Daily Inspiration: Meet Aaryon Bird Williams

Today we’d like to introduce you to Aaryon Bird Williams.

Aaryon, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My story begins in Gary, Indiana. I was born there in 1986 to Willie Esther Williams and Aaron Michael Williams. I grew up around the arts, sports, and family.

Although Gary was a pretty crazy place at times, I was sheltered from it a little bit due to having such a large family and us interacting with each other – we had a pretty decent childhood. Although I wasn’t much of an athlete, basketball was a way of life in my family and in the City of Gary.

My older brother years older was a child prodigy in the sport he oftentimes would amaze adults with his ability to handle the ball, shoot, and be athletic at a very young age.

This of course became a way of life in our household due to the fact of his life being surrounded around basketball. From the time I was two, I was in front of audiences performing; singing, dancing, acting and creating visual art—Which was all inspired by my mother and father – basketball and athletics were far from my dreams. I would play my older brother and I oftentimes would lose, pretty much every time. I would always struggle with basketball and academics compared to how focused he was—He wasn’t just m big brothers, he was larger than life outside of us.

I was constantly looking to be who I wanted to be and that was a star. It was a very wild and out-of-touch dream for me until I hit 17 years old—I had a growth spurt at the age of 13 from 5’8” to 6’0” by the age of 14. And by the time I was 17 I was 6’5. All of a sudden I’m looked at as an asset by basketball coaches and teams alike—I became a hot commodity overnight. My brother, 6‘3 at the time, would still be the more dominant player between the two of us, but with years of playing against him, my skills sharpened and I grew to be able to beat him—As well as become a highflyer athlete.

On my 18th birthday, I moved to Omaha for basketball and to finish high school on my Greyhound. I became well recognized for basketball and academics in Omaha and in college, which interns blossomed into a professional basketball career in Iceland, Mexico, Denmark, and Peru. My basketball career spans over 15 years of high school, college, and pro. My accolades include 3-time international slam dunk champion, Xochicoatlan, Mexico League champion, Iceland Powerade Cup leading rebounder, and Peru national basketball league playoffs “Super 8” Quarter Finals Top Ten Player.

From the time I left Peru, I knew that it was time to start thinking about A new path and even though basketball had been extremely great to me and I was only 30 years old, I felt that I had started to outgrow the idea of going to the NBA and instead decided to focus on my art, along with youth arts programming and education. I encountered a lot of young people and was able to jump-start a few of them on their path as artists. I began a new career as a muralist and started my first mural job in 2014 with legendary New York muralist Cey Adams, it was an eye-opening experience into being paid to create large works of art.

I studied murals in college while I played basketball but never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d be selected by such an extraordinary artist at such an early time in my career as an artist. More jobs started coming, and the biggest mural job came in 2015 after I retired from pro basketball—The mural that landed me a contract with HBO, “The Terence Crawford Mural”. It was featured in a documentary of the boxer and the HBO doc film brought me more credibility. As time goes on, I release a barrage of 7’ murals of Muhammad Ali, Prince, Michael Jackson, Tupac, and Richard Pryor—As a protest against negative black male images in the media.

The 8 foot Muhammad Ali was the most adored of them all, as well as the only to actually get notoriety when it was featured alongside me in the Omaha Magazine article, “Baller Artist” discussing my journey and the international legacy I am working to leave behind. One of my last major projects in Omaha was where I met a young man whole is now attending the Kansas City Art Institute, and carrying on the tradition of African American artistry, Jahmai Brown. My company was commissioned to create a piece honoring the Tuskegee Airmen of Omaha.

I hired Jahmai as well as 4 other young African American artists through the Step Up/Urban League Program, and Jahmai rose to the top as the only of them to attend College for art. As long as Jahmai has been in college in Kansas City, I have worked with him on projects to honor individuals of merit in his hometown. With a buddy in his college career at Kansas City institute, Jahmai is wrong as an amazing artist and continues to show his conceptual growth from the Institute. At the mural ceremony, we both have had the honor of meeting Robert Holtz before passing— The last living Tuskegee airmen from Omaha Nebraska at the age of 94.

We also had the opportunity to be featured on the news as well— With Jahmai having his first shot at the spotlight. Since then, I have traveled throughout the US, from Georgia to Santa Fe. Making my mark as an Artist, Director, Speaker, and Curator. In 2019, I was covered in Atlanta Georgia by the Dekalb champion newspaper for my mural project, featuring 11 students while honoring legendary producer Swizz Beatz, who was also a former student at Redan high school.

In 2020, I was commissioned to create a new mural for former WNBA player and Nebraska Hall of Famer Jessica Haynes and am now a part of a group nomination for a 2022 Omaha Entertainment and Art Award for Most Outstanding Public Art. I was gifted the privilege of hosting the 2021 Santa Fe film festival virtual award show ceremony and week-long journey of interviewing the Santa Fe Film Festival staff—Acquiring a total of over 20,000 views on Facebook. I have also been a guest speaker for New Mexico School for the Arts. My plans for the future involve working with more KCAI students such as Jahmai—Educating them on how and where to get started.

Fewer murals more arts education and more notoriety for being a national art director and advocate. I currently run all of my professional endeavors through my company The FLIYE Organization LLC. A management company—created for cultural entrepreneurs.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
The toughest part about what it is that I have done is the funding, I’ve paid for most of the projects is not all out of pocket and hopefully, you made some sort of profit on the backend. Some bags have been bigger than others and some days have been brought in the most. It is all paid off in the end.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am known for my murals as well as for basketball, I am most proud of my accomplishments internationally as a professional athlete as well as the Note-oriety that I have gained for my artwork and community work.

What sets me apart is the fact that I’ve been traveling since I was 18 going around the world to bring some sort of entertainment, joy, and light to large groups of people. It makes me different my life has been based and serving others through my talents

What does success mean to you?
Success to me is defined by the well-being of your children or the children in your life, the things you acquire in this life to make life easier for you and the ones you love and achieving everything that you set out to achieve since you were a child.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @aaryonbirdwilliams
• Facebook: Aaryonbirdwilliams
• Twitter: @Aaryonbirdwill
• Youtube: Aaryon Bird Williams Basketball Highlights