Meet Vinny Belmont | Artist/Creator

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

Hi Vinny, how has your perspective on work-life balance evolved over time?
This is a funny question since I actually quit my old job so I could be free of working all the time and now I actually work more than I ever did before. But you hear that a lot in entrepreneurship, that people work all the time. What you usually don’t hear is that it feels entirely different when you’re doing it for you.

When you love what you do, all those hours are work you’re putting into something YOU dreamt up, that you created from nothing. It almost feels like a kid you’re raising. Not to mention painting and stonework is therapeutic to me, it helps occupy my overly anxious mind. So for now I’m welcoming the time it takes to do what I do. I can imagine after a couple of years I might get burnt out working long days like this but for now I’m feeling motivated and excited for what’s to come.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Hmmm.. I think what sets my art apart is that when I started putting my own shiny spin on custom sneakers I found that I really loved the idea of mixing glam with streetwear. When you think of rhinestones you tend to think of Vegas, pageants, Broadway, etc. You don’t really think of streetwear and brands like Nike, Adidas, Fila, and so on. So I really wanted to mess with bringing glam and street together with my sneakers and I think it catches people off guard.

What I’m most proud of is definitely my instagram. I am completely a one man show so I knew I had to make it look like we had a whole ass team. I wanted my videos of my sneakers to look polished and high end but had no idea how to do it so I spent literally hundreds of hours of YouTube on how to nail lighting, editing, branding strategies, all of it. And when you look at my page now I really do think it looks like a luxury designers page. Little do they know it’s all happening on my kitchen Island and I’m just learning as I go. But I am very proud of the image I’ve created for myself and my business.

And as for what I want the world to know.. I want them to know you can do whatever the hell you want in this life. Don’t waste another day thinking that you can’t. It might not always be easy, depending on the dream, but it will always be worth it.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
The essential San Diego experience in my eyes is setting up a sunset bon fire at one of our beautiful beaches and just enjoying quality time with great friends in the best weather while watching the sunset and having drinks by the fire all night.

I’m also 100% taking them to see my neighborhood, Hillcrest. Where we have so many great bars and restaurants all within walking distance of one another. Everyone treats you like family, its such a great community with fun night life.

And a whole day has to be dedicated to nature stuff! SD has the best hikes and scenic views. Like the cliffs of Blacks Beach in La jolla, Or the many trails along the ocean at Torrey Pines. I also love to bring people to Fiesta Island which is a literal island for dogs that all play in the water together. It doesn’t get better than walking the island and watching tons of happy pups.

And because I’m from New York we gotta go to SD’s Little Italy. I love Nona + Zucchero for the best Italian pastries. And after that I’d bounce right to the beach towns and go to the cool antique shops and record shops of Ocean beach. There’s so many cool, unique little shops there that all have a laid back punk/grunge kinda vibe and I dig it.

Piggybacking off of the New Yorker thing I am a HUGE foodie so I’ll just list my top 5 favorite spots I’ve found. Louisiana Purchase for southern comfort food, its so good! Rare Society if you love a steakhouse. Queenstown in Little Italy for brunch (it is an actual Victorian home turned into a restaurant and so cool). Nola on 5th for awesome Cajun/Creole. And Barley/Mash in the Gaslamp district for award winning gastropub style.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I’d like to dedicate my Shoutout to the Rainbow Railroad. They’re an organization that specializes in getting LGBTQ+ people out of dangerous countries where they can either be imprisoned or sentenced to death simply for being different. Their efforts have been vetted and approved of by many trusted people in our community and I’d love to help raise their voice if I can. They’re a really wonderful org that is saving lives everyday and need our help to keep doing good for this world.

Website: TheStonedAesthetic.com

Instagram: @Vincenz_

Twitter: @VinnyButHigher

Image Credits
@ChigaImaging