The Good Life – May-June 2017

day,” he said. “All your friends are just screwing
you over. They’ll rob you and that’s just what it
is. You’re around people that all want the same
thing; it’s dark.”
PURSUING PERMANENT HAPPINESS
With seven felonies, Nudell could have easily
gone to federal prison. Instead, he was offered
the opportunity to go to drug court for a year and
seek treatment for recovery.
“I made a choice when I was homeless that if I
ever got out of there, I was going to start over.
I was going to fix this,” he said. “Life started
getting better. I stuck with it and I didn’t relapse.
I didn’t want to go back.”
Along the way, Nudell’s identity as an artist gave
him the motivation to soldier on through all the
trials and tribulations. “I’ve always considered
myself an artist, and I always brought that with
me. When life hurts, it’s something that I turned
to,” he said. “That was always my thing. When
everything else sucked, at least I could draw.”
Today, Nudell works at Golden Needle Tattoo
Studio in Moorhead, thanks to owner Joe Garza
who sought him out in recovery after hearing of
his work and Anita Burbeck for her unwavering
support.
The award-winning artist has been sober for
more than 3 years. During that time, he also
became a father. With each day, he yearns to
learn more. “I’m a dad now so I just want to keep
growing,” he said. “I put the energy I used to put
into finding drugs into my work.”
Looking back, Nudell wishes someone would
have told him early on that it’s okay to be
different. “It’s okay to not fit in because that
originality or uniqueness is something you
should embrace,” he said. “To be like everybody
else is kind of boring.”
Nudell doesn’t know what the future holds, but
he has found contentment in his art and his
family. He’s found the good life, perhaps for the
first time.
THE GOOD LIFE
“The good life to me is being able to look into
people's eyes with confidence, create art for
living and knowing that my babies are happy,
safe and enjoying themselves,” he said. “It’s
about having good relationships with friends,
family, and artists and continuing to grow and
learn each and every day.” •
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