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Gus is a visionary. His life has always revolved around creative expression. From his early teenage years, he has built new and outlandish brands on Instagram, and on the curated social-media-based front, he doesn’t look scared of anything. A confident, assured, risk-taking powerhouse. But what truly lies beneath the surface of his creative-led businesses? From publishing zines under the art-led agency L-DOPA to dabbling in the plant-based jewellery-making brand TOY, anyone can see his imaginative versatility across his creative outlets, but who actually is Gus? And what are his regrets, proudest moments, and inspirations?
Aurelia Fridd:
How has London shaped your creative practice?
Gus Burgess:
It's always been a kind of quite magical place for me. Somewhere that, kind of, you can reinvent yourself, because it's somewhere so different from where you've grown up. It can be really peaceful, but then obviously chaotic in London. I think a lot of my work is based on those two extremes. I'd be stressed and overwhelmed at home and kind of bored as fuck. And then come to London, sit in Soho Square, and it kind of feels like a breath of fresh air, like a source of therapy.
Aurelia Fridd:
I was gonna say that's one of the things I really enjoy about London: like, no one gives a fuck here, you can literally be whoever you want here, and like, that's the best part about it. On a note of that freedom, what do you think your purpose in life is and what fuels you?
Gus Burgess:
I think the answer to this question has changed so much, I think, in the last maybe a few months. I think I'm starting to work on my ego a bit and let it go a little. So my kind of overarching mission is definitely changing. I think I was very stubborn about, you know, my vision of how I thought I wanted things when I was 15, and I felt kind of indebted to those goals and those dreams. I thought going back on them would be a pussy way out, or putting myself down or lying, because telling people when I was 15, “Oh, I'm gonna do this. I'm gonna make it big by 24”. It's not that I've necessarily switched from those dreams. I think there's just more importance for me in being a force that helps people find out what they want to do, fulfil their dreams, and gain confidence.
Aurelia Fridd:
So would you argue that now, like your purpose feels maybe less materialistic?
Gus Burgess:
Definitely, I've had the luxury of seeing that it doesn't feel how you want, how you thought it would feel. And I'm glad I haven't had to go through that whole spiral to come to that conclusion. People tell you advice, and you're gonna go fuck up anyway, and learn the whole thing yourself. But I'm trying my hardest to accept it and be like, yeah, you know that doesn't make you happy because you've seen it. What's the point in you going into all that struggle to get that when you know that it's not going to be what makes you happy? But I also feel like I want to complete it and do it anyway, to then almost get to the other side, where I can then chase real fulfilment. I know that's childish, but there's still an element of just wanting to play the game, complete the game, and then be free, without that lingering idea of what could have been instead.
Aurelia Fridd:
Leading on to the next question with that, where do you think your inspirations come from, and how do these play into your creative outlets?
Gus Burgess:
I think when you're a kid, you're a lot more of a sponge for stuff. As you get older, you look back on it, and it seems more exciting. I think you have this kind of, maybe like an air of nostalgia, so I think I'm inspired a lot by the stuff that touched me when I was a kid. One of my first magazines was called the Fly Issue. And that was heavily inspired by the CBBC magazines you get when you go shopping with your parents, and you just see the shiny magazines with all the toys stuck to them.
Aurelia Fridd:
And you think, “Oh, I want that plastic flip-phone”
Gus Burgess:
I think it’s that excitement. I'm inspired by excitement. I guess the things that make me excited are when you forget about outcomes, an audience, or what people might think about it, and it's important to channel where you're getting that excitement, plus joyfulness from, the kind of feeling that you get when you just got a new trampoline, and you want to jump on it for the first time. You're not, you're not thinking about how good you're going to jump or jump in. It’s just the excitement of doing the thing.
Aurelia Fridd:
Would you say there's anyone in particular who really pioneers your inspirations, or is it, like, solely through your own tactile experience?
Gus Burgess:
I wonder if there is someone who really inspires me? I think my dad is a very good, big, subconscious inspiration for me all the time. I've kind of always looked at him, like, for kind of approval of whether shit is cool or not. Yeah, I think that's guided me a lot.
Aurelia Fridd:
And what would you say is something that you're proud of? In any sense?
Gus Burgess:
I'm definitely proud of the first magazine, because I've never done anything like that before. When you haven't done it before, you actually don't know how to do it. To do something where I figured out how to do it from scratch, actually did it, and ended up with a final result I liked. I got proud from that and getting other people involved, you know, it was so much bigger than just me, I do feel pride from that. We all exist; that in itself is enough, really. Pride shouldn’t be based on accomplishment; it becomes never-ending.
Aurelia Fridd:
On the contrary, would you say there's anything that really stands out to you as what you've regretted in your creative journey?
Gus Burgess:
I think regret and anger are probably some of the worst emotions to feel. I think I think regrets are kind of pointless, because if you are truly like in the present whatever you've been through, whatever's happened, you find a way to be grateful for it, it got you where you are, and it taught you lessons that you needed to know to be where you are and to do better.
I always used to say there was this one time, first time I ever kind of did anything cool or whatever, like, I thought “I'm on the right track”. I was in the studio with Lancey, and Lil Yachty turned up, and he was standing in the door frame with like this crazy amount of chains on all this jewellery, and he had like, three pizza boxes stacked up, he was standing by the door for ages asking if anyone wanted a slice of pizza. And I had my camera with me, and I think it's the way that he was in the light. It would have been the most perfect shot ever, and I could have taken it. All I needed to say was, " Yo, bro, can I take a quick picture?" But I pussied out, and as soon as he walked through the door, he was gone. Never saw him again.
When I was a bit younger, that used to really haunt me, because maybe I did, I’d be in a better position now if I'd have got that picture, but you know what? Now that I'm older, I kind of don't regret it at all, because if I hadn't done it, it obviously wasn't the right thing to do. If it is the right thing, then it will find me again in a time when it will be a better situation. I feel like, I feel like the good old days are now, and I need to fully embrace that while I'm here.
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