I began creating art and t-shirts in college for extra cash. I have been doing art shows and festivals around the OKC area since 2009. The breakdown and setup of my art booth was extremely taxing and time consuming. Not to mention, my parents were getting a little tired of being my setup crew. I had to find another option that would allow me to continue showcasing my art and shirts, while being lazy.

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The perfect combination of the two showed up on September 14th, 2014 in the form of an old school bus. I drove to Manford, Oklahoma, on a whim, and paid a 99-year-old man (you can’t make this stuff up) for a bus that could quite possibly be missing very important parts. But when someone tells you they “didn’t Mickey Mouse it”, as a general rule of thumb, you can give them the benefit of the doubt that they fixed it correctly. About a week later, I called my dad and told him, “I bought a bus and need your help renovating it”, honestly expecting him to yell at me...he didn’t yell at that time, but the renovation process is another story.

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The Struggle Bus was born through many hours of a father and daughter, both equally bad at math, trying to do carpentry, lay floors, install wallpaper, and paint. And a mother, excellent at math, catching their mistakes before they went too far. It is an art shop on wheels that allows me to drive right up to my venue. No set up, no breakdown, and no listening to my parents complain about how I waited until the last minute to get things done. Ahhhh. The American dream is alive and well.