STERLING CARROLL
Sterling Carroll traces the start of his art career back to 20-someodd years ago, when a high school teacher criticized a piece of his artwork.
“I believed in myself at that time and I wanted to know. So I went to other classmates and I said, ‘What do you guys think of this?’,” Sterling said. “I remember somebody saying if it was on a T-shirt, he would buy it.” It was here that Spill Your Creativity, Sterling’s lifestyle brand, was harnessed, he said.
at the same time, I was young and trying to navigate the world.
Sterling invested a small inheritance, about $300, in a batch of t-shirts, and sold them for about $20 each to his classmates. He did a reprint with those proceeds, then continued selling during his first year of college. These profits financed his first year of higher education.
Down in Tampa, Fl., Sterling studied fashion design, marketing and merchandising. But the design aspect of his studies weren’t meeting his main interest, that of menswear. He ended up taking a bit of time off, coming back to Lockport, NY to save money and pivoted to a new school, in London, England.
The time he spent there was integral to his trajectory into young adulthood, and although the student funding dried up during the 2008 credit crunch and he had to leave school, Sterling stayed in the country to continue learning from masters in his field through internships and networking within the industry.
“I just lived there and I would rather live there as a refugee than be here. Because at the same time, I was young and trying to navigate the world,” he said.
By 2011 he was back in Lockport, seeking opportunities to work within the fashion retail industry. He tried on a couple of different jobs outside of the industry, but found that these only further charged his desire to pursue his passions.
“The hate of the different 9 to 5 jobs fueled that energy in me to keep creating,” Sterling said.
Although opportunities to work within the fashion retail industry were few and far between for a young person without an official degree but with a lot of practical experience, innovative ideas and heart, Sterling kept striving to marry his passion and his work.
When you try to keep pursuing, it’s so weird when the world is fighting against you, but you keep going. And so that’s where a lot of things happened.
“When you try to keep pursuing, it’s so weird when the world is fighting against you, but you keep going. And so that’s where a lot of things happened. So I kept trying to pursue different jobs,” he said.
“While I was at the manager position, other stores [in the Outlet] started recruiting me. They kept coming around,” he said. One of those stores was Zumiez, a clothing and gear store that predominantly caters to the skateboarding community.
The Niagara Falls Outlet Mall became the nexus for local opportunities for Sterling, with Converse accepting him as a seasonal employee then swiftly transitioning him to a manager position.
He again moved up the ranks, beginning as a seasonal employee and moving to core, to key holder, and then to store manager at the Eastern Hills Mall location. He was then a transferable store manager, which meant he could go anywhere within the company. He grabbed the opportunity and bounced to Massachusetts for the next couple of years.
After that adventure, Sterling came back to Lockport to find the retail clothing landscape virtually unchanged, so found work at a group home, at Sprint, and at Spectrum. He was able to accumulate “reward bucks” at his job at Spectrum, a bonus that acted as real money that he then used to buy flights to the West Coast and attend events like ComplexCon, where he was able to continue networking and meeting creatives from all over.
After coming back home in 2011, Sterling threw “Until the Wheels Fall Off,” a skateboard and music party for the Lockport community. He had been approached by some of the younger community members who had heard he was back and knew he knew how to make something like that happen. He agreed, and got them involved, teaching them different stuff about producing an event, including marketing.
“We just did it very grassroots,” he said.
It was a success, with local companies rallying around the event and partnering with goods and services and the community turning out to take part in and support the event. And with that, Sterling effectively put his stake into the skateboarding community of Lockport.
“I always hung at the skate park. I was about that life,” Sterling said. “I just never skated. I’m like, my insurance doesn’t cover that,” he laughed. “I was always scared to get on the board, but I love the whole lifestyle. I’m part of that group of people.”
I always hung at the skate park. I was about that life.
