The journey of Dustin Hooks

Dustin Hooks saw his artwork explode across Facebook, bringing in 50 orders overnight and making him feel destined for something bigger. But his journey building his art business, Coastal Marsh Creations, was anything but smooth — it required long hours, learning new skills, and driving for Uber to keep the dream alive.

Dustin grew up on 40 acres in rural Florence County — a place with few houses and hardly any kids around. “It was really just me and my sister,” he recalls. But Dustin found another companion — a pencil and whatever paper he could find. He started drawing at age 8, mainly sketches. “It was a little escape from country living,” he shared. By 18, like many his age, Dustin took every chance to physically escape Florence. He couch-surfed between Columbia, Myrtle Beach, and Charleston, and quickly fell in love with the city he’d left at age five, Charleston.

When Dustin made the move to The Holy City in 2007, he didn’t have big plans. His parents encouraged him to pursue a nursing career, but he only lasted two semesters before realizing it wasn’t for him. Despite this early disappointment, Dustin would soon live up to his parents’ expectations of a 9-to-5, 401(k), and insurance.

Dustin’s first job in Charleston was at UPS working from 5:00 PM to 11:00 PM. He later found a daytime gig at a sandwich/wine shop on Wentworth and Pitt owned by his friend. That corner shop is where Dustin met Katie, a Charleston native and his future wife.

Dustin climbed the traditional ladder — he replaced sandwiches with a suit for a personal banker role at Wells Fargo, while keeping his night job at UPS. However, juggling two jobs proved to be a challenge for the newlywed couple and Dustin eventually quit UPS, a move he describes as the biggest mistake of his life. “With UPS, you’d be eligible for part-time retirement after 20 years. It’s also a union job with great benefits and free healthcare.” After a couple of years at Wells Fargo, he moved on to become an operations supervisor at a boutique hotel downtown. Just over a year later, a friend brought him into the staffing industry where he climbed the ranks for nearly seven years, going from recruiting to business development to managing an entire team at a major firm.

When COVID hit, people everywhere discovered new hobbies. Some baked sourdough bread, others learned to play the guitar, and many got into TikTok dances. Dustin found himself gravitating towards his old art hobby. “It was just something to do, you know, something to get your mind off of everything,” Dustin explains. That hobby took an unexpected turn during a visit to Hendrick Toyota. The person helping Dustin mentioned that he and his wife had just bought a house and were looking for art. Dustin offered to paint something for them and was asked if he could paint the downtown skyline. “I had no idea what I was doing, but I said I could do it and I got the job,” Dustin recalls. “I liked how it turned out and the guy loved it.”

On November 24, 2021, Dustin shared some personal news on Facebook — he was laid off from his full-time job. His Facebook post that day didn’t follow the usual script of asking friends for job leads — instead, he announced he was turning his art side project into his main focus. “When one door shuts another will open,” he wrote. “After the initial shock of the news subsided I realized maybe this was God’s way of opening that cracked door a little more and pushing me through it to make Coastal Marsh Creations a full-time reality.”

That door had been cracked open just a few days earlier when Dustin’s Atlanta Braves art piece took off unexpectedly. The Braves were coming off their World Series victory and Dustin, a lifelong Braves fan, decided to create their tomahawk logo on wood. He posted the piece on Facebook, which resulted in 50 Christmas orders. “It was the perfect storm,” Dustin says, while adding that he had no clue how he could fulfill these orders with a full-time job. As it turns out, that storm lasted several days and made a direct hit on his job as well.

As the new year approached, so did new challenges. Aside from the time he needed to dedicate to his art, Dustin found himself wearing many hats running a solo business. He was the marketer, the social media manager, and the website developer. Each day brought new frustrations: Why wasn’t this video getting views? Why weren’t people reaching out through his website? He was constantly second-guessing himself and doubting his work. “There’s a reason big corporations have separate people for product, marketing, and social media,” he shares. “When you’re trying to do them all and you’ve never done them before, it’s overwhelming.”

Beyond the business challenges, there were the financial challenges, which led Dustin to seek flexible work driving for Uber while he built his business. His first three weeks driving were difficult. “I didn’t understand how Uber worked at the time. I just logged in and the app would tell me to go pick up people,” Dustin says. “I was driving in really rough areas with really bad riders.” He told his wife that Uber isn’t working out and that he’ll find something else that’s flexible, but then he decided to do one more ride.

Dustin picked up Raul at a transmission shop in North Charleston. “It will cost me $2k to get my transmission fixed, but Uber will pay for it,” Raul told Dustin as he was trying to start a conversation. It turns out that Raul is an Uber driver who made $130k in the previous year. As someone barely making $400 a week driving for Uber, Dustin asked Raul for proof of his earnings and after he was satisfied, Raul offered a few tips. The following morning, Dustin implemented Raul’s strategy: arrive at downtown Charleston by 4:30 AM and run continuous loops between hotels and the airport during the morning rush. His earnings doubled that first day, and by the following week, they had nearly quadrupled. Dustin ended up driving for Uber for two years before he was financially able to quit at the end of 2024. From time to time, he would see Raul at the airport.

Over the years, Dustin refined his art. Initially, he tried to be everything to everyone. He created t-shirts featuring his artwork designs, coasters and bottle openers, as well as continuing to paint on traditional canvas — anything to fill a vendor booth at local markets. But spreading himself across so many products meant competing with countless other vendors selling similar items. The breakthrough came when he realized his wooden art pieces were what made people stop and take notice. While anyone could paint on canvas or print designs on t-shirts, his hand-cut and painted wooden artwork was something unique. “I was like, scratch this, I’m not selling any more coasters, bottle openers, t-shirts, none of that,” Dustin recalls. “I’m strictly doing wood art.” That focus transformed his business from a scattered collection of products into a distinctive brand built around craftsmanship.

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Social media became Dustin’s primary business driver, though he had to learn the rules from scratch. “I was not a big social media guy before this — I was a scroller, but not a poster,” he admits. But he discovered that social media had fundamentally changed how business worked: you could reach anyone, from celebrities to potential customers, if you understood the timing and approach. His strategy was simple but required precision. If he wanted to connect with someone influential, he’d comment on their posts within the first 30 minutes after they shared content. “Your favorite influencer posted 10 minutes ago, they’re likely still online and might see your comment,” Dustin explains. “Three hours later when there are 4,000 comments, they’re not going to notice you.”

Understanding the algorithm became another puzzle entirely. Dustin learned that the platforms had their own mysterious preferences — videos of him peeling tape off finished pieces could get 50,000 views, while posts of his completed artwork might only get 600. The uncertainty was exhausting, but the occasional breakthrough made it worthwhile. A video about Tennessee collegiate mascots sat at 300 views for three weeks until a Tennessee-Georgia football game triggered the algorithm. “Next thing you know, 38,000 views and 50 DMs,” he recalls.

By late 2024, Dustin’s digital strategy had opened doors he’d never imagined. His organic engagement with one of Morgan Wallen’s photographers — simply commenting on beautiful shots and genuinely appreciating the work — led to an unexpected commission. The photographer reached out asking Dustin to create a custom piece as an end-of-tour gift for the country music superstar. The experience of being trusted by the inner circle of the world’s biggest country artist transformed his confidence. “I just did this thing for the number one country star in the world,” he realized. “I could do anything for anybody.”

As he looks toward the future, Dustin has a big dream — an exhibit in an art gallery. This dream would be even sweeter if it became a reality alongside his two daughters — Dustin hopes that they’ll work side by side with him in the future, taking everything he’s learned about artistry and business.

You made it all the way to the bottom, and that means a lot to us. We’ve teamed up with Coastal Marsh Creations to give one of you a custom art piece. Feeling lucky? Help us share this story by tagging a friend (on Instagram) for a chance to win.