Shawn Coss (Mental Health, Art and Nursing) - Episode 945

Behind The Shield

Shawn Coss is an ER Nurse and the artist behind Any Means Necessary. We discuss his early life in Ohio, his journey into medicine, the opioid epidemic, his love of art, Cyanide and Happiness, working on a Stephen King movie, mental health art, music and so much more.

Shawn was born in England whilst his Father was stationed there during his time in the Army, but moved back to America with his family when the base closed down. They ended up in West Virginia where money was tight, but eventually moved to Akron where they took over a relative’s janitorial business. Much like his parents, Shawn struggled to make ends meet, working long days in a factory, as a screen printer, and a pizza delivery guy.

He would move into the nursing field, seeing it as a more stable way to support his wife and two young daughters, which would become a job he held part time for many years. Shawn was driven, stubborn, loyal, and passionate in equal measure, wanting to prove himself and to make those around him feel proud. A legacy that his kids could look up to. He would go on to working with Cyanide & Happiness as one of their artists, having his work featured in the Stephen King film Cell, appearing at comic-cons, and even designing album covers for Seether (Poison the Parish, and Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum).

But when Inktober 2016 hit, Shawn’s Mental Health awareness pieces gained him massive recognition, a swathe of new Any Means Necessary fans, as well as organizations such as Buzzfeed, and The Huffington Post reaching out to him, securing his name as a dark artist worth paying attention to. His hunger though has never been sated, and has helped drive the brand into as many places as it can possibly go, never missing a financial trick if one’s there to be learnt.