The event returned in 2024 and continues this year with the 2025 event scheduled for 12-6pm this Saturday, August 16 at Railyard Skatepark inside Outwater Memorial Park, featuring a skate jam, interactive art, a dance exhibition, and more.
This year’s Until the Wheels Fall Off event had a corresponding fundraiser element called “For the Streets,” which Sterling produced in partnership with the Kenan Center’s Taylor Theater on August 2.
Sterling used inspiration from an art piece 11-year-old Kelvin Maye started at the 2024 event, in which he painted “creatures” onto a fence of wooden slats. “I said, how can I create something for the kids that they can paint on that’s cool?” Sterling said. An idea sprang forth. Why not marry art and skateboards?
Kelvin Maye with his “Creature Wall”
“I found reasonably priced blank decks that they could paint on,” he said. These boards were handed out to interested youth and artists in the community, who used the boards as canvases to create one-of-a-kind pieces of art that were then auctioned off in an online auction, with the proceeds going to the production of Until the Wheels Fall Off and to an art supply drive, in which kids will receive a bookbag filled with various supplies at the event.
In addition to running his own business, creating his own art, and producing his own markets and events, Sterling also completed the Emerging Entrepreneurs program presented by the University at Buffalo School of Management’s Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership (CEL) this year.
“I did a lot of vendor events and different networking things in Western New York and Buffalo, and knew about the program [through that],” he said. “The people that were running the program were like, you need to sign up. I missed two rounds of it before. And then I signed up for it this time, and got in. And then I was like, okay – back to school,” he laughed.
“I was always trying to move forward and create my business even though I didn’t have a degree,” he said. “So that’s what I like to teach people. It’s okay to not have that degree. But it’s not okay not to pursue your dreams.”
He continued: “What would you do if you weren’t doing what you do? That’s what I always wonder. If you weren’t doing that 9 to 5, I always ask everyone, what’s your dream job? Because if somebody handed you the envelope right now with your dream job, what would you do? And then I go, now go for that. That’s it. Go for that. Go for that envelope. Create everything towards that envelope.”
Go for that envelope. Create everything towards that envelope.
Looking at the volume of Sterling’s output these days, it’s hard not to be envious of the sheer amount of energy that’s needed to successfully keep everything in motion. So where does all of that energy come from? “From the people. I grab it. It’s from the people,” Sterling said. “I keep going because that keeps energizing me.”
Sterling’s passion lies in his desire to help the youngest people of the community. “Like my friends say, Sterling loves the kids,” he laughed. “I love giving back to them. They’re the future. They need us. They’re the most vulnerable. And no one’s helping them.
“There’s so many programs that die out. I always make sure I talk about what’s there for the kids…just to help them. Just to keep them going,” he said.
Sterling’s been invited to speak at the high school as part of the My Brother’s Keeper program, in addition to the recreational and art activities he produces for youth. “I talk about where I started, and about not giving up. Because I came from where they came from. I’m very grassroots in all of everything that I do,” he said.
I think I bridge the gap between the voices of the heard and the unheard. And the seen and the unseen. I’m that bridge.
“I don’t have lots of money. And I think I bridge the gap between the voices of the heard and the unheard. And the seen and the unseen. I’m that bridge. That’s what I feel like I can do and give. And that’s why I love doing that panel.”
His peers recognize this drive, too. A friend once told him, ‘You have energy and life in you that isn’t like others.’ “I have to move in a direction that is comfortable and in a way of me learning and growing and not staying stagnant…I look at myself as still being young and trying to grow…there’s so much to learn. And that’s the thing. This is just a scrape. It’s just touching the surface,” Sterling said.
Although Spill Your Creativity existed as a brand entity since those early art days as a youth, it did not come into physical being until January 2024, when Sterling was able to sign on a space in the back of Lockview Plaza at 21 Main Street in downtown Lockport. Prior to that, Sterling could be seen at farmers and vendor markets throughout WNY, with his signature artwork adorning candles, journals, and men’s grooming products. He envisions a larger space soon, where he’d be able to offer art classes, workshops, a free art supply pickup, and a drop-in space “for youth just to be,” he said.
Sterling also offers his own family-friendly take on the “sip and paint” phenomenon, with at-home art classes featuring toy bears and the paint pour technique.
He’s also created a children’s coloring book that’s nearing publication. “I help a child find their inner light and I’m their little guide and then they start sharing it, their light with other people,” he said. “I love it, it’s so me.”
Although children’s activities and art is where his passions lie, he’s also creating works in support of men’s mental health. His latest work is a men’s journal prompt book called, “Hey Bro, Can We Talk?”
this is my journal to myself because I know I’m not the only one going through it.
“I know a lot of men lack emotional intelligence and can’t speak to each other. And so that’s where the book comes in,” he said. “I’ve gone through a lot of loss and grief. And so this is my journal to myself because I know I’m not the only one going through it.”
Sterling hopes to release the journal this November, to coincide with men’s mental health awareness month.
Music has also been a throughline for Sterling since his youngest days; at one point he played five different instruments in school. His love of music has continued forward into adulthood, with Sterling mixing, making his own beats, and throwing DJ nights and parties at places like Club Casa Montego, a Jamaican nightclub on the west side of Lockport that his grandfather owned.
“DJing and music is my thing,” Sterling said. “The real subtitle of Spill Your Creativity is, ‘It’s About the Culture, Fam,’ and the ‘fam’ is Fashion, Art and Music.”
Because Sterling apparently isn’t already busy enough, he’s also decided to run for first ward alderman this year. “It’s just the next thing…if you had to say what my next thing would be, that would probably be it,” he said. “To be the voice in the neighborhood.”
Sterling’s family history is steeped in the history of Lockport, and although he’s traveled and lived elsewhere, there’s no place like home. His family owned First AME (African Methodist Episcopal) Church on South Street, one of the first Black churches in the area. Aaron Mosell, the son of a formerly enslaved man who fought for integration of Lockport public schools in the late 1870s, was the owner of a brickyard and helped rebuild the church. American abolitionist Frederick Douglass came to the area and spoke at the church in 1863.
“There was a thing about Frederick Douglass. [He] never smiled in his photographs. I make sure I smile in my photographs – because he couldn’t, I will,” Sterling said.
That’s how I look at Lockport – what it can be, can be greater than what it is.
“I really think about legacy, ancestors, time, and just the growth of each person,” he said. “I want to be what my nephews and nieces would look to me as they can be. Can they be even greater than me? That’s how I look at Lockport – what it can be, can be greater than what it is.
“And so we have to be, as a community, growing and learning and adapting and being part of the world, so it can grow,” he said.
Sterling is in an evolutionary period, but it all comes down to a few simple principles: honoring his community and roots, and allowing his inner child to manifest in his current work. “That’s exactly why I kept pursuing this. That’s why I never gave up and just showed that hope and that guide and still gave my inner child a play room,” he said.
“You go through so much that sometimes you feel like you might never reach your goals, but at the same time, don’t give up on that,” he said. “I don’t doubt myself more than I believe in myself.”
Follow Spill Your Creativity on IG & FB and visit IRL at 21 Main Street, Ste. 1-8A.
Join in the fun at Until the Wheels Fall Off this Saturday, August 16, 12-6pm at the Railyard Skatepark in Outwater Memorial Park.
Written by Kristy Lock
My name is Kristy and I’m an American journalist, specializing in profile writing. I’ve told the stories of frenetic & fascinating people in Chicago, Illinois, Los Angeles, California, and my hometown of Western New York for nearly two decades. Feel free to drop me a line! I would love to hear your story sometime.
Photos by Kristy Lock. Shot at Spill Your Creativity, Wide Waters Grill, & the Taylor Theater, Lockport, NY. Full photo set can be found on Flickr.