WWE's artist tells his story of how he became a painter for the company.
WWE artist Rob Schamberger, who is famous for his 'Canvas 2 Canvas' series which can be seen on the WWE Network and WWE's YouTube channel, spoke with FOX4 Kansas City and went over his journey to becoming an artist for the WWE. He says that his passion for wrestling started back when he was scrolling through channels with his stepfather and they came across Ric Flair.
"He was flipping through the channels once when I was there doing laundry and he landed on Ric Flair talking in the ring. It was like the clouds parted, I heard the angel choir and I said 'I get this. I'm about this.'"
Since Schamberger's debut with his 'Canvas 2 Canvas' series at WrestleMania 30, he has now been creating portraits for the company for four years and it has been smooth sailing ever since.
"I debuted with WWE at WrestleMania 30 in New Orleans". He added. "I painted a 7-by-5 piece that was celebrating the 30 years of WrestleMania, no pressure at all right? But it was really successful and I feel like it was a good place to start."
Rob's work is not all done in his own private space. He stated that once, while painting in the backstage area during the 2015 'Battleground' PPV, before Brock Lesnar's WWE World Heavyweight Championship match against Seth Rollins at the event, Lesnar watched Schamberger create a piece.
"While I'm in the back painting, I feel this presence behind me. I don't see or hear anything, it's just like a sixth sense. I feel it, I turn around and it's Brock Lesnar watching me paint. It turns out Brock is actually a bit of an art fan and just wanted to watch me paint while he was preparing for his match. He went out and just destroyed Seth Rollins."
Schamberger has realized his dream of being a renowned artist and shared some advice to those who are also chasing their dreams:
"To really make things happen, you have to standout". He said. "There's one of three things you have to do: You have to be the first, you have to be the best, or you have to be different than everyone else. If you can find one of those things, you're going to do it. If you can get two, you're going to be a raging success, that's what worked for me and it'll work for anyone."
The 'Canvas 2 Canvas' content creator will be present at Planet Comicon in Kansas City over the weekend, displaying some of his work.