2013: Rob in Review

01. What did you do in 2013 that you’d never done before?

Oh boy, this is a list:

Saw both coasts of the United States in one week.
Got t-boned by a semi.
Had my work added to the collection at the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.
Closed down a bar with Edge, Jim Ross and Jerry Brisco.
Organized two charity art shows.
Used my work to raise over ten thousand dollars for various charitable causes.
Adopted a wish with Make-A-Wish.
Spent an entire calendar year as a self-employed artist.
Started working with WWE.

02. Did you keep your new years’ resolutions, and will you make more?

Yup and yup!

03. Did anyone close to you give birth?

Yes!

04. Did anyone close to you die?

Yes. Farewell to my friend Keith Denzer, my wife’s grandmother Bette Scott and her aunt Mary Ryan. I’m happy to have known all of them.

05. What countries did you visit?

The US of A. Besides my native Missouri and Kansas, I made it to Iowa, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, West Virginia, New York, New Jersey, Las Vegas, California and Florida!

06. What would you like to have in 2014 that you lacked in 2013?

A healthier body
A regular passive income stream
An interview in Juxtapoz magazine
Show my art as part of Wrestlemania
Do even more for charity

07. What date from 2013 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

April 4th. I had just driven from Kansas City to New Jersey to exhibit at WrestleCon on WrestleMania weekend. I was three miles from the venue when I got t-boned by a semi, destroying my truck and all of the art I had brought with me for the show, which was about 100 paintings and 1000 prints. I luckily walked away with just a scratch. I was devastated as this was going to be the biggest show of my cross-country tour. Amazingly, my printer in KC, Alphagraphics, reprinted everything for free and overnighted them to me so that I could still show at least something there. After hundreds of well-wishes online from friends and fans, I indeed still went on to have my biggest show to that point. You guys are awesome.

08. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

Adopting a young man named David’s wish through Make-A-Wish and hosting a fundraiser art show to benefit him. The amazing people at WWE provided him and his family with second-row seats for SmackDown that night, and watching them experiencing their first wrestling show, and being a part of making this whole experience happen reminded me that I’m doing the right thing with my life.

09. What was your biggest failure?

Failure? I dunno. I had some mistakes I made, but every setback is something for me to learn from and grow from, so no, I don’t think I had any failures.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

Luckily no. The accident in New Jersey could have gone incredibly bad. The cops and EMT’s told me that people don’t survive that wreck, let alone walk away from it.

11. What was the best thing you bought?

Paint.

12. Whose behaviour merited celebration?

My cats Monkey and Korma. They amaze every day.
Jim Ross, who made the introductions with WWE and continues to support me and my work.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?

People voted into power or those who have amassed their own place of influence and who choose to not use that power and influence to make the lives of those less fortunate better.

14. Where did most of your money go?

Rent. Bills. Food.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?

The Art of Rob Schamberger National Tour.
Both charity fundraiser shows.
My signed Harley Race print that was used to help out a wrestler and his family who were also in a car wreck that was unfortunately much more serious than my own.
Working with WWE.
Meeting Adam ‘Edge’ Copeland
Meeting my friend from Ireland Hayley Stewart in person
Meeting AJ Kirsch at the Cauliflower Alley Club Reunion
Meeting Ata Johnson at CAC.
Every time I post a new painting and people get excited.

16. What song will always remind you of 2013?

“I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles) by The Proclaimers. At first because I came across the Doctor Who David Tennant wrap party video using it, and it put a sparkle in my eye, seeing so many creative people working so hard and having fun while doing it. But what the song is about really connected with me when I stopped and thought about it. First, the wreck on the other side of the country left me stranded away from my wife Katy, and yeah, I’d have walked a thousand miles to get back home to her. “I’m gonna be the man who comes back home to you.” Second, guys I work hard. I’ve had stretches of several months working ten to twelve hours a day with no day off. People keep saying, “You don’t work, you paint,” or some other nonsense like that, but I guaran-damn-tee I’m the hardest working person you know. And why? So that my wife can never have to worry about anything and she can do whatever she wants. “When I’m working, yes, I know I’m gonna be, I’m gonna be the man who’s working hard for you.”

And there’s also the charity angle. I know how much money I need to make to get by, and I know how much I need to make to live comfortably. Sometimes I make more than that, and I’ve found that it’s really satisfying to give that extra amount to those less fortunate than I am. “And when the money comes in for the work I do, I’ll pass almost every penny on to you.”

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:

i. happier or sadder?

Happier.

ii. thinner or fatter?

A little thinner.

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?

Losing weight.
Painting.
Spending time with Katy.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?

Worrying about things I have no control over.

20. How will you be spending Christmas?

With people I love.

22. Did you fall in love in 2013?

Stayed in love.

23. How many one-night stands?

None.

24. What was your favourite TV program?

Doctor Who. Rewatching Babylon 5. Raw.

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?

I don’t hate. That’s a sign of weakness.

26. What was the best book you read?

Traditional? The Double by George Pelecanos
Comic? Invincible by Robert Kirkman, Ryan Ottley, Cory Walker and friends.

27. What was your greatest musical discovery?

28. What did you want and get?

A working relationship with WWE.
A national tour.
A stronger relationship with my wife.

29. What was your favorite film of this year?

Gravity. There was every movie before it, and now there will be every movie after it. A real game-changer.

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

Had dinner with family. 33.

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

With the completely awesome year I had, I’d be a bit of an asshole if I asked for more, wouldn’t I?

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2013?

Rob 3.0. Jeans and a t-shirt. Now with a hoodie!

34. What kept you sane?

Katy and the cats. Painting.

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

Pablo Picasso.

36. What political issue stirred you the most?

Health care. Being self-employed with a pre-existing condition definitely makes that an issue.

37. Who did you miss?

No one, really.

38. Who was the best new person you met?

I met so many amazing people this year, thanks to the tour and the charity shows! All of you who took the time to visit with me are the best, but here are some highlights:

AJ Kirsch. We’ve been buddies online, but meeting him in person and hanging with him and the Hoodslam crew at CAC in Vegas was a blast.
Adam ‘Edge’ Copeland. We met at the National Wrestling Hall of Fame and stayed in touch since, and he’s even decorated some rooms in his house with my art, which is humbling and surreal. A truly great guy.
Hayley Stewart. I wish I could form a personal bond with everyone who’s a fan of what I do, but Hayley has proven to be a really cool person to get to know, and having a friend in Ireland is, I don’t know, neat. It was fun meeting her at WrestleCon.
Dylan ‘Hornswoggle’ Postl. We became friendly through Twitter, and finally met up for dinner with him and Kofi when they were last in town. A tremendous guy that I’m really lucky to call a friend.

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2013.

If you love what you’re doing, if you’re truly passionate about it, if it really is your life’s work, don’t let anything stop you. The accident in Jersey could have been the end, if not of my life then of my work. But it became the beginning instead, because of my determination to not be held back, to not be stopped, to not be discouraged from doing what I believe in. I rebuilt from nothing and went on in less than a year to being a person who raised over ten thousand dollars for charity, to being a person whose work took him to both coasts, to attaining my goal of now working with WWE, and I did it without compromising who I am or what I’m about. At the end of the day, I can look at myself in the mirror and know I’m doing the right thing.

A semi colliding into me only made me stronger. Let’s see what next year brings!