Today we’d like to introduce you to Nick Cotto.
Hi Nick, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Four years ago, I retired from being a strength and conditioning coach; then I picked up my first love, which was my camera. I took a whole year to learn myself digital photography and I volunteered on the photography dream team at my church. I knew I wanted to capture people in their most vulnerable moments in their joy in their pain. I knew I wanted to make a difference with my camera and not a paycheck. I had no idea what that looked like until one day, I got a phone call from a friend whom I had not seen in years. She was passing through Texas after just burying her mother from breast cancer. She knew I was living in Texas and called me up and asked if she could come and see me while she was on her way back to Alabama. Of course, she came up and spent the night.
At that time, I had a makeshift photo studio in a spare bedroom so that evening, I said, hey, can I take pics of you, she, of course, obliged. The photographs I wanted to take were of her scars as I knew she had fought her own battle with the cancer genes and had to have a full mastectomy and hysterectomy. I took the photographs of her scars and she had this huge butterfly tattoo on her back and the wings of that tattoo fell beautifully on those scars across her back like they were always meant to be there. I asked if she would let me put this out of Facebook as this was the most beautiful thing I had seen on a woman. I put a call out that night for women; if anyone had scars, stretch marks, anything that made them feel less than through no fault of their own, I wanted to photograph it and I wanted to do it for free.
The next morning I got up, we said our goodbyes and off she went. I made my cup of tea and went to check my email, and it was full, full of women wanting to be photographed and in that moment, I heard God tell me, this is what I want you to do and I want you to call it We Are Not Broken. You see, I had been searching and seeking, Lord, what do you want me to do with the second half of my life. I had my answer in that moment. From that day, I began to read and study everything I could get my hands on how to become a nonprofit and do this full time. It took 21 days to get my filing status from the IRS, something they told me would take anywhere from 3-6 months.
In the first year, I captured over 120 scar stories and to date, we have over 400 and still keep an inbox full of submissions. We have a National We Are Not Broken day which is January 17th, the very day I opened that email and God spoke into my life. We Are Not Broken is trademarked and we have our very first volume 1 Scar stories coffee table book getting ready to be released. I have been able to branch off and also open Celtic Viking Studios, which is a creative rental studio for photographers, you tubers, podcasters, and people who need a space to create but can not afford all the equipment that goes along with that. I remember being that creative person with all these ideas but no money to fund those ideas; I wanted to make that available for others. I could write and write about this journey, but I am still on it and I am loving every second of capturing these beautiful scar stories and empowering women and girls along the way.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has not been a smooth road at all. I have come up against a lot of people asking me why I would ever want to photograph scars; I have had people look down on me when I have gone to personally ask for silent auction donations because I have tattoos all over my arms. I have missed out on grants, funding; I have had volunteers sign up for events and not show up. I have lost a best friend because of starting a nonprofit. Many people that were once in my life are now gone. I am dedicated to this mission because my inbox stays full so I know that it is needed.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I think I am most known for making women feel empowered and beautiful, strong and bold. I have a talent for photography and storytelling, but what I always want to be know for is making a difference. What sets me apart is that no one else is doing what I am doing. Yes, you may get photographs of scars when it’s breast cancer awareness month or scars when it’s burn survivor month, but no one is encompassing all scars, hidden and visible. We all carry them, whether they are from bullying from childhood or a birth abnormality that society tells us to cover up. Our scars are never for us; they are always for someone else.
I am most proud of being a voice of boldness for others to see and believe they can also be bold and confident just as they are. There is so much power in knowing exactly who you are.
Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
I was a bit of a wild child growing up. I am from England, I have five brothers and we are from a village close to the Scottish border. Everyone knew us in the town because our family name had a reputation of you don’t mess with the Robinsons. Quite funny to look back on it today. I was carefree, outgoing; I wanted to try everything and always be in the center of everything. I was a dancer growing up; I went professional at 9, it was my very first paid gig, I bought my very first camera with my paycheck.
Contact Info:
- Email: wearenotbroken2019@gmail.com. celticvikingstudios@gmail.com
- Website: wearenotbroken.org celticvikingstudios.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wearenotbroken2019/. https://www.instagram.com/celticvikingstudios/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wearenotbroken2019/. https://www.facebook.com/celticvikingstudios/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/WANB2019
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/wearenotbroken
