Meet Darian Terrell | Artist | Designer | Model

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

Hi Darian, other than deciding to work for yourself, what else do you think played a pivotal role in your story?
Discipline, consistency and believing in myself even when no one else knew what I was aware of.
Ultimately, believing in myself.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
I’m the CEO and founder of both DArt God Custom Arts, also know as Gallery Of The Art Gods, and Éminent Watches & Jewelry.

As the first in my family to have reached this level of success, I truly value people, kindness and compassion towards all my fellow brothers and sisters. I know that every day is truly a blessing, and I know that not many people get the opportunities I have had.
In business and in my personal life, I show compassion and kindness to others, support my community and provide knowledge and tools to my community as well.
I do what I do out of love, love for art and love for people. The money comes later. I pride myself in being an honest, fair business man and hold myself to high expectations as I know my purpose here is very important. I was BORN AN ARTIST and I believe that and my compassion and love for community is what truly sets me apart. My abilities are truly a gift and I choose to share it through love and kindness; impacting one person at a time.

It was certain NOT easy at all getting here. Of course, everything is hard, being hungry or going without is hard, running a business is hard. I chose to stand ten toes down and go through the trenches because no one was coming to save me. I grew up on my own at an early age and quickly became my source of reliability. I never expected anyone to feel bad for me, nor waited for opportunities. I knew that I was the opportunity and if I wanted a change, to go out there and hustle! I visualized where I am and who I am today. I wasn’t expecting to get here at 29, but with the foundation I have set in place, only time and consistency will grow it to unimaginable levels.

I started off as an artist, a black and white abstract and realism charcoal artist. I didn’t attend any art classes, I just had this weird eye for things and this natural ability to draw anything I can see or visualize. I knew I wanted my own businesses, but the university was far to expensive and unfortunately my grants and scholarships would only cover so much. So, I took a risk. I dropped out of college as a 4.0 GPA student to chase this crazy dream of mine.
I had no idea what I was doing at first, but I knew it was the right decision.
I entered into the entrepreneur world as at first a worker, the artist, and over time taught myself how to be a CEO. My first company, my online gallery, I used my existing talent to create custom artwork and became an independent artist owning my own company versus staying as as artists working under others. I wanted to have more scalability options, low costs, ran it bootstrapped until I formed multiple sources of scalable income under the one company. This ranged from selling my art, helping other artists, teaching art classes, selling art supplies and delegation. While building, I focused on cutting back my personal expenses, lived low cost in every area I could, bulk bought food and prepped my meals so I didn’t have to cook as often, rented the cheapest apartment I could find in Phoenix and dedicated all my time and energy into making this plan work. There was no plan B, plan B was to make plan A work!
I used modeling (print and runway) as a way to put myself out there, get used to interacting with people, communication, build my CEO’s and connect with the entertainment industry.
The ultimate scalability began when I used my talent in the luxury jewelry industry. I started off as a dealer, worked my way up to being a designer and manufacturer. Catering to a specific kind of clientele and white label manufacturing for other retailers and boutiques. This gave me the control over production where I could scale as far as I desired. Now, my company provides a curated experience per each private clients needs with their own dedicated Concierge. We specialize in custom, diamond cut and grading, appraisals, repairs, cleaning, styling and much more.

The hardest challenges in all of this I would say having to keep full time employment while also building my empire. Again, I’ve been on my own since 16, so I knew better than to expect anyone to come to the rescue, so for the first 3 years I literally slept maybe 3 or 4 hrs a night or in the day. I had no choice, but it was worth the headache!
To be very transparent, the other challenge was having felonies. One mistake at 17, made the rest of my life VERY VERY challenging, but I didn’t let it stop me. I compiled with probation, finished school, worked, built my companies and eventually I was able to get my record set aside and all civil rights restored. That took about 6 years, so around my early 20s. It was a challenge that made me work harder than everyone else, so I can’t say I regret anything because it made me the man I am today.
The other challenge was leaving a bad, confined neighborhood…. I knew to succeed I had to leave. So, I did. I didn’t say bye to anyone, I just prayed and worked hard. God gave me a vision that was only meant for me to see, so I didn’t try to explain to anyone I just kept pushing myself. Consistency was the solution to most of my challenges. Things won’t happen right away, but give it a few years and things start to slowly shift.
Lastly, I’d say being very hard on myself. I say this is a challenge because at one point I didn’t give myself enough credit, I didn’t take time to appreciate myself and I didn’t give myself grace. This can and did effect my mental health. One of the best things I could have ever done for myself is be forgiving and give myself grace, established a block schedule to help me manage all the chaos and give myself the same love and attention as I did my companies and others. I learned that in due time, what is meant to be will be, to be consistent and not expect 100% every day. I, for a long time, felt that because I’m extremely intelligent, that I was behind, I felt I was playing catch up all the time and I realized I was being too hard on myself. You made a mistake as a kid… it’s ok… forgive, and move on. Once I let that burden or regret go, I was able to unlock that fire that had been burning inside me for years. I knew who I was, and where I was supposed to be, I just had to be patient.

I want others hearing about my story to know: Whatever it is you want in life, be consistent, be disciplined, be kind to others, be patient and don’t forget to give others the same grace you would want them to give you.
With all odds against me, I still made it. Now, it is my turn to give back to the community through art and fashion.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I probably would go on a hike. Somewhere peaceful and quiet. Most of my close friends know I’m not always a big crowd kind of guy even though I do love entertaining others. The quiet decompression time is the most enjoyable. I’d likely also go to a book store that has rare books or a museum that has cool artifacts. Things you don’t see on a regular. Probably somewhere out of the country and likely make it a tourist trip. I’d definitely find some rare caves and check out some cool rocks and maybe a place where we could see and learn about space stuff. We would probably either shop and cook for ourselves to save money and do more activities, or we would check out the nearest Italian restaurants with some good mocktails. Top of this list to do would definitely be pictures at all the stops. Find a place, a happy place that if ever we feel down we could look back at these pictures and remember how it felt to be free.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I have been blessed to have hand a supportive group of people make their mark in my life that helped create this version of me.
I would like to thank my old friend, boxing and martial arts instructor and mentor, Nick Holck and Edd West with Bellator. These men taught me what it meant to be truly disciplined and dedicated. They kept me out of trouble as a kid.

I’d also like to thank Joel Feinman and Amanda Knox. Both incredible mentors and I wouldn’t have had a second chance at life if it wasn’t for these two!

My best friend Ray, may he rest in paradise. This gentleman taught me alot about business, finance and how to he sharp on my feet as a CEO.

Lastly, my amazing wife, Kristin, who believed in me from day one!

Website: www.eminentjewelryiv.com | www.galleryoftheartgods.com

Instagram: eminent.iv.official | galleryoftheartgods | darianterrellofficial

Facebook: Darian Terrell | Éminent Watches & Jewelry | Gallery Of The Art Gods

Yelp: https://m.yelp.com/biz/eminent-watches-and-jewelry-scottsdale-2

Youtube: https://youtube.com/@darianterrell?si=ZP_MjsTCr9JBqz8z

Image Credits
Jimmy Anderson, Scott Hall, James Pruss, Dennis Larson