Today we’d like to introduce you to Tyler Cartwright
Hi Tyler, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
My name is Tyler Cartwright, I’m 29 years old, and I am a sign spinner. This is how I got to where I am.
I started sign spinning as part of my first job in late 2012 during my senior year of high school in Evans, GA (near Augusta, GA). During that time, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do after graduation. I only knew I wanted to take a break from school so I could see the world and find out what real life was about. In high school, I was one of the school drum line captains and loved to perform. The place I was spinning for was close to my high school and, because I didn’t want to look dumb in front of any classmates that might see me out there, I started teaching myself how to spin it. It was fun and I got pretty good; the store even made more sales when I was out there. I really enjoyed the work, but one thing I noticed is that people would record me on their phones. I was curious to see if I could find any footage of me and after trying to find any pictures or videos of myself online I discovered the AArrow Sign Spinners. I learned that it was an international company dedicated to sign spinning and saw that people got to travel the world and make a living just by being good at sign spinning. Being a high school percussionist, I had experienced first-hand the travel opportunities that came with being a skilled performer, so, since all I wanted to do was travel, I asked myself the question “what if I got good at this?” and decided I wanted to learn sign spinning so that I could use it as a way to get out of my home town.
11 years later, I have traveled and worked coast to coast across the United States, entertained hundreds of thousands (maybe millions) of people on the street, taught countless people how to spin signs, met and trained with all of the greatest sign spinners out there, have done sign spinning in South Korea and Australia, performed on TV on the news and in commercials, am the current world sign spinning champion, ranked #1 spinner in the world, and I’m now working as the general manager of AArrow Sign Spinners Atlanta.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Understandably, people didn’t have a lot of faith in me in the beginning. Explaining what sign spinning is and explaining the passion I had for it confused most people. After I graduated high school and kept working as a sign spinner, people kept saying to me “are you still spinning signs? Aren’t you going to get another job? Shouldn’t you go to college? The military is always an option too.” But I knew it was what I wanted to do. The better I got at sign spinning, the more I fell in love with the job and appreciated the art form and sport aspect of it.
The first two years of sign spinning, I didn’t work for AArrow. I tried submitting applications periodically, but because I was located near Augusta, a little over two hours from Atlanta, I never heard back from them. I still had to work, so I ended up sign spinning for the owner of several Great Clips’ around the Augusta area, and eventually created my own sign spinning company called AAA Spinners with my best friend. We were young, didn’t know what we were doing, and only lasted 7 months, but, we were able to make some money and spin for a few local businesses in the CSRA.
I never stopped submitting applications to AArrow, and though I may have been getting ignored by them, I was determined. I saw a lot of their spinners posting on Instagram, so I taught myself how to spin by carefully watching their videos and copying their moves, then posting videos of my own. My rule was that I would post a video every 2-3 weeks and I would have to do different tricks every time. By doing this I got better and better and eventually I got good enough to where AArrow couldn’t ignore me. In 2015, the day before my birthday, I got a call and was offered a job from the owner of the AArrow Atlanta franchise, Rami Putrus.
Once I got hired with AArrow I made trips to Atlanta for work every other week and even got to go to Nashville for work. It truly tested me as I had to learn how to navigate cities and states by myself while also getting my coworkers to their spots for work. I eventually moved to Houston to work full time as a spinner, which was my first time living away from my parents. I lived in a house with a bunch of other sign spinners and worked and trained in sign spinning almost every day until I got to compete in the World Sign Spinning Championships in Las Vegas for the first time. My first year in AArrow I placed 20th best in the world and got the award for Most Improved in the entire company.
Afterwards, I moved to Atlanta and became the AArrow Atlanta GM at the age of 21. In hindsight, I wasn’t ready for all of the responsibilities that came with the role. I wasn’t confident in myself and was still afraid of the idea of managing people and talking to clients. Most importantly, in my heart I felt like I still wasn’t as good at sign spinning as I wanted to be. My responsibilities gradually shifted and eventually I reverted to being just a spinner with various duties for the next few years.
