Multifaceted Mexican creative Rodrigo Roji lives and breathes through exploration and experimentation. Drawing inspiration from a spectrum of artists and brands, Roji’s works are an amalgamation of his essence as well as personal interpretation of the things he’s drawn to.

Having initiated multiple creative projects, all of Rodrigo Roji’s outlets are interrelated within the same ecosystem. With his clothing brand, SadBoy, the creative takes ownership in every aspect of its cultivation — from material selection to finalizing the piece’s silhouettes. Among his array of projects, the distinctive characters from RRAR are to be highlighted. These ever-evolving figures are manifestations of the creator himself that exist in an alternate world, with each unique character possessing qualities that reflect various aspects of Rodrigo’s personality.

Rodrigo Roji sat down with Hypebeast to discuss his goals and aspirations, where the creative also shed light on plans to expand his universe of characters using new mediums.

Who is Rodrigo Roji?

I believe the term, “multidisciplinary artist” has been extremely exploited nowadays. I actually consider myself more of a multi-faceted creative. For me, it really depends on what’s happening in my life at the moment I’m creating things. I also tend to carry the standard of doing things that I would like to see, have and use with me at all times.

I think today’s self comes from a long process of experimentation and exploration across various fields. It’s this kind of extensive trial and error that allow us to eventually create an essence in our work, adding more meaning to our creations.

What are your main influences?

With so much information at our disposal in today’s world, it’s difficult to specifically define what influences us. Much of my references come from the things I use and collect, and they derive from all kinds of brands, creatives, and artists that I admire. I enjoy sourcing ideas from things that I find interesting, and I’ll reinterpret them in my own ways whether it’s combining various references to forge something new or vice versa.

How do you juggle the different stages and platforms you have for your art?

Instead of juggling, it’s more about allowing them to coexist within the same ecosystem and letting them feed into each other. I don’t consider any of my projects as standalone – they all take something from each other. In essence, whenever I’m working on a project, I’m actually working on all of them at the same time.

How do your projects coexist?

As I mentioned, they are all part of the same ecosystem. The characters, the clothes, and the figures I feature in the paintings – they’re all steeped in each other. I suppose this happened in an organic way, because at the end of the day they all originate from the same place.

Can you tell us more about the conceptualization of your characters? How do they end up becoming art toys?

All of my characters are actually part of an alternative reality. The first characters I created are connected to me in a personal way. It’s pretty obvious that R [one of the characters from RARR] is a version of me in another reality, while the other characters all complement each other in some way.

How do you see this project evolving in the coming years?

I consider bringing new characters, as well as evolving the current ones to be the next step for RARR. My long-term goal is to create a universe with infinite possibilities of characters, species, and creatives where there’s at least one thing that everybody can resonate with.

The transformation of these characters into art toys was merely the first step to introducing them to the world. Eventually, I hope I can create an entire ecosystem that covers all bases from animation to virtual reality platforms.

How much of yourself is incorporated within your characters?

The first five characters of the project (R, Eva, Lucha, Farto, and Dildont) are in some way, very close to me. They all have characteristics that reflect a part of me. Out of all of them, R resembles me the most in terms of gestures, appearance, and personality.

What can you tell us about SadBoy?

The desire to have a clothing brand has always been present in me. As the ideas of this project surfaced, so did the ways of trialing it. Now, SadBoy presents a project where I can create a completely original proposal, and take ownership if it from selecting materials to deciding the silhouettes.

How do you manage your time while synonymously being committed to so many projects?

Honestly, I don’t. That’s why I can’t even sleep 8 hours a day. The truth is, I have an incredible team, and they make it possible for me to carry out all these projects while focusing on the creative side of things. Without whom I wouldn’t be able to achieve as much as I have today.

What projects do you have planned for 2023?

I’m hoping to initiate collaborations with other brands for sure, which I can’t disclose much right now, but both SadBoy and RRAR definitely have a couple of interesting projects in motion. Obviously, I’m aiming to produce more toys from the RRAR universe. Specifically, Lucha and the second iteration of R have been on my mind. This year I really want to focus on creating many unique pieces that can demonstrate just how extensive the world of RRAR truly is. We’re also planning to host an exhibition in Asia sometime around the end of the year.