The entertainment industry, it is a personality
driven business. So at a nine to five, if you're
working in corporate, you can hate your staff
members, right? You can hate your staff members,
right? But you either quit the job or you show
up, but replacing the human, even the art that
you see, like some of the videos, it's still
lifeless. And people go, man, this looks real.
T -word, look real. But it's not real. Yeah.
I do what I do because the world sees us as how
America portrays. Yeah, and America itself is
a strong power in the world. The most influential.
What would happen if you treated your creative
path like a business and your purpose like a
mission? So in today's episode, we dive into
the real blueprint behind discipline, longevity,
and sustainable success. We also break down how
martial arts level focus helps you thrive in
competitive spaces, how social media and AI can
amplify your voice instead of diluting it, and
why ownership and representation matter now.
more than ever and the person walking this journey
with me is someone who I deeply respect, Troy
Skinner. He is a Brooklyn -born actor, director,
and entrepreneur with over 25 years in the industry.
He's a world -building creative who builds and
leads Dark Ant Entertainment, the studio behind
the award -winning film, A New Life, which has
earned over six million streams. He's an NAACP
Image Award nominee, a World Entertainment Awards
Best Writer winner, a martial artist, and a coach
who builds disciplined, purpose -driven artists.
So this conversation is packed with insight,
mindset, and real strategy for actors, filmmakers,
entrepreneurs, and anyone ready to build something
that lasts. Lean in. This conversation will shift
how you create, lead. and thrive what's up fam
before we get into this conversation let me say
this look i know it's a thing right but if what
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of growth and alignment. So hit that like, subscribe,
let's breathe in, get present. step into the
conversation. Troy Skinner, we just talked just
a little bit, man, but I want to, I really, I
mean, I really truly want to welcome you to the
podcast, man. Welcome to the Thrawable Journey.
Thank you. Thank you. Thanks for having me, man.
I appreciate you. Absolutely, man. I mean, we
go back, I don't know, mid -20s, 2000s? Yeah.
Yeah. We, you know, we met at, in Bobby Chance's
class, the legendary Bobby Chance. Expressions
unlimited. Expressions unlimited, man. How have
you been? I've been well, man. You know, counter
to everything else that's been going on in the
world and in life. Just keep pressing forward.
Today, I came up with a slogan of the keys to
success, right? Or a recipe to success. I will,
I must, and I can. Not necessarily in that order.
I think I think the whole slogan because I'm
making up a whole bunch of slogans for t -shirts.
Okay, and so I can I must I can I will I must
and those are like some of the things that We
keep in mind. I was in the shower and that came
to me and I was like, yeah Okay, I gotta put
that on a shirt. So there's definitely someone
to put on a shirt I got like right now I got
about a good six of them that I'm gonna put on
a shirt. You got a t -shirt coming up. What's
going on? That's the plan, you know motivational
motivation t -shirt Yeah, any t -shirts that
kind of has great slogans of motivation. I mean,
obviously, there's nothing new under the sun.
King Solomon said it best, right? So we can think
that we came up with something, but more than
likely, somewhere in the time and the history
of man and across the world, somebody else said
it maybe in another language. Yeah. I mean, all
we are just influenced by things that are in
our atmosphere and are in our worlds and beyond.
And we get that information and we come up with
what we come up with. And it's not necessarily
new. But you, again, we met in Hollywood, Los
Angeles, years ago. You have been journeying
and doing your thing, man. Like I've been watching
you. I'm really excited and proud of your journey.
what you've accomplished in your years. Because,
you know, in the acting world, it ain't no joke,
man. You know, it's a crazy game, right? Absolutely.
Just to lay some background, though. You were
born in Brooklyn. Yeah, yeah. I'm the product
of the projects. I was born and raised in Brooklyn,
New York, East New York, not too far away from
Mike Tyson, literally down the street from him.
What? Yeah, yeah, yeah. And then I moved to Augusta,
Georgia at the high school. So my mom wanted
us out of New York. And so I moved from Brooklyn
to Augusta. And then from Augusta, following
my dreams, I relocated in Los Angeles. And now
I'm back in Augusta. So it's just weird how all
that works. Full circle. When, so when did you,
when did you move to LA? Oh, I moved to LA in,
I would say 97. 97. 97. I was, yeah, I was, I
was in music. And so I had been pursuing music
since I was a kid. Yeah. And I perfected my craft
in, in, in Georgia. So I had the East coast flavor
and then I had the Southern flavor and then I
had the West coast. So I had all the different
areas and a R &B artist named Rune came through
Augusta and I went to his show. And it was an
amazing experience because I got to see how R
&B artists, specifically the males, have to deal
with the fans afterwards, like in the van and
how he was feeling. Because what a lot of people
don't know is that R &B artists, the males, they
get grabbed at a lot, if you understand what
I'm saying. So a lot of times the women do actually
snag onto what they're grabbing at. I had to
get that brother some ice. Literally, I had to
get him a, you know, I made a makeshift Ziploc
bag, put some ice in it, bought the ice for him
to put on it. So from there, he was like, you
know, he listened to my tape. And then from there,
he just, he promised me he'd fly me out to LA.
And that happened in September when I met him.
And then it was November that I was in LA. And
that was the beginning of my LA journey. That
was the beginning of your LA journey. And so
music was it, what kind of music were you? Oh,
I did everything. I mean, from classical to house
and dance music, R &B. Like I said, the South
gave me the Georgia bounce flavor. So I had that
Miami bass flavor inside of me when I moved to...
LA so I could do anything and I got to do a couple
of remixes in LA got to sit up in a bunch of
record labels and manage and work with a bunch
of artists but it was you know I tell you when
I tell people the music industry as wild as it
is I never really got caught up with it but it's
what launched me into film so Although I went
out to do music, and that was my objective. I
swore I was going to have a top 10 hit and win
Grammys and give my mom a big house because of
it. That's not what God wanted. I was going to
get into film. And so now, being a director in
film, all that music experience helps me when
it comes to score and soundtrack. Yeah. So that
was a building block for you. And I remember
this. Martial arts. Oh, yeah. Talk about that.
Oh, yeah. How was that? What was where did that
fit into in your journey? Yeah. Well, martial
arts came to me as a gift. You know, I've grown
up in Brooklyn. At the time that I lived in Brooklyn,
it was noted as one of the most dangerous cities
to live in. Not New York City, but just Brooklyn
area. They used to have a saying, a slogan was,
you got to do a die best die. So I was blessed,
man. My mom was very big on keeping us out of
the streets and everything. So martial arts came
to me early after a couple of violent incidents
and some muggings. I got into martial arts and
I never looked back. With having the martial
arts in my life, I realized that there was nothing
that I couldn't accomplish. If I let the martial
arts revolve around my life and my life revolve
around the martial arts, there was nothing I
couldn't accomplish. And so because, you know,
not just the physical pain, but the mental aptitude
you got to have and the spiritual desire to want
to be better than who you are, martial arts gives
that to you. And what I saw in my journey in
film and what I continue to see is the top people
in it. I know you were a track runner. You ran
track. That was one of your discussions. When
I first met you, we talked about, you guys gotta
see this man's, his legs are incredible. Can't
get rid of them. Can't get rid of them. Yeah,
but they stay forever. I've met guys who would
stay forever because they train football or play
those physical attributes stay with you forever.
I had realized that the martial arts, it's one
of the things that I noticed a lot of people
who study martial arts, sports, and military
have strong aptitude and strong discipline to
be able to pursue their objectives and their
dreams. I see it now, even as an acting coach,
I see the ones who I know, okay, yeah, a year
from now, they'll be in it, you know, or they
may not be it. One of my students, Brandon Bell,
he's on foundation. He was a lacrosse player
when he came to me, you know, and look at him
now. So I've noticed that that was a instrument
that most people would use for their form of
discipline because you figure, for me, I was
like, well, I've been punched in the face. So
what's getting up in front of a bunch of people?
You know what I mean? Who can't really physically
harm me, you know? And so, it helped give me
clarity on that. And to this day, I mean, I still
study, I still train. And I tell people that,
hey, you know, use what you did in high school
in sports and if you're in the military. Because
most of our top actors are sports, ex -sports
players, or they still play. And you look at
The Rock. The Rock was a wrestler. So, you know.
There's a mindset that comes along with that,
with the martial arts or the sports and things
like that, where I remember when I was getting
my first agent, he actually looked at that and
said, oh, you know the work ethic. You can actually
go out there and make something happen. And just
that way of being, it goes with you. And it speaks
for you as well for agents in other areas. Yeah.
Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I think the greatest
gift that a parent can give their child is a
form and source of discipline. Yeah. You know,
we're not talking about corporal discipline.
We're talking about discipline and helping them
to know that they can do something. Kids want
to, you know, I'm not a parent, but I've seen
and been around enough kids to know as being
a mentor or someone who is helping programs,
the kids want to be able to have that. They want
that. You know, my years of teaching martial
arts to children before I moved to Los Angeles,
all of those kids are now adults with their own
families and all of them. Pretty much all of
my students who are black belt under me are very
successful people. Shantia Northley was the first
black American female NASCAR driver. and she
studied under me. She was a black man under me.
When I look at that and I look at the achievements
that people make, again, that's that formula
for the recipe. I can, I will, I must. Those
are things that we understand that we have to
implement, that desire, that passion, that thought
process. Yeah. Your passion has taken you around
and helped you create your own thing. As as like
you're talking about other people is always it
has also been the same thing for you. I mean,
25 plus years in Hollywood is a man that's no
small feat. And I know