Photography by Jenni Cholula
Photography by Jenni Cholula
Photography by Jenni Cholula
From airbrushing shirts for his high school classmates to designing logos for major companies, Dallas illustrator and designer Agustin Chavez’s journey has been one of self-discovery, hustle and creative evolution.
“I think at a young age, I already knew that I was going to be creative,” Chavez, 36, says. “Since I was in first grade, when I drew my first picture, my teacher called me, and she was like, ‘You did this?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah.’ And she said, ‘Well, we need to talk to your parents.’ And I was like, ‘Am I in trouble?’”
This interaction stuck with him as he thought if he could get the attention of his teacher, other people might be interested in his art. He started drawing again in middle school, finding inspiration in vintage, retro, and ’80s and ’90s culture.
In high school, he realized he could start making money from his work. He got an airbrush and a compressor for Christmas and had trouble at first, but kept trying until he made a design on a shirt.
“I took it to school, and they were like, ‘Oh, you painted that?’ And then they were like, ‘Can you make me one?’” Chavez says. “By junior year, I’m already in business. I’m making shirts.”
He airbrushed shirts for his senior class and eventually started to pass around a binder where his classmates could place orders for him to make.
When he graduated high school, one of his friends suggested opening a shop. More and more people came as time went on, and they were in business for 10 years.
At that point, he began learning digital design because he knew that would be the next big thing.
“‘I’m calling myself a graphic designer because I got Photoshop, and I don’t know anything about graphic design, but I’m just creating because there’s no rules in creating,” Chavez says. “Me and my buddies went our own ways, and I started posting all my artwork on social media, and I started getting likes and recognition.”
Around 2013, he got to work with Rick Ross and other rappers. A DJ from a local radio station reached out and wanted to work with Chavez, and this was his first official design job.
“I met the owner’s son, then he gave me an opportunity to design the logo for one of their businesses, which ended up being La La Land (Kind Cafe),” Chavez says. “And once I did that, I started getting emails from companies like NASCAR and Target and Starbucks. And I started getting more of these conversations started.”
The pandemic hit, and one of Chavez’s friends had a gig with the Dallas Cowboys. Chavez expressed his interest in working with them and ended up getting a job with America’s Team.
“After two years, I was waiting for my raise, and they couldn’t do it because the team had a losing season,” Chavez says. “I was just like, OK, well, if I’m not earning, I got to be learning. But I already learned what I needed to learn. So now I have to move on. So I left, and I started doing my own thing at home.”
He started designing hats for his brand Dummy Fresh, which garnered lots of interest.
“My close friends were wearing them, and people were asking them where to buy them,” Chavez says. “Before I would even get to the pop-up shop, my hats were sold out. So people were like, ‘Oh my God, Dummy Fresh hats are selling out,’ I was kind of just tricking their brain into it being something that they needed to have.”
He started creating these hats in July of 2023, and by December, the Dallas Mavericks reached out, wanting him to do a design for them in his style.
While having all of this success, Chavez also dealt with hardships. There was a moment in his journey when everything came crashing down when his dad was in a bad car wreck.
“He died on the scene, and they brought him back to life,” Chavez says. “My dad did a full recovery. The doctors couldn’t explain it. My mom never left his side while he was in the hospital. He was under an induced coma for 14 days, and we didn’t know if he was going to be able to talk, walk or eat, and he came back.”
This was back in 2010 and put his designing on pause. His sister gave him $400 to get things started again, and he was able to build everything back up.
“I’m not afraid to hit rock bottom,” Chavez says. “I know how to work, and I think that helped me build my work ethic.”
On top of Dummy Fresh, Chavez is a muralist, with one of his most notable murals being the WrestleMania mural in West Dallas featuring the WrestleMania logo and images of WWE superstars.
“I’m at a point where I can pick and choose who I can work with and who I want to work with,” Chavez says. “That’s good. I’m grateful for that.”
