Never in a million years would 27-year-old celebrity dog groomer Artist Knox would have dreamed that his life would have turned out so fabulous. Since bringing home the title of Groomer of the Year on Animal Planet’s Groomer Has It competition last year, opening up his own doggie grooming salon in Beverly Hills and starring in this season’s most stimulating reality show Beverly Hills Groomer, his life has seen a total turnaround.

“I was being laid off from a job. As I’m gathering my things to leave, the owner was checking her messages and it was a producer from Animal Planet,” Artist remembers. “They wanted to know if anybody would be interested in trying out for the show. She was like, ‘you should do it.’ She called the lady and puts the phone in my hand.”

So Artist packed up his few shears and brushes along with his feisty Shih Tzu, Bumpy Johnson and headed down to Hollywood to audition for the show. Artist was chosen as one of 12 groomers battling for the top spot. Going head to head against veteran groomers from all over the country with 20 to 30 years of experience under their belts, Artist didn’t falter. Even though other contestants were more experienced than him, the determined young man gave it his all.

Contenders were judged on grooming, knowledge of the particular breed and ability to communicate with the animals. For 13 episodes, they were under watchful eyes of television cameras for 12 to 18 hours per day for three months. On his way to the top of the pile, Artist couldn’t afford any mishap.

“Some of the people had thousands of dollars worth of equipment,” Artist recalls. “Here I am a scrub with worn out soles in my sneakers. I had one pair of scissors and some combs going against these big boys. It was a little intimidating but I got over it.”

Although Artist knew he had the undeniable talent to win the competition, he couldn’t believe his ears when it was announced that he had won. “Winning groomer of the year was like somebody telling me you got good credit,” he admits. “I wouldn’t think they would allow me to win over all of those people.”

After taking home his $50,000 prize money, Artist opened his own grooming shop, the Artist Knox Pet Salon. It wasn’t long before he got another call from the network. Viewers from all over the world emailed the show, asking about Artist’s well being.

“They were like ‘the people love you and we got to follow you as you build your empire,’” says Artist. Even though Artist is now enjoying the fruits of his labor, he has traveled a hard road in order to get to where he is today.

Artist grew up on the wrong side of the tracks in seedy south central Los Angeles. A product of the welfare system, he was the son of a hard-working electrician. Many of his female classmates were involved in prostitution and several friends were murdered as a result of street violence. Added to that, Artist’s father was addicted to crack-cocaine throughout much of his adolescence.

“My dad worked hard to get us the things we needed. But he took some wrong turns in life. He was on crack,” says Artist. “We used to go to crack houses and watch him smoke it. We’d come home and the furniture would be gone, no refrigerator, the lights would be cut off for weeks at a time, no running water.”

To escape the perils of the ghetto, Artist studied hard at Los Angeles’ King/ Drew Medical Magnet High School with dreams of  becoming an obstetrician. After high school graduation, he couldn’t further his education due to family complications. It was during these trying times in his life that Artist stumbled upon his true calling.