ORGIN STORY
We all have to start somewhere. Most of us haven’t had a life changing altercation with a radioactive spider, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have defining moments.
It all began for me in Mrs. Ackerman’s 3rd grade class. I can still see myself with shoulders hunched, shielding my paper. A poor man’s Ralphie from “The Christmas Story”, my black coke-bottle glasses and flowbee haircut defined my look and celibacy for many years to come. I didn’t care, I was on a mission to finish my drawing of Snoopy before recess.
After having recreated logos of every NFL team, and countless Garfield and Peanuts sketches, I was yearning for more.
“Why am I here?
What it my purpose?
Is this as good as it gets?” I would ask, as I hid the latest creation in my Dukes of Hazzard Trapper Keeper.
It all came together when I met Kendall. He was my first business partner. While diligently avoiding fractions, Kendall and I created a comic book called “The Adventures of Trash Can Man”. It was brilliantly written with cutting edge poop jokes and detailed illustrations of said poop.
Although it was a collaboration, Kendall was better than me. I watched what he did, tried to copy his style. But it never looked as good as his. I voiced my frustration to my Father. He gave the following advice.
You will always find someone who is better than you, just as you will find someone who is worse than you. Don’t waste your time on them, just be sure that YOU are better today than you were yesterday.
His advice has become one of the pillars on which I have built of my life – both in business and personal.
Kendall and I discussed mass producing the comic book and selling them for REAL dollars. I still remember the excitement, the feeling of empowerment. To have the ability to take a concept and make it a reality, yeah, that’s the good stuff.
Tony A. Boisvert