Travis Doodles On Creating Art For The Sake Of Others
Feb. 23 2023, Published 4:57 p.m. ET
Travis Doodles initially started a career on YouTube to make a name for himself as an artist and videographer. Years later, Travis is still working as a content creator, but his goal now is redefined by his purpose to help others.
Travis Doodles grew up in a hard-working family, where nothing was served on a silver platter.
“We weren’t poor, but we definitely weren’t rich,” shared Travis. “But the way I grew up was that no one owes you anything, and you’ve got to work hard.”
In his sophomore year in college, Travis’ life began to change. He came to know Jesus and from then on, everything he set out to do had a bigger purpose than himself.
“When I gave my life to God, that’s when I really realized life wasn’t just about me,” said Travis. “And I wanted to act out my faith, really walk the talk.”
After college, Travis started a career in the entertainment industry. At the time, he was already running a successful barber shop and his own clothing line. To showcase his art, he decided to start a YouTube channel with a friend in 2011. With hard work and dedication, he was given several big opportunities.
Travis’s goal at the time was to get his art on MTV and he was able to achieve it. He soon realized that working with a media giant proved to be one of the highest and lowest points in his life. It was during this time that he met his wife Amber. But working in the industry also left a bad taste in his mouth. He believed that he achieved something only to find it empty and disappointing, which led him to delete all his social media channels for almost a decade.
The Birth of ‘Worth and Purpose’
Travis went back to barbering and by 2015, he married Amber. They were both aligned in their faith and ideas of life being about more than just themselves. They started actively working in a church, while Travis reignited his passion for videography. They decided to take a leap of faith and founded ‘Worth and Purpose’ together.
“People think you have to wait until you figure something big out, but it’s really the small things,” said Travis. “I just realized I had to stop putting it off or making excuses and just do whatever I was able to.”
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Worth and Purpose is a nonprofit, faith-based organization that combines Travis and Amber’s dedication to helping others and creating content that inspires others to do the same. Worth and Purpose is a registered Section 508(c)(1)(a), the donations from which are given to people that need it the most. This money has helped buy people food, supplies, phones, other essentials, and even homes.Travis and Amber have established deep connections with some of the people they have helped. For example, Rhonda who lost both her legs, is now a close friend. The donations from Worth and Purpose have helped to dramatically improve her quality of living, including renovating her bus-home. Travis also shared that one of the most amazing things to see is the people they have helped wanting to give back to others themselves.
Travis is a big believer of not waiting for the right moment or the right bank balance to take the step towards making a difference in the world. “I was inspired by a video of a few guys going around giving sweet notes to strangers. It was something so simple and yet so powerful. Anyone can have their day brightened up.” explained Travis. “I also just know the impact social media can have. And I want to leave as much of an impact on this world as possible before I die.”
Restoring Faith in Humanity
In less than a year, Travis’s social media accounts, which are dedicated to showcasing the work of Worth and Purpose, have accumulated over 3 million followers. Through his social media, he also bridges people who are willing to help with those in need.
“We wanted to show people that we valued them. So we asked ourselves, What do we value as a society? And let’s give that to people,” said Travis. “Time and money were the top two answers we thought of. So that’s what we started giving away.”
Travis also shared that he has faced some backlash from online trolls on their platforms. But he said that the most challenging thing about his work is having limited time and resources.
“The main backlash is from online trolls. Either people don’t like Christianity or the fact that I mention Jesus, or they think I’m just sticking a camera in people’s faces to gain attention and clout. Any hate mostly comes from people who don’t like the fact that I document and share on video a lot of what we do,” shared Travis. “But that’s not really an issue. There is so much more love than hate. Our main challenge is wanting to do more. As much as I’m all about doing whatever you can even if it’s small, I really want to be able to do big things for people. I want to be able to give away houses and cars and just really impact people’s lives in insane ways. But we don’t have enough time and resources to do it all.”
Despite these challenges, Travis has no plans of stopping anytime soon. In fact, he is currently focusing on growing their network of people and resources to be able to help more people in need. If you are interested in helping out, you may get in touch with Travis on Instagram or check out his website.