Today we’d like to introduce you to Justin Schwartzman.
Hi Justin, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
It’s a bit all over the place and only recently is it making sense. So I’m still honing in on the best words and what to highlight. I trust you will find what you need and I welcome you to follow up with any questions you may have so I can fill in any important details I may miss.
Lifelong musician. Started to pursue a higher calling in my early 20s, but it wasn’t super clear and I got derailed by difficult life experiences. For the next 20ish years, I played it small. Still played a ton of music, but not as a career. Started a family during that time and became a single dad after divorce.
Though I wasn’t truly living my own life to full potential, I still had my moments of genius. During that time, I came up with an avatar name that eventually became a brand name that is now a nickname and I am just now leaning into the brand more fully. The name, Justoneus, is pronounced just-oh-knee-us, but breaks down to just one us- containing the truth that we are all connected. It has been growing on me, and me through it, for a long time now.
In 2019, while still living a comparably mundane life, I had a stroke of genius and transformed a cardboard box into a fun game that was also an art project. The simple game turned into Bounskee- which has a whole story of its own. Long story short, I semi-consciously imbued my product with my highest values creating experiences that led me back to my higher self. I keep finding new ways to use Bounskee to foster creativity, connection, and to enrich the lives of all kinds of people. In developing Bounskee, I learned all the design and production skills needed to make Bounskee along with other signature and custom products under my maker brand, Justoneus Creations. I have the Bounskee and Justoneus logos trademarked- and they are word marks so the names are protected. Both are strong brand names and the logos/names evoke a sense of what they stand for. Until very recently, I haven’t leaned in to the strength and depth of the name Justoneus.
Building the business was, and still is, challenging. I have had to learn a lot just to keep it going. I am more of a creative than a businessman and there are parts of running a business that don’t come naturally to me- and I am still a one man op so there have been times when I have experienced burnout. That happened more when I wasn’t allowing myself to pursue my other passion- music.
After circumstances led me to move from rural Northern Cali to Philomath, Oregon in 2023, I intentionally took a hiatus from joining any bands- something I had never done in over 25 years. The reason was to focus on building my business in a new location after being down for 6 months and losing the momentum I had. While I did make a lot of business connections and started building a small following around Bounskee, my community expanded greatly when I joined a band in May 2025. That’s when things really started shifting into alignment.
I started meeting a lot more like-minded people through music and connected with the wellness community. I am now in 2 bands and regularly jam or sit in with other songwriters and musicians. I also started performing my old original songs at gatherings and open mics.
My songs have depth that a lot of people appreciate so I was encouraged to book a show to perform them. Since I only have a handful of songs, but I am adept at learning songs and backing up other songwriters on several instruments, I came up with Justoneus Collective- a sort of songwriter showcase with a rotating lineup of songwriters and versatile musicians. The first show was just a short opening set at a fundraiser in April 2026. For that, I had a couple friends back me up on my songs and then we switched things up to back them up on one of each of their songs. I just recently booked a full 2 hour show for 1/8 that will feature different songwriters and musicians (myself and 1 other from May will be there along with 2 different artists).
This summer, I shifted Bounskee more into alignment with my higher calling (still unrecognized at the time) with a couple creatively inspired community events that went very well and were quite fulfilling. Just a few weeks ago, that higher calling finally came into focus.
I was rehearsing with a couple friends for one of their upcoming bday shows- playing original songs by that person. It was sounding nice, so I suggested capturing the songs on video. The songwriter expressed resistance (she can be self-conscious about video), but we encouraged her to do it and caught a couple nice takes- one of which she really loved. She didn’t have an online outlet for content and didn’t want to create one so I offered to put it out there. That night it all clicked and I started a new YouTube channel for Justoneus Collective.
I realized that the unifying factor in all the creative pursuits in my life (music, Bounskee, Justoneus Creations) is that I love being creative with other people and supporting others in being consciously creative. With this shift in perception, I began to see how I could reshape the JUSTONEUS brand to include everything I do- and also support others in their creativity, connections, and pursuit of their higher callings.
Very soon, I will be officially launching the new JUSTONEUS website (www.justoneus.live) as a hub for conscious creators and experience providers (which is broad and more clearly defined on the website what I am looking for) to network, collaborate, and expand their audience/customers/clientele. The infrastructure is mostly built and I have begun finding other independent creators and experience providers to list on the site- building out a marketplace where people seeking certain types of products and experiences can come and discover the offerings of partnered businesses along with my own.
I have made a lot of connections in my 3 years in Oregon that also work in the spirit of creativity, connection, and/or conscious living. So far, those I have approached are excited to be listed on the platform. I have no doubt there is a market for the kinds of offerings JUSTONEUS will be listing. It is setup to scale to include different regions, starting with those I have the most connections and those who can offer their services remotely. During the launch period, listing is free, and once the site proves it generates traffic, there will be a low cost membership fee to cover promotional and maintenance costs and compensate my work as the audience grows.
Alongside the marketplace is JUSTONEUS Collective- a platform for creative collaboration. I have released a few more videos on the YouTube channel and am lining up other songwriters to collaborate with to make more content. Learning and playing other peoples’ original music with them is something I really love to do. Every video will have a link(s) in the description for viewers to explore the artists’ greater catalog of work. Once the channel becomes monetized, I intend to pay out the songwriters based on views of their songs (minus a small percentage for promotional and maintenance fees). Though the Collective is mostly music right now, it can showcase other types of artist collaborations.
Within JUSTONEUS, I can keep playing music, make and sell my products, offer custom experiences with Bounskee, and support other consciously creative people toward living our best lives. That is now the plan. You caught me at an interesting time and I am working to have the website dialed in and launched by the time you publish my feature.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Nope, not smooth. But it hindsight, I am grateful for the challenges I faced because they taught me important lessons about my life and values, the world, and my place in it.
Starting a creative business based on a new original product with no prior business experience was quite challenging and I’m still a one man op struggling to be profitable.
When my Bounskee production situation changed back in Cali and I decided to move to Corvallis, it was challenging losing all my momentum and starting fresh in a new location.
Marketing Bounskee has been a struggle because I found so many creative to use it to benefit different kinds of people that picking one target audience feels wrong- or at least I couldn’t decide which one to lean into.
And after years of settling for less than my best, it has been a challenge to shift my mindset and become the person I had been waiting to become.
To be human is to face challenges- it is how we find our strength and grow.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Before moving to Philomath, I was mostly known for being a versatile multi-instrumentalist who regularly performed with some of the best bands in town. It wasn’t until toward the end of my time there when I learned the design and production skills that I use for Bounskee- so I have still only somewhat recently been recognized for creating quality custom goods.
When I moved to Philomath, I built my reputation around Bounskee. Here, I am still mostly known for providing a wholesome and engaging activity for community events- some of which I planned and promoted on my own. I am especially proud of the extra meaningful experiences I provided with the 2 Bounskee Community Challenge FUNdraisers I planned and ran this summer.
Once I allowed myself to join a band again last year, it wasn’t long before I was recognized for my musical skills again. That on its own wasn’t something I ever really felt proud of until recently when I realized how to best use my gifts.
I would say that my particular creative genius sets me apart from others. Part of that is the creative names I come up with. And with Justoneus, I do embody the not-so-hidden meaning in the name- a strong belief that we are all connected and if we collaborate, we can co-create our best collective experience.
Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
Integrity. Living and acting in accordance to my values.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.justoneus.live
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/justoneus.live
- Facebook: https://Facebook.com/justoneus.live
- Youtube: https://YouTube.com/@justoneuscollective
- Other: https://bounskee.fun
