Bianca Van Damme, the daughter of Jean-Claude Van Damme, and Scott Bushaw chatted about mental health awareness and BB Creatif.
How did BB Creatif come about?
Bianca: I was talking to Scott Bushaw for years about developing something meaningful and just being able to let go. We’ve done work in the past and one day we said, “Fuck it let us get more serious about our art because it’s what makes us laugh and smile”.
I mean if your hobby ends up becoming your job, I consider my mental case of a head lucky! Especially with someone who gets me at my lowest and allows me to be there and take my time to get myself back up, whilst still (them) physically and mentally supportive.
So we started to then create this adventure and thought of multiple names, BB créatif just hit and stuck. One B for Bianca and the other for Bushaw and voilà, the magic has “officially” begun.
Scott: Bianca and I have been friends for(ever) a very long time and have always worked together on productions that we didn’t control. Each time, we noticed our ideas bounced so well off of each other and decided to just start producing our own projects starting with photoshoots and shorts, but still, we found ourselves doing a lot of commissioned work.
BB Creatif was our jumping-off point for us to start releasing our own projects from the very start and NFTs came about by us being able to connect even to fans of our art and our message.
Why is mental health awareness so important to you?
Bianca: Because I’ve been struggling with mental health for quite some time now and continue to have my struggles. I want to educate those who struggle and those who are surrounded by those with mental health to better help understand what it is and how to deal with it. On both sides of the spectrum.
Scott: Coming from the friend side of the mental health spectrum, I’ve seen Bianca go through a lot and have been there as much as I can be and will continue to be. I’ve also been able to learn a lot about what affects her firsthand. I know there are many people who struggle in silence and this can be devastating. If we can bring awareness to both sides of the spectrum, it will benefit everyone.
What motivates you each day?
Bianca: This is really hard for me to answer but as of right now, I’m in a bit of a low as of late. On these hard days, I try to just get out of bed and open the blinds, stick with a routine. Having my service dog truly helps me get out and see the sun. Even though it’s hard to stay outside.
I also listen to affirmations and usually think of what’s worse off in life…or workout, yoga, etc. At the end of the day, I don’t have motivation, I had to create a little guy in my head to push me to wake the fuck up and try to snap out of it to get one thing done. At least. It’s difficult, to be honest.
Scott: My motivation comes from wanting to be able to create and be creative. This is pretty hard for me because I feel like I lose in what I have to do in life or what I am supposed to be doing as an adult, so this is really a sense of trying to hold onto what I wanted as a kid and trying to honor that feeling the best I can.
What do your plans for the future include?
Bianca: Plans, if you ask my business partner…I despise plans! But I have to be an adult! I hope to continue bringing awareness of all mental health and more issues and struggles through art, whether it’s physical/digital/film, etc. Creating my own charity filled with different matters that should get tackled. I’d love to do more and just be more hands-on. Plans always build, I hope to build and educate along the way.
Scott: And if we can accomplish that via our art and releases, keeping things interesting and therefore people engaged all for the better for everyone!
Were there any moments in your career that helped define you?
Bianca: I wouldn’t say I had a career until now. What defined me to get here was a lot of moments that I’m comfortable to talk about yet at the same time, not ready to talk about. One of the things I can say is, the toughest thing I’ve been through…that I’ll probably forever hold on to, until I’m truly ready, has defined me to dig deeper into who Bianca is and how strong that struggle has made me.
I’m a super insecure woman and always have been but I know I love who I am inside and I truly have a spectacular heart. It’s hard for me to compliment myself because I honestly don’t have an ego but that’s one thing I’m proud to say because I finally BELIEVE it rather than just say it in the mirror.
Working on myself every breath of my day has gotten me to become as strong as I am and as warm-hearted as I am today. I’m proud of myself for getting this far in life and I always tell myself, “a breath at a time”. Your spring can only go so low until it springs you back up…but you have to be the one to take the weight off in order to release the spring so you can fly…reaching my self-love (my heart and soul) has defined me. What a journey and still a journey.
Scott: Moments that have defined me for business has always been with losses. I’ve started companies in the past, some which have been sold successfully and others that have failed. Each win or loss, I’ve always been able to look back and be grateful that I tried it, and that’s truly what matters to me most and what I will work hardest at for the rest of my life, the ability to try and move forward, and not the outcome.
What does the word success mean to you? (My favorite question)
Bianca: I think it’s one of mine as well…success to me is reaching that point in life where you can sit down and just be happy, laugh, live (simply). It’s not money nor fame or whatever people assume. It’s to be happy, personally.
Scott: Being able to create and continuously create projects but also create moments with the people you love.
What would you like to tell our readers about BB Creatif? (what’s the one thing you want them to get out of it)
Bianca: BBcreatif is an intimate and raw space you’ll see BB in the most creative habitat. It’s bringing fans who I consider family to be a part of my journey as not only an artist but a human who has the same if not less/more struggles than you.
BB is a space for the fans/family to eventually be involved and feel like what they see they can relate to, understand, and learn. It’s just a nonjudgmental place….there’s so much to say about it but I rather show everyone what we’re doing and that’s the exciting part! Getting those who don’t understand to see in dues time, then finally gets the gist of BB.
Scott: We’re creating content for the long term. We get the skepticism regarding NFTs, but we’ve already been able to create in ways we haven’t in the past using this technology as a medium. And with these releases, it’ll become clearer that the journey is all part of the art, which is what attracted us to NFTs in the first place.
To learn more about BB Creatif, check out its official website.