8 years into my sign spinning journey, I had done successfully done all of the traveling I wanted to do, learned the ins and outs of sign spinning as a job and sport, earned the title of 2nd best spinner in the world in 2018, then 3rd best in 2019, and even got to be a judge for the Korean Sign Spinning Championship two years in a row. All of that left me without much else to do. I became aimless and frustrated with my position in life. I wanted more, and I knew I had to take a break from sign spinning and start doing other things with my life. I saved up some money and in August 2019 I moved to Australia on a work & holiday visa. That was around the time COVID happened.
COVID gave me the perfect segue to take a step back from everything, go home to Augusta, and reset. When everything shut down, I went to college for the first time at the age of 25. I also got a job as a waiter at the recommendation of a close friend. Eventually I got an Associate’s degree in Communications and got so good at waiting tables and working with my team to give guests great service that I felt like I could truly connect with anyone.
Once the world opened back up, I traveled around a bit here and there. Took road trips to see family, went to Paris, and even spent 6 weeks traveling across Japan. By the end of 2023, I felt re-energized and decided to pursue my Bachelor’s degree and give sign spinning another try once the new year came around. This time not as a sign spinner with something to prove who’s looking to escape, but as someone who can use his talents to bring people together and show them how to have fun.
Coming back into sign spinning wasn’t easy at all. My brain remembered how to do everything with the sign, but my body wasn’t in the physical condition needed to spin the way that I used to. When I joined again, the World Sign Spinning Championships was just 8 weeks away. It would be my first time competing in 5 years and I wanted to make a great comeback. I got to work immediately and spun every shift that I could while carefully watching my diet and planning my training in both mind and body. It all paid off, and I have come back into AArrow as the best sign spinner in the world for 2024.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
These days, my work primarily revolves around building and maintaining healthy relationships between our clients and our spinners located in the Metro Atlanta Area, developing new employees into true professional sign spinners, and spending time out there on the corner servicing clients and working on my own sign spinning. Technically I am a manager, but I view my role as more of a coach and an ambassador for AArrow sign spinning.
One of my major duties is to manage our training and provide support to all of our new and veteran spinners. The idea is to teach every spinner how to do the job properly but also encourage them to have fun with it, which is something I heavily enjoy doing. Sign spinning is one of those things that you can never truly master and to this day I learn new things every time I go out to spin. Like any art form, there are limitless ways you can use the sign to express your individuality, and there is culture & history behind sign spinning that spinners can reference in their performances while also delivering something new. I do my best to teach our spinners the fundamentals of great sign spinning and help them get through the challenges of learning a new and difficult skill so that they can be at a technical level that allows them to let their personality shine through. Most of our spinners are younger folk, ranging from ages 16-25, so aside from just teaching sign spinning, I teach our spinners professionalism and how to represent themselves, our company, and our clients in a positive fashion. Most people wouldn’t think it, but there is a surprising amount of communication that goes into a successful sign spinning service. It’s my responsibility to make sure we are all on the same page as a team and can communicate well with our clients. I also give them insights into how our service fits into the world of marketing and take time to learn more about who they are so I can suggest ways they can use their strengths inside and outside of AArrow. I want everyone I work with to succeed, and my goal is to make our employees’ time with AArrow not just a positive part of their career but a positive part of their lives. Just like the people at AArrow have given me, I want to be able to give our team members opportunities to grow personally and professionally, all while providing memorable experiences and lessons that they can take with them into future endeavors.
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
Life makes me happy. There is so much to explore and discover in the world and not enough time to do it. I love to be around people, to enjoy art in all its forms, and to experience new things!
When I’m not working, I either spend my time with family and friends or I take time to myself to go somewhere I’ve never been before. Unless I’m taking time to rest my body, I’m almost never at home. I’m big into food and drinks, so I’m always looking to try new dishes at different restaurants, which is something Atlanta never ceases to amaze in.
Pricing:
- Startup Printing Fee
- Billing Only for Hours Spun
Contact Info:
- Website: https://aarrowsignspinners.com
- Instagram: @aarrowsignspinners
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AArrowSignSpinners
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/aarrow_ads
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheAArrowSignSpinners
