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

Hi Robrecht, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
After working 25 years in the military and then a year afterward as a contractor for the military, I wanted to be my own boss. The stress of working with highly classified materials as well as having to deal with some toxic bosses from time to time was something I welcomed to leave behind. At first I was not sure what or where I wanted to do for a business. I took an eight week course on entreprenuership and developed an initial business plan for a cafe/art studio. I looked at locations and considered the last exit off of I-25 before hitting New Mexico coming out of Colorado. 78 acres were for sale there at the exit including an old coal mine ghost town (Morley Ghost Town) and ruins of a Spanish mission (St. Aloysius Church) at the top of the hill there. I put a deposit down on the land purchase and began doing my due diligence research. In the end, I had to cancel the purchase as I could not determine if any high cost environmental cleanup would be required before building on the land for a business. For a more simple business start, I decided to try my hand at being a vendor with my art at conventions. This would be near zero startup cost and I could test the waters.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I’ve always enjoyed the creative side of art. I started out largely with influence from playing Dungeons & Dragons as a kid. I would draw my characters and other players’ characters for them as well. I consider art to be not only traditional painting/drawing that first comes to mind for many, but also all the many other creative professions such as photography, dance, jewelry making, cinematography, writing, and many more. Being an artist is hard. There is a reason for the term ‘starving artist’. Luckily, I had retirement income from my 25 years in the military to fall back on (with a portion still split and going to an ex-wife). That retirement income makes life as an artist much more of a possibility. There are many great artists out there who are well known yet still struggle making enough with their art or need to have ‘regular jobs’ in addition to make ends meet. An example, a local writer/friend Kevin J. Anderson, has written many Star Wars novels, Dune novels, and his own world series totaling over 175 books including 58 national best sellers. Kevin Anderson still works a ‘normal job’ to compliment his income. I have met many other artists that are well known and the story is similar in that a regular job compliments their job as an artist.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Colorado Springs and the surrounding area has a great amount to offer. Garden of the Gods is a must for those who have never seen it. Manitou Springs is a cool old town that can be seen the same day as Garden of the Gods with small unique shops such as the Mountain Man Outfitter and places to eat/drink like The Mate Factor. Manitou has multiple natural springs throughout the city that have been tapped into with fountains where you can sample the waters that all have different tastes due to different mineral content. There are also great trails to take a walk along the creek that flows through Manitou Springs. If a friend is an outdoorsy fitness type, a hike of the Manitou Incline is also warranted. Pikes Peak is also worth a visit being America’s Mountain along with the cog wheel train to ride to the top. My wife Katt and I are also Coffee afficianados, so cafe visits throughout the week would also be a thing. Our favorite cafe/coffee roasters are Mission Coffee Roasters on the far North side of Colorado Springs and Dynamo Coffee Roasting and Cafe not far off of Powers Boulevard and North Carefree.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I’ve had multiple people influence my life that are worth a shoutout. First and foremost, my wife Katt Yukihyo Berg gives me the support and love I desire. Second, is a friend I worked with at The Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, Lars Dyrud, who set an example by founding his own Space company, OmniEarth, which was later acquired by EagleEarth. He currently is the CEO for EarthOptics. Working at The JHU Applied Physics Lab was also a great influence. There I had the opportunity to work on multiple projects with many brilliant people including NASA’s mission to Pluto, New Horizons. Lastly, I’d like to shoutout to Professor James V. Herod, retired. Professor Herod was my instructor for Honors Calculus V at Georgia Tech. He set the example for how a person should teach and influenced my later time in the military where I provided graduate level instruction to new Space Operations Officers.

Website: https://qrco.de/RobrechtArt

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/robrechtart/

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

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@VeryShortFilms

Other: https://www.youtube.com/@robrechtart

Image Credits
The one in white shirt is by Brian Foxworth as noted. The one in black shirt swinging a sword is by Bryan Rasmussen / Chiseled Light Photography. The rest are my images.

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