a conversation with a good monday
As a child, I can honestly say that, as much as I loved Garfield, I was never on the Monday hate train. As I’ve grown up, things have become a little different. I’m ashamed to admit that I’ve sometimes hidden behind Monday, using it as an excuse to justify my unhappiness.
But I’m not unhappy because it’s Monday. It’s me. It’s where I am in life, where I want to be, and where I know I can be.
That’s what A Good Monday is all about—a creative project by artist Freddy Centrella. Through art, clothing, and videos, Centrella brings some positivity to your feed and reminds you to take your Monday back. Don’t let Monday become something you hide behind—or let society tell you how you’re supposed to feel about it.
Over drinks at White Lion, we discussed the freedom to be yourself, musical inspiration, building through community, and an introduction to Monty.
This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
A Good Monday by The 413 Joint
The 413 Joint: I love art that you have to sit with for a moment before it reveals itself. I feel like a lot of your work is like that. Your characters feel human, but they’re also made from all these different shapes. Talk to me about your approach.
A Good Monday: I don’t really give myself too many limits. I like to just be open and learn. I feel like I’m at the point where I’m early in my art career, where I can just use this opportunity to learn new skills and see what I do and don’t like.
One thing I fell in love with is alcohol markers. Those are so fun. And you learn how to use them right, you could do a lot of special stuff.
I freehand most of my stuff. Probably about 90 percent of what you see is freehand. In my mind, I have this wonderful fantasy of: I’m 50, I’m on a train, and I’m just scribbling away. Nobody’s talking to me, but somebody will go, “Hey, what’s that?” And I go, “Oh, this old thing?” And I pull it out, and it’s just mind-blowing. And I plant that seed for somebody else that they can do it.
The time’s going to pass anyway, so make something awesome.
The 413 Joint: You mentioned Westfield and that identity change. How did football eventually lead you back to art?
A Good Monday: I picked the school because my frontal lobe was not ready. And they told me I could play football and it would cost me less. So I said, “Okay, that sounds great.” So that’s what I did. It was local.
I had a great experience. I think everything but the degree was valuable, which was super cool. I met the love of my life there. I played football in college, which was a big dream of mine.
Playing football is one of my favorite things ever. It was a super, super rewarding experience. But that also directly ties into the genesis of my whole art thing came to be.
If you look really, really far back, both my grandmas are painters. Grandfather is a musician. My dad’s a musician. My sister plays an instrument.
My cousin, who is my inspiration—I remember just these crazy paintings everywhere, but they were super dark. When I was young, I was not deterred by dark stuff. Despite what my page looks like, I find that fascinating.
I had so many seeds planted, but it didn’t really grow until junior year.
When I was playing football, I got very hurt before my last game. I never played again. Well, I made the decision to not play again. I was in a lot of pain. The team was not doing as well as I’d hoped. I lived the comradery, the social aspect was so special. But I just felt like there was a disconnect.
Obviously I’m not going to go pro. I wanted to play overseas, but it seemed like more hustle and harm than it’s worth.
I was like, “Well, maybe I’m going to try to become an RA.” I’ve had a lot of insane financial problems. I’ve been housing insecure many, many, many times. So I was like, “Well, if I shoot my shot and try and become an RA, I get free housing for the year.”
So I got it. That was awesome. That’s where the art stuff really started.
My friend Haley came up from Boston. We were having a party that night, so she came early. We were just hanging out. I’m like, “Well, I got nothing to do. I’m bored.” And she’s like, “Well, I’m bored too.”
I always used to draw in passing, but I never really cared in terms of practicing. I was like, “I’m just gonna draw this. You just color it.” So she did that, and I whipped it up real fast. I did it again. She colored that in. Probably got five or six done before anyone got there. And she’s like, “Dude, you’re so good.”
It was always there, but it wasn’t something I really focused on until I realized I’m not gonna play sports my whole life.
I want to learn something that’s a life skill. That was one of my biggest regrets about playing football: it’s not really a life skill. You don’t see a lot of 55-year-old dudes suiting up.
