Meet Aaron Roberts | Warehouse worker & Creator Forever

We had the good fortune of connecting with Aaron Roberts and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Aaron, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
I’m not really sure I chose this career and pursuit as much as it also chose me. Since a young age I have enjoyed drawing and creating doodles. My mother was always good at creating cartoons of the people around our neighborhood and city. She taught me little tricks and simple drawing techniques at an early age. My parents divorced my 8th grade year, and we moved into a little trailer court in Boulder, Colorado. My sister was deathly sick with very advanced childhood lupus taking up most of my mother’s energy. At that same time my mother started a life-long battle with bi-polar one. My sister would cut out these pictures in newspapers of collectable plates with paintings on them and I remember attempting to draw them as perfect as possible staying up late at night after they went to bed. By high school I was taking independent study art classes my senior year at Boulder High School, and I didn’t even graduate. I got my GED and moved up to Casper, Wyoming to help my grandmother. There, I had the opportunity to attend community college and was interested in the social sciences and took only one drawing class. My teacher quickly convinced me art was in my blood, and I received an associate of illustration by the end. That lit a flame that has been ignored at times but never died. I moved to Laramie, Wyoming and worked in kitchens full time while completing my bachelor of art. After graduating I had to pay bills, and the kitchen paid the bills. I never stopped creating, but never on the level needed to pay the bills. By the time covid hit I was 40 years old, I felt trapped in the kitchen life, and I was a complete selfish acholic. I packed my bags and moved to Denver to sober up and change my life. In Denver I found great support and a woman who wouldn’t give up on me. I completed a certificate of graphic design through Strohacker Design School online and started my t-shirt business early this year. I named the company Planetary Disaster to represent how I lived my life while in the depths of depression and alcoholism. This company is more about creating art for my own sanity then putting money first. I am pursuing my artistic career for my own sanity and maybe one day it could also help pay the bills a little.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My simple t-shirt company Planetary Disaster is far more than a quick get rich side hustle. I am a creative being, and my website allows me to pursue what I was brought here to do. The name Planetary Disaster represents who I was at the darkest points in my life. Without acknowledging your lowest how can you see your true self? My mother has been beaten down with heavy mental disorders causing many years of homelessness and pain. My sister’s journey with lupus has been physically and mentally just as hard. These two women have inspired my passion and drive to always create art from the heart. I dedicate my business and all my art not to making cool catchy art that sells quick but to speaking from my heart and creating work that speaks to me.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
What inspires me most is a combination of big city, combined with vast mountain ranges that make your reality feel tiny. I would start of the morning in Boulder grabbing breakfast at the Village Coffee Shop nice little greasy spoon place that’s been there for ages. Then off to the mountains for a good hike maybe around Brainard Lake. You can grab a great slice of pizza in Nederland on the way back before your night begins. Now, we cruise into Denver and maybe catch the ballet to witness the beauty, magic and creativity of performance. Afterwards, we end it by wondering the streets of Denver late-night checking out all the graffiti just lit up enough to enjoy all its glory. On my free days this is exactly the kinds of thing I do currently.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
For a shout out I will first apologize to all the wonderful people in my life I don’t have time to mention. My family has always been a huge support system on some level. My sister Reagan Roberts for her constant love, support and dedication to life no matter what challenges are thrown at her. My mother Stacy Denton for always supporting me, showing me art at an early age, and through her mental challenges showing me the dark un-controllable realities that many face with mental illness. My father Michael Roberts for always being a life raft when I was sinking. My ex-wife for attempting to keep me off the barstool and keep pursuing art and my love of life. Absolutely all of my art teachers over the years have completely changed my life, I remember you all. Finally, the woman who changed my life forever, Krista Gartner. Krista found me on a barstool spitting pipe-dreams to anyone who would listen and called me out, I needed it. Because of her dedication, love, and my sobriety, I am pursuing my dream.

Website: https://www.planetarydisaster.com/

Instagram: planetary_disaster

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaronkroberts79

Facebook: Planetary Disaster

Other: TikTok: planetarydisaster

Image Credits
All Mine so we are good:)