GAME-CHANGING MOMENTS
T
here have been two pivotal
moments in my career.
I had the first in my
freshman year of college when my
roommate showed me Photoshop
and Illustrator for the first time. Up
until that point, I had zero clue on
what my future career would be.
Creativity was always a part of me,
but I didn’t think it was possible to
make a career out of it. As a first-
generation immigrant, my parents
painted a picture for me that made
it seem like I only had two career
choices available in life: become
either a doctor or lawyer. Both
sounded like terrible choices that
didn’t fit my personality.
I started learning the Adobe
programs through experimentation
and tutorials, and slowly built up
my skills. When I felt like I’d got
the hang of the basics I started
branching out and making T-shirt
designs, mostly for my close friends.
Everyone seemed to be responding
positively to the artwork, so I
decided to pitch the designs to
boutique shops in NYC and before
long my designs were sold all over
the city and then to larger chains,
including Urban Outfitters.
During college, my girlfriend at
the time got us backstage passes to
an Allman Brothers Band concert.
I handed the lead singer of the
support band, Moe, one of the
T-shirt graphics that I had designed,
expecting him to trash it. To my
surprise, I received a phone call from
moe’s manager a few months later
saying, “Al loves your shirt, wears
it all the time. We have an album
coming out – do you want to design
it?” That was the first time that the
light bulb went off, and
I realised that I could actually have a
career as a creative.
The second moment was when
I was hired by Nike. It was a wild
seven years, a transformative
experience in my life in which my
personal creativity accelerated
incredibly. I worked as an artdirector responsible for Lebron
James, Kobe Bryant and Kevin
Durant’s apparel business, and
became a sponge as I learnt and
collaborated with talented designers
and athletes. My experience at Nike
gave me the confidence to convince
myself and my pregnant wife that
I was ready to throw away my cushy
corporate paycheck, job security
and vacation benefits to pursue a
career in art.
Building something out of
nothing is never easy. When
I left Nike and the safety net of the
corporate world, I hit the learning
curve of operating not only as a
designer, but also an entrepreneurial
business owner. The experience has
been both extremely educational
and a creatively fulfilling adventure.
In our studio, each day and each
project is always so different. From
designing Coachella stage visuals
to Nike campaigns, music videos
to art installations and everything
in between. We embrace the
fact that our artistic aesthetic is
always morphing. It’s the diverse,
constantly evolving nature of our
work that keeps us excited for
what’s next.Left: One of a series of art rugs designed and curated by Burn & Broad, in collaboration with a multinational crew of friends and artists.“The light bulb went off and I realised that
I could actually have a career as a creative”
EugeneSerebrennikovistheco-founderandcreativedirectorofNYC-baseddesignstudio﹐Burn&Broad﹒Theformer
Nikeartdirectorjoinedforceswithaward-winningSpanishillustratorVicenteGarciaMorilloin !"﹒Theystarted
thestudionotonlylivinganoceanapart﹐butalsobeforeevermeetingeachotherinperson﹒Today﹐theirstudiocreates
strikingvisualsacrossmusic﹐sportandyouthculture﹐workingwithsomeoftheworld’smostexcitingbrandsand
artistsincludingNike﹐CardiBandAtlanticRecords﹒
burnandbroad﹒com- 55 -