passed away... And his transition kind of shocked me in a way that something about losing people, you never got a chance to celebrate them. And I thought to myself seeing a funeral, I saw everybody from the community coming to celebrate his life, I thought to myself, This is gonna be my time, I got to do something that I want to do.

[16:24] I don't do the gimmicky kind of designs artwork for people to buy into. I'm not that guy. I'm very thought-provoking and attentive, but my intentions are really what I want to create.

[22:41]  I think I always created this movement from the get go, when I started this Live It Wear It brand. Always wanting to bring the community into that space. 

[24:09] I thought the language of beloved was something that people were speaking to. And I thought how can I kind of use it for to my benefit of telling the story on what beloved means.

[33:52] Somehow I'm able to build real tangible relationships with good people and some influential people.

[37:00] There's some things that I am uncomfortable about, but you need to be in the uncomfortable spaces to learn and grow from them.

[44:45] It's like a child walking when they fall you say you gotta get back up...You have to understand your worth and your potential.

Mark Stoddart's Links

Live It Wear It Website

Mark Stoddart Instagram

Coach Danny Stone's Links: