We connected with contemporary artist JC Rivera, who was commissioned to make a jersey representing the heart of being a Madridista.
When adidas and Real Madrid approached contemporary artist JC Rivera to collaborate with them on a customised kit, his answer was always going to be yes. The synergy was too perfect to ignore; not only would his iconic, character-filled jerseys bring visibility to the Real Madrid Foundation’s efforts to promote the practice of sport as an educational tool, but almost more importantly, his son would be elated.
“My son is really a super fan,” Rivera tells us. “And it’s so important to me that my kids think that what I’m working on is cool.”
Rivera has always found inspiration from those closest to him, whether it be his children or the community around him, especially in Chicago. This sentiment is indicative of Real Madrid’s mission with these unique name and number kits, and why the football club tapped Rivera for the creative aspect of the collaboration. Through his ultra-relatable characters, Rivera has made a career out of bringing hope and inspiration to communities across the globe through art. As prolific on the streets of Chicago as Real Madrid is in the Champions League, Rivera has collaborated with brands such as adidas, McDonald’s, American Express, and sports teams such as the Chicago Bulls and the Chicago Bears.
With more commissioned murals than any other artist in Chicago, designing for the Spanish club might have been smaller in scale, but its reach is larger than life. SoccerBible called up Rivera to chat about all things collaboration, community, and creativity – three things that might just be the driving source behind Real Madrid’s continued success on and off the pitch.
Who is JC Rivera, both as an artist and as a person?
JC Rivera: I'm originally from Puerto Rico; I came to the United States when I was 21 through a college program with Disney. I worked many different jobs in my first few years here, and after it had been maybe six, or seven years, I finally asked myself the question: what if I try to make it as an artist?
I've always been an artist, but my parents have also always said that my art was never going to make me money; they had a very classic, old-school mentality. But I figured I could at least make some money on the side with it, so I started playing around. I bought a laptop from a pawnshop, learned Photoshop and Illustrator, and started designing logos for different people for fun. That escalated into doing different paid gigs like tee shirts and logo designs.
This was all around 2005. That year, I decided I wanted to brand something and have it be my thing, so I went back to my sketchbook and I drew this bear with boxing gloves. This bear was kind of beaten up, he was smoking a cigarette一a bear that represented "rolling with the punches,” which was a representation of me trying to make it as an artist. I call it "The Bear Champ," because he's beaten, but he's not broken. I branded him, and since have done murals in various cities and collaborations with major companies and sports teams like Real Madrid.
I love this idea of the bear rolling with the punches – it's something we can all aspire towards. At SoccerBible, we're very excited to see these bears on the backs of players like Luka Modrić and Jude Bellingham. Are you a Real Madrid fan? What's your relationship with football like?
JC Rivera: I’m a fan, but it’s my son who's really the super fan.
I can only imagine how cool this must be for him, then. Tell me about being a father and how that impacts your art and this project specifically.
JC Rivera: I have two kids, and at this point in my career, I want them to be excited about everything that I do. I'll always send them the behind-the-scenes of my projects, and it’s so important to me for them to think that what I'm doing is cool.
We went to the Real Madrid game when they were playing in Chicago. They were so excited to be there, to share the experience and the jerseys with their friends and me. That's what it's all about, right? It's more satisfying to work on projects that leave a mark and that they like - especially because I grew up in a place where art as a real career was laughed off. Now I'm seeing my designs on the backs of one of the most watched sports teams in the world.
How old are your children?
JC Rivera: My son is 11, and my daughter is 12.
I bet one day your daughter will also get into football if she isn’t already, especially if my dad had worked on a kit design for Real Madrid. How did this project come to fruition? Talk us through how the club approached you to collaborate on this; everything from ideation to seeing your designs on the player's backs this preseason.
JC Rivera: It all started with adidas, and when they reached out to me and asked if I could work with them on something, I was originally planning to create something that incorporated less of my own codes and more of the club's codes. They were the ones who wanted to put my work on the backs of their jerseys to represent this idea of coming together and community.
The bears are so cute. But then they’re also so powerful when combined with words like "Igualdad" and "Solidaridad" and all the other words that are included in the piece.
JC Rivera: Exactly – it’s supposed to be both fun and impactful because it's all about the kids and the Real Madrid Foundation. I saw somebody comment something like "Well, what is this? It doesn't make any sense." But it does because this is truly more for the kids, with the money from the jersey sales going to the kids.
I know that you've worked with several professional sports teams based out of Chicago in the past, and Real Madrid was very intentional with their decision to tap a Chicago-based artist for this project. It’s a match made in heaven though, because your characters are perfect for what they were trying to accomplish. Visually it’s very appealing to children, but the bears carry this underlying meaning of not giving up. How does being based in Chicago influence and limit your work?
JC Rivera: Chicago has a big, big influence on what I do. When you come from a small town in Puerto Rico, you see people on television, but you don't see people like yourself. That's what inspired me to push and keep pushing and I feel like that's indicative of Chicago, because it's this city where everyone is always hustling. For a big city, it feels really small because everybody supports each other, every step of the way. For the last three years, I've lived between Chicago and Miami, and now I'm back in Chicago full-time. I couldn't find that real hustle in Miami, and I wanted to surround myself with that essence of hard work that just is Chicago. That energy drives me, I wake up every day and am always moving and trying something new and creating something.
What it sounds like is that the essence of this project that Real Madrid came to you with, that you visualized alongside words on these back-of-jersey numbers like "Solidaridad," "Respeto" and "Compañerismo," are the qualities that you love about Chicago - the community, the respect, the solidarity, the equality. And by putting these values on the back of a Real Madrid kit, they're trying to display how important it is for their players to embody these values as well.
JC Rivera: That's exactly what we aimed to create together - that's why you see all of these bears together, all the values together, this community coming together.
Are there any other values or themes you're trying to portray visually in this design, that are not as eye-grabbing as the bears?
JC Rivera: The flames - they represent the energy of the team and the community coming together. It's about the energy coming together, and how all of these things are required to make a winning energy.
Well if your year goes anything like how Real Madrid's season is projected to play out, it's sure to be a great one. What are you excited to take on for the rest of 2024 and beyond?
JC Rivera: I have a couple of solo shows, one of which is in Puerto Rico. I'm just excited to be in the studio and see what I can come up with and create. I just got a new studio, so right now I'm setting it up because I'm full-time in Chicago again. I'm just pumped to spend a lot of time in there and see what I can push even further.
