Though the lockdown really does not deserve any appreciation, our today’s interviewee gives the credits of him ‘Leveling Up’ his art forms and skills to the 2020 Lockdown! Finally, one good thing that 2020 brought to us – Selwyn Santmajor! When he said, “I’m somebody who loves to learn and I keep learning,” HE DID IT! He did it all. Music, Gigs, Beatboxing, B-Boying, Mimicry, Street Magic, Sketching and what not. Presenting to you, Selwyn Santmajor, who is a 2 times National Record holder for the Amazingly Meaningful Tattoos on his body and once for his Artwork.
While talking to INN, Selwyn said that, he has always been very passionate about educating people of the right tattoos. With a mission to change people’s perspective towards tattoos and tattooed people, our guest became ‘The Tattooed Indian’.
View this post on Instagram
“I have experienced a lot of things at personal level which have hurt me like there were incidents when parents covered their kids’ eyes to not look at my tattoos,” Selwyn told INN. “And hence, to change the reputation of tattooed people in others eyes, I became ‘The Tattooed Indian’ who is not a Charsi or a Drug Addict!” he added. His next tattoos are supposedly going to be of ‘a Boy Dreaming of a World of His Own’ and ‘a combined tattoo of all the skills that I have.’
Though Selwyn’s body is a canvas for the tattoo artists, he himself sketches his heart out, making Art out of almost anything. Drawing inspiration from his elder brother, Selwyn sketched from his childhood and got entirely into it after an incident that he narrated to us. “I started off in 2013 with portraits with a story that pushed me to do so. I was working with my friends and one of them was pretty good at sketching but, the portrait faces that he drew, weren’t really good. So, one day, I just gave him a suggestion giving him a few tips for sketching which he didn’t really seem to like. And, he challenged me saying, “Tu pehle koi sketch bana, and then you talk to me (You sketch something first, and then we’ll talk)”. I drew a JOKER sketch in some 20-30 minutes and showed it to him saying, “Yeh dekh, yeh maine banaya. (See this, I made this) and he was like Aing!” told Selwyn and since then, this man has not stopped! He sketches everyday starting from simple drawings to complex portraits and to Illusion art and 3D artwork and what not. Talking about his hunger to learn things, Selwyn said, “Sketching helps me to multitask and then I started learning more of its styles because, I am someone who likes to Learn, Learn and Keep Learning.”
When asked about how he manages his time doing all his tasks so perfectly, within no time, Selwyn said, “I have always believed that when You Want Something, You Will Always Make Time for It. Everyone gets the same 24 hours and very honestly, people think that I miss on my sleep but no, I have a complete rest of 8 hours every night because I can only give my 100% when I rest well. So, for me, it is not a sudden thing but years of practice has helped me grow to what I am today.” Selwyn also mentioned in the talk that things like Sketching and Beat-Boxing, if given just 20 minutes of your day, is enough for one to be stuck to a hobby.
View this post on Instagram
Selwyn is not only a Sketch Artist but also a Music Performer and does gigs around Mumbai, Navi Mumbai and Thane and aims to perform gigs all over the world. Also, Selwyn is a Beat boxer too! The transitions between his Music covers voice and beatboxing comes in naturally as he says, “Once you have a Basic Music sense while learning the skill, it all just takes place smoothly.” And guess what, he does not even take credits for the skills he possesses because he thinks he does what a lot of people do but little does he know that he is one of a kind! I would love to see such a humble yet an enthusiast in my home so, imagine what a great possession he is to his family.
View this post on Instagram
The multitalented being, when asked of his parents’ reactions towards him said, “My Dad doesn’t know that I do so many things on Social Media and in general so, whenever he sees a sketch in my room he goes like ‘You Made It?’ and I say ‘Yes’ and then he’ll ask me 5-6 times the same question and then I go like, ‘Mera naam likha hai neeche, mere room mein hai, mai abhi banake just khatam kia hai so I Only Made It’.” Though Selwyn’s mom is in a lot of his recent reels, he tells INN, “My Mom knows a lot of it but she too gets surprised at times when I do Street Magic and stuff.” And tadaaa! Here we have another of Mr. Selwyn’s talent – STREET MAGIC and we have another story from him!
“I was in my 2nd std and a practicing Priest from France had come to the school. He showed us a Cards trick and I happened to guess the way he did it which made him very happy and so he gifted me a Deck of Cards along with a note. Years later, in 2014, when I was asked to climb up the upper shelf to get the albums out, that is when I found the note that the Priest had given me and it said, “Hi Selwyn. I hope you become a great magician someday. Love. Brother Christopher.” That was the moment when I actually dived into the Magic tricks,” Selwyn. The one thing that makes Selwyn different from the other Magicians is that he has mastered the art of presentation and stories during his magic.
View this post on Instagram
He says, “I first mastered the skill of haath ki safai and then worked on my presentation. I am someone who can talk very fast and I thought of inducing that in the Magic that I do. So, one trick can be showed to various kinds of audiences in ways they will like it. It was 2015 when I was sure of doing tricks in front of the audience.” Selwyn also cited that he learnt the magic tricks from YouTube, then gave him his own touch, remembered the Principles of Magic and made sure his presentation was good and that is what made him a Street Magician too!
“My Idea is to ENTERTAIN people and not to show off my Talent,” Selwyn added while saying that he loves to make people laugh instead of flaunting his talent. Selwyn’s goal is quite clear it seems because when asked of it, he replied immediately saying, “I am someone who is not fascinated by numbers. It doesn’t really matter if my videos do not get comments or likes but, I like people who support and appreciate me. Also, I want them to appreciate me because I’M GOOD and not because I’M FAMOUS so, I don’t want to be famous because I have a lot of people sharing my stuff. If at all I do become known, I want people to know me and share my work because I have done something. To be recognized for my talents.” Selwyn adds in that he is someone who combines a lot of his talents together and then performs which makes him stand out of the normal crowd and hence, he dreams of becoming the most exceptional Entertainer and not just be good at one thing but, be good at all the skills and mix em’ up together to be the best.
View this post on Instagram
On a sweet ending note, Selwyn has something to say to everyone out there,
“If you are a content creator, always practice like you’re No.2 as that will help you grow every time you make something thinking that I am not the best yet but, Perform like you’re No.1 and have a mindset that you’re well prepared and you’re going to perform unsurpassed. Also, it’s never too late to achieve what you want. Start Today. It might take a few days, months, years or decades altogether but, in the end, what matters is how much efforts do you put in? Just focus on yourself and do not compare or give up ever.”
View this post on Instagram
And this was the end of a very Informationally-Beautiful conversation with the Versatile being – Selwyn Santmajor!
