ASPIRE 2 INSPIRE

Editor in Chief ⋆ Creative Direction ⋆ Photography 

Aspire 2 Inspire started as a personal project during a creative block — a collection of San Antonio and Austin artists, gathered and curated to remind other creatives that the block doesn't last. As Editor in Chief and Creative Director, I sourced the artists, shaped the collection, and brought it to print — driven by a love of pulling creative people together and giving their work a shared home.

The Setup

Mission: Create something honest out of a creative block — not another polished, aspirational page, but a collection that admitted the struggle and made space for other artists to feel less alone in it.

Vision: Gather San Antonio and Austin creatives — photographers, models, writers, musicians — into one physical book, where their real experiences with doubt and burnout could sit next to their work instead of being hidden behind it.

Scope: Editor in Chief and Creative Director on a self-published print zine, start to finish — curating contributors, conducting interviews, shooting photography, and collaborating with a graphic designer to bring the whole thing to print.

The Work

  • Set the creative direction and theme for A2I Vol. 1 — centered on creative blocks

  • Sourced and curated over 20 San Antonio and Austin contributors across photography, music, writing, and film

  • Conducted and wrote interviews with featured artists

  • Shot photography for multiple spreads throughout the zine

  • Collaborated with a graphic designer to bring the layout to life

  • Oversaw the visual and editorial direction from concept to print

Featured Spreads

Shot to accompany Alex Ramirez's essay on plastic pollution, this feature pairs a car full of spilled water bottles with a model reaching into a pile of plastic waste — a visual gut-punch to sit alongside the numbers.

Plastics Pollution

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Wardrobe styled by Anthony Ezell for their vintage/Depop shop, shot on location at a playground — leaning into color and nostalgia to give the pieces a story beyond a flat-lay.

Plahnuts

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Also in The Issue

  • Chingona Cosmetics

    Shot alongside Reanna Castruita's interview on building her beauty brand in honor of her mom

  • Curls for The Girls

    Portraits shot alongside Julian's interview on building an audience through hair content and lip-syncs — leaning into his signature look.

  • Alain Boris

    Photographed Alain Gakwaya for his feature on thrifting and personal style — leaning into the "extra," stand-out fashion sense he built for himself.

  • Smith Burger

    Shot for Anthony Smith's veggie burger recipe, a personal tribute to the beef burgers he used to love — food photography with a little heart behind it.

  • Aspire 2 Inspire

  • Josh Perez

    Shot alongside Josh Perez's interview on building a filmmaking career from self-taught beginnings — portraits made to match his own eye for storytelling.

The Results

Aspire 2 Inspire came together the way it needed to — one conversation, one shoot, one artist at a time. I met with creatives across San Antonio and Austin, sat with their stories, and built something physical out of all of it. I shipped it myself, one at a time, straight to the people who wanted a copy. It became exactly what I set out to make — something made to inspire, in the hands of the people it was made for.

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