From doodling in notebooks to dazzling in designs on the screen, an 18-year-old artist from Pukekohe is making waves in social media and is about to team up with TikTok influencers Jimmy Jackson and Uncle Tics.
Uncle Tics and Jimmy Jackson contacted Rushil Patel (aka ‘Klaksy’ on Instagram) via social media offering to collaborate on merchandise.
“Uncle Ticks and Jimmi Jackson saw my Tiktoks and approached and invited me to Hamilton for a collaboration.”
Klaksy is no stranger to working with celebrities as he has rubbed shoulders with YouTube celebrities including KSI, Logan Paul and Beta Squad.
He scored his big break by contacting the manager of YouTuber KSI, landing him the opportunity to create a cover art for KSI’s song Locked out.
“It’s such a surreal moment, like how did I go from a kid from Pukekohe to now working with celebrities in the UK who have millions of followers.”
At only 14, Klaksy created his Instagram account and, during lockdown, started honing his skills as an artist.
“I always had a creative eye. It just runs in the family. Mum was an architect, and it kind of passed through generations. My sister is a really good artist though she is a dentist now.”
On a mission to ‘retire’ his mum
After achieving the dream of working with well-known influencers, Klaksy is working his way up to “retire” his mum.
After being raised in a single-parent household, Klaksy has first-hand experience of the challenges and responsibilities that come with it.
“I want to be able to buy my mum a house, I want to be able to retire my mum, I want to be able to gift her a car. My biggest goal is to make my mum happy.”
Klasky says while his mum is somewhat supportive, , it took a lot of convincing to let him take a year off from university to chase his dreams,
Like any other Indian traditional parent, his mum wants him to have a ‘backup plan’ and find a job but Klaksy only wants to prove his mettle.
“I want this to be a fulltime career, I want this to be a fulltime job.
“I want to be able to walk on the street and be recognised by people and inspire the generation.”
Klaksy says that he had to work his fingers to the bone as he believes that talent can only get people so far but that hard work is what sets him apart from everyone else.