Having talent means nothing if you have no ambition. You owe it to yourself to become everything you dreamed of being.

Destiny Wilson has the talent, the will, the courage, and the vision to be a sucessful entreprenuer. By the age of 17, she had graduated high school with her diploma and Associates Degree, all while building a business doing what she loves.

She goes by "TheArtvst" (pronounced as the artist) and she creates custom shoes, hats, and canvas art.

At 18, TheArtvst is continuing her education and pursuing a Bachelors degree in Business. "I will continue being consistent with my passions and dreams in hopes of someday being financially stable doing the things I love most," she says.

"Ever since I was a kid I’d love to draw on paper and paint, but at a certain point in my life I stopped drawing all together being so focused on school. One day I decided I wanted to begin painting for fun again, but instead of your typical canvas I wanted to use sneakers as my canvas."

A love for the arts runs in the family. She was inspired by her brother DeMark who customized sneakers in his spare time.

"The first pair of custom sneakers I made, I posted on Instagram and got a lot of positive feedback and multiple comments saying they wanted to pay for some of their own," she shared.


After that, she began researching on YouTube and Google certain techniques to enhance her craft along with a bunch of trial and error. She was dedicated to improving and knew that it was going to take lots of focused time and practice.

"Once I felt comfortable practicing on old pairs of sneakers I began customizing more shoes because I thought why not make money off of something I actually love doing."

TheArtvst continued posting her work product on social media and began to reach a larger audience. She now has created a website for customers to streamline purchases. Each custom shoe is hand painted.

"My proudest moment to date was my first art show. “Laces” art show hosted by Paint with Purpose Charlotte. I was the youngest artist in the room (17 at the time) and had the opportunity to share my artwork alongside more experienced artists. I got to display my favorite custom project I’ve done so far - which are the Breast Cancer Awareness Air Force 1s."


TheArtvst is most proud of her Breast Cancer Awareness Air Force 1s. This design was extra special, she created her own ribbon stencil using an exacto knife and masking tape. She also lined the Nike swoosh with Swarovski crystals, each one intricately placed by hand.


"I put a lot of love and effort into creating this custom and had fun while doing so. The finished product came out great!"

"If I could design a pair of custom shoes for anyone I’d chose Zendaya. She’s an extremely talented young woman and it would be amazing to meet her in person and hand her a pair of my custom made shoes."

Besides painting, TheArtvst enjoys cooking and trying out new recipes she finds on Pinterest. When she's not painting or cooking, she relaxes and enjoys a good movie.


"I’ve had a passion for creating ever since I was little and I would love to turn that into a career."

Success is loving what you do every single day. Embrace your talents and where you are in life. It's either a product of your growth, or a place that will help you grow.

TheArtvst is running back-to-school specials online. You can score your first pair of hand-painted sneakers today. Browse her collections on her website or find her on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.