Aaron Hanson Interview

The first thing I notice about Aaron Hansen is his energy. It seems to permeate from his every pore, it seems to radiate from his eyes, his smile catches the light and it’s contagious.  Pulling up to his home tucked away on a lot of land out in Desert Hot Springs, I spend a minute appreciating the mural painted on the outside wall encompassing his living quarters. It’s a geometric whirlpool which seems to capturing time and space onto the confines of a few feet of wall. It’s remarkable. My car bounces down the dirt road towards his gate, I avoid large rocks and holes and eventually park next to a few tumbleweeds, or at least I think they’re tumbleweeds, once I turn off my headlights it’s dark, there are no streetlights, no homes lit up to welcome visitors, only the stars. I manage to navigate my way onto his property, we greet, and he shows me his shed which is converted into a screen printing workshop, he has his own brand of clothing and design under the name Ancient Youth, a brand promoting self-awareness, positivity, and connectivity.

Aaron Hansen is a next level thinker. He doesn’t live or think in the now, he thinks a lot farther than that. He’s taking a leap of faith and his latest project entitled “Inspire the 10” is hoping to motivate you to take a leap of faith also. His objective is simple: to paint murals from California to Florida on walls facing the 10 Freeway. He is hoping to set out for the second time on his journey across our nation within the next couple of months and will be having his second upcoming fundraising event at the Ace Hotel in Palm Springs.

Kylie Knight: What are you hoping to achieve by the completion of your mural project along the I-10? Will it ever be complete?

Aaron Hansen: With "Inspire the 10" I’m hoping to inspire anyone that hears of the process of the project or sees the murals to do something amazing. It would be nice to energize people and motivate them to supersede their past-selves. It’s also a test for myself that I hope to accomplish, a kind of lead-by-example deal; become the change you want to see. I’m not sure if it will ever be completed, that’s a good question. I guess it’s like any other life purpose journey thing, hard to find the end or beginning to it. I think I can only answer that once it’s complete. (Laughs.) 

KK: How many murals have you been able to complete and where can we see them?

AH: So far I have two murals in Palm Springs, 1 in Casa Grande Arizona, 2 in New Mexico, and 1 in El Paso. I’m going to start including ones right off the freeway, and that would give me 2 more, one in Houston and one in Desert Hot Springs. All together I have 8 murals completed, they are all viewable on my website and the 2 in Palm Springs are on Garnett Rd. just before Whitewater. The mural in Desert Hot Springs is on Indian Ave. just before Pierson St.

 KK: Do you have any locations in mind or do you scout them out as you go about your journey?

AH: I started the project real strict, every wall had to face the 10 freeway, but I’ve found that it’s really difficult to find walls that are visible and paintable that face the actual freeway, so now the search is opening up to walls off the 10. It’s all exploration, this is the first time I’ve been venturing this far East on the 10 so it’s mainly driving during the day in new territories, scouting, then asking the owner and hopefully painting (laughs).

KK: Tell us about some of your experiences being a traveling artist. Why does the road call your name?

AH: There are too many experiences to list. A lot of new friends, other travelers, and art and music enthusiasts, grumpy wall owners (laughs). One thing I have realized is that once you set your mind to a certain frequency, you encounter other people tuned into the same wave. I’ve known this for quite some time, but on the last trip it really solidified itself into a new understanding and way of existing. It’s one thing to know of and another to understand and teach, you know? A lot of faith grew on the last trip too; I witnessed many mini miracles that really just made me not worry about anything. Once again, things I already knew, but it’s just on such a stronger level of practice now. Not sure why the road is always calling, I think it’s necessary to travel with your gift and spread the love/light throughout the land though. It’s just a vital part of life, to relate to all living things in different places, teach and learn, share, experience and things like that. I also feel that it’s important to evolve our species in recording new experiences, new thoughts, new relationships, bringing new dreams into the physical. It’s a responsibility for people who have been entrusted with the gift of belief/faith in their self, enough to translate the source through their art to share their gift with others by showing or through teaching. The universe is always hiring, there is always a job to do, it’s just that people won’t move if the money isn’t there. Anything you need will be provided once you show the universe/self that you can use the gift for the greater good. Employees of the universe get paid in friends and sunsets.

For more information about Aaron Hansen or to contact please visit Ancientyouthtruth.com