So I was really excited to have something to hold on to when my body will potentially fail me.
Then I got a little bit older and I started taking it more seriously. I was like, “Okay, can you draw every day for a year?” I did.
That is a badge of honor to me. That is a massive source of pride, that I proved to myself that I can do it. Shout out my girlfriend on the days where it was 11:30 at night and I didn’t feel like it.
But at the end of the day, I’m super proud that that’s a badge that I can wear all on my own.
The 413 Joint: With The 413 Joint, I talk to people working across different disciplines, and I’m always interested in how those things connect. How does music influence your art?
A Good Monday: Music—oh man, I love music. My mom was such a big push for me to listen to it when I was a kid. My dad: heavy metal. My mom: Cher, Madonna, Beastie Boys. I’m very into everything.
My cousin, who I look up to—I don’t know if you’ve ever heard of this band Insane Clown Posse. I was in love. I appreciated the darkness of it, but I also appreciated the true freedom.
Of course, they still get judged now. And I get it. now that I know more about words and lyrics, and I write myself—maybe not the strongest lyrics from a technical perspective—but talk about true freedom. Who was really doing that? So I’ve always thought that was special, to go out there and do your thing, no matter how crazy, no matter the outcome. And their storytelling skills are admirable.
Ween is probably my favorite favorite. I saw them in concert. That was really disappointing, but they’re at the end of their career. It happens. But super special—I got to see Ween.
DJ Lucas—local artist, great. Who doesn’t love that guy? Super nice guy.
When I draw, I listen to the same album every single time, no matter what. I probably played the album 200 or 300 times. It’s the Zach Bryan self-titled album.
For some reason, a lot of it really resonates with me. He’s trying to pave this new way for himself, which is not music for me, but it’s art for me. And they’re stuck on who he was.
Something about that story—everyone is so stuck on their perception of who you are and who they’re supposed to be to you. It’s bullshit. You can be whoever you want and you can change.
Wear so many hats. You wear the same hat too long, you’re gonna go bald.
I love all types of music. Big heavy-metal guy, big Jamiroquai guy. All of it is super special to me in its own way. I always try and find the best in music. If it makes my shoulders move, it makes my shoulders move.
The 413 Joint: A Good Monday feels rooted in freedom—the freedom to be cringe, to be yourself, or just to have a positive day. Talk to me about the name and how it came together.
A Good Monday: Right after I got hurt, not a happy camper. I was really, really upset. Not the happy person you see before you.
I was eating Oreos and doing nothing, sitting in my bed with an ankle the size of a balloon, a lot of pain, feeling really discouraged because what I aligned my identity with was somebody who was good at football, somebody who would fill the gap, somebody who would lay that motherfucker out.
And that’s not even who I ever was. It’s who I liked to think I was. I loved the social aspect. That was good. But that’s not who I am.
I had two jobs at the time, lost both of them. I wouldn’t get out of the house. I was really upset and in a lot of pain, getting large, very rotund. I was like, “This sucks.”
Every once in a while, a thought just punches you in the side of the head. I was kind of like, “I’m just gonna try and fake it till I make it, right, guys? Isn’t that what they all say?”
Just a random something nice on Instagram I would post every Monday. It wasn’t me. It was not mine. I reposted it on my story. I took no hand in it.
I did it for two months, and I’m like, “Yeah, this is awesome. Just kidding. This fucking sucks.” And I quit. “I’m not doing this shit. No one even likes it. I’m still fat, still unhappy. My ankle still hurts. This is terrible. And for what?”
Then one day I worked up the courage to not DoorDash, get outside. I’m on my crutches, and my boy Zach comes up to me.
He said, “Dude, what happened to the Mondays?” I was like, “What do you mean, bro?” He’s like, “Your Monday post thingy. It was cool. I liked it.”
He never spoke to me about this before. We were friends. Never once touched upon that. This is from more of the sports crowd, not as much of the artistic crowd. So I was completely taken aback.
At that point, I truly was like, “Wow, I possess the ability to make people’s lives better. And it didn’t cost me shit. I don’t have money. That’s special. I could truly enlighten the world for free. What a blessing.”
Then my 24th birthday came around, and I have a tendency to do a litmus test and just check up on myself on my birthday every year.
“How am I doing? Is this where I want to be? Am I on the path I’m supposed to be on?”
And I was like, “No.”
At that point I was doing blue-collar work, got laid off. I got a job at a school, which I love—in some ways it’s very dear to my heart—but in other ways I seek change.
I was just like, “I don’t want to do any of this. I’m not the type of guy to just follow what the fuck people tell me, because I was lulled by a brown ball with white laces. That’s what I did. And now I’m stranded in a life I don’t want to be in.”
I just thought very, very hard. I was like, “Maybe I could just make A Good Monday.”
Look it up. It’s not there. Nothing of existence of it. I’m like, “Okay, this has not been taken. This is cool.” And so that’s when I started.
The 413 Joint: One of the things I’m personally trying to do is become more comfortable with video. You come across as really confident, even though you’ve said that wasn’t always the case. How did you get past that fear?
A Good Monday: I remember the anxiety trying to film. I could not not wear sunglasses when I filmed for the first seven months because I was fucking frightened.
If you know me—that does not sound like me. I hosted the eighth-grade talent show. I’m a social guy. I was the loudest in the dugout. I’ve never not spoken my mind. And here I am eating my own words because I can’t do it because this square is in front of me.
I literally had nightmares the first night before I posted. I just couldn’t sleep. I was so stressed. I’m like, “Wow, I look so stupid. I look so stupid.
I was so nervous, and then I just got mad. I’m like, “Fuck it. It’s not fucking working, dude. Whatever. Do it. Who cares?” And that’s when I started to feel more comfortable.
You can laugh at me because I’m not good enough. That’s fine. Don’t laugh at me ’cause I’m trying.
The 413 Joint: You mentioned alcohol markers. What other mediums are you working with, and what would you like to explore next?
A Good Monday: Oil pastels. That sounds so cool. And I want to paint more. I want to get some big stuff on canvas.
My friend Devon, Devon Edwards—he’s doing 50-by-50 shit, and it’s beautiful. The beauty of that is you could just pack in detail in ways that you just can’t at my scale.
I would use anything. I’m not averse to trying or doing anything. There have been points where my markers died, and I’m like, “Okay, well, I guess I’ll just dip the tip in my acrylic paint and make it work.”
Or if there’s a crayon floating around in my pocket, see what I can do with that. See if I can blend some shit.
When you have limited options, it forces you to lock in and figure it out. When you have everything, it’s a lot harder because there are so many variables in what you could do.
When you’re really strapped down and you don’t have shit, that’s when you start to think outside the box.
The 413 Joint: I relate to that through graphic design. I didn’t always have access to the right programs, so I learned to experiment with whatever I could get. How did the shirts come together, and what role does fashion play in your work?
A Good Monday: I love fashion. I love it, I love it.
I never really grew up with money, but I always felt like I could dress confidently and have fun. Something I thank my mother for. She’s awesome.
And my dad too had his own flavor, which is heavy metal—DC shoes, this studded wristwatch, leather, whatever.
The T-shirts specifically, especially with these ones, they are as community-based as I could possibly get them.
The top text on the shirts that are on the website, that was not done by me. That was done by my friend Alex. Incredible artist, incredible, incredible artist, dear friend of mine, special, special artist. We do a lot of work together behind the scenes, just as friends, because we love art. We’ve been drawing together since middle school, making insane caricatures of our Spanish teacher until someone upped the ante enough to make one of us laugh out loud and get a detention. ¡Lo siento, Senor Becker!
I was like, “You’re a great artist. It’s time that more people start to realize you’re a great artist. Let’s get out there a little more.”
So I had him do the letters, which he smashed out of the park.
I drew the character on the bottom. I drew Monty—that is his name. This was all pen and paper. They are American cotton. The tags are made in America. It is screen-printed by my friend Owen in Florida.
It was an example of community building and the power we truly have within ourselves. Making a product of this quality with just community members for $35 made me feel like we could really do it.
You don’t need to rely on massive conglomerates. I think the internet has done away with that in some ways, in the sense that small artists can have their chance.
What I feel like I’ve been able to provide is a unique piece of art that is based on community building and is excellent quality.
When you seek a project or when you do something, lean on your homies. Talk to your people. See what you can do within your community. That’s so important.
I don’t like listening to people. I don’t like being told what to do. And that’s what corporations do.
So if I can do it my way, I’m going to fucking do it my way.
The 413 Joint: You said Monty is a character. Do all your drawings have names, or only certain ones?
A Good Monday: Almost none of them have. I wish I did that. Maybe you might have planted the seed there.
I think Monty’s fun. I think he’s just cool. The details are key to me.
His smile shows that hes the type of guy to whistle while he works. His lack of a tooth shows that he fights through even the hardest times. And him bursting out of the shirt showcases him breaking through the barriers of expectations.
It seems like a simple drawing at first, but I wanted to make sure that everything has meaning in it. Everything. All of it’s important. All of it’s been made with love.
That’s just one facet of this stuff. I would love to do anything creative. Why not? Fucking belt buckle, I don’t know. Who knows?
I’m really, really trying to be open and just be a sponge to the world and see what it can really provide me and what I can run with.
I would love Monty to be a recurring theme. I think he’d be a lot of fun. And I have ideas of him in the fall. A lot of ideas.
The 413 Joint: Your characters have a street-art or graffiti quality to them. Is that intentional, and what artists have influenced you?
A Good Monday: I love all styles.
I’m a big Ralph Steadman guy. I like his stuff a lot. Salvador Dalí’s crazy. I like Mort Drucker as well. Todd McFarlane, Frank Miller, I don’t know I have a lot of inspirations.
There’s another artist—I don’t know his real name, but he’s on Instagram. He’s from Connecticut. His name is Lilblackgoat on instagram. My gosh, check out that.
I love all art. That’s the other thing—I don’t want to be limited. If I get older and I want to start doing landscapes with big rubber ducks in the middle, I want to be able to do that.
So right now I’m just farming skills and just trying to be ready.
I think it’s beautiful that humans have the ability to create art that’s beyond the structures of what we deem acceptable and can push the boundaries like that. That’s just so special.
I think somebody with a spray-paint can in their hand can change the world. Truly, I think it’s awesome.
Graffiti has been an anti-culture thing forever. If people had an issue with the government or their tribe, they were writing that shit on walls.
So I think it’s cool. I think it’s timeless. I really love it.
I think all art is special. Good or bad, there’s always something to learn from and learn about.
Art is just special like that. It doesn’t necessarily have to be perfect. If you want perfect, take a picture.
The 413 Joint: Before we wrap up, who do you want to shout out?
A Good Monday: I come from a line of strong women. Very much so. My sister’s a veteran. My mom is a fucking superhero. I’m lucky.
My mom would always say “You were born with such an incredible sense of imagination that when the doctor put on your hat, it rolled right off your head.”
And she said, “You never stopped moving since utero until now. Always busy.” Very true. I always move around crazy. And I loved everybody. I always spoke my mind.
I feel like a lot of that hasn’t changed. And I think just because it came through sports doesn’t mean that I wasn’t that person. I think people who are closer to me know that.
I want to shout out my dad, my mom, my sister, Alex Torres (xander.toofly), Devon Edwards (devs.stu on instagram), Sarah Baillargeon (sarahbail_art on instagram), Joey Scott, who’s a local entrepreneur around here (yokesoles on ig). Yokesoles - check that out.
Shout out Ms. P and her whole family, for helping me out when I had not a working car nor a single dime to my name.
My girlfriend—gosh, how could I forget that light in my life?
And just all the people who have helped me out when they definitely didn’t need to; there was no rule about helping me out. They did it because they were good people.
Shout out all the hard experiences I’ve had to learn and grow.
And to all the people who have had negative things to say: thank you very much for fueling my fire and telling me that I’m going the right way, despite what your words may have shown.
Thank you for reading!
Meet Monty and keep up with A Good Monday.
