In this episode of the Notable Men Podcast, Laura Ezzell sits down with former Major League Baseball player turned acclaimed artist, New York Times bestselling author, and creative visionary Micah Johnson.
Micah’s career has never followed a conventional path. After achieving a childhood dream of playing Major League Baseball, he discovered a passion for art during his professional playing career and eventually stepped away from baseball to pursue creativity full time. Without formal art training or a traditional roadmap into the industry, Micah relied on the same confidence, curiosity, and relentless work ethic that had carried him through professional sports.
That journey eventually led to Aku, Micah’s beloved character and story world. The idea began after a young boy asked Micah whether astronauts could be Black. Struck by the question, Micah began creating images of African American children in space helmets as symbols of limitless possibility. Those works eventually evolved into Aku and a larger mission to inspire young people to dream beyond what they believe is possible.
Today, Aku has appeared on the cover of TIME Magazine and anchors Micah’s debut middle-grade book, Aku: Journey to Ibra, a New York Times bestseller.
In this conversation, Micah shares:
- Why confidence, curiosity, and even a little ignorance helped him make the leap from baseball to art
- How one child’s question changed the direction of his creative work
- Why representation can expand what children believe is possible
- What it means to “build worlds around dreams, not dreams around worlds”
- Why you don’t need someone else’s roadmap to create your own path
- How he learned to trust himself without traditional credentials or experience
- Why failure doesn’t have to mean you’re finished
- What doing hard things teaches us about our own capabilities
- Why protecting imagination matters in an age of social media and artificial intelligence
- How his definition of success has shifted from outcomes to creating better work
- Why consistency can be more powerful than constantly pushing yourself
- What he hopes young people learn from seeing both his successes and failures
For Micah, dreaming without limits doesn’t mean ignoring difficulty. It means refusing to let someone else’s path determine what yours has to look like. His philosophy is simple: create a reality around the thing you want to accomplish rather than shrinking the dream to fit the world you already know.
This is a conversation about reinvention, imagination, representation, resilience, and the courage to pursue something before you know exactly how you’re going to get there.
If you’ve ever wondered whether you’re qualified enough, experienced enough, or ready enough to pursue something new, Micah’s journey is a reminder that sometimes you have to believe in the possibility before you can see the path.
Connect with Micah
Website:
Learn More About Aku: Journey to Ibra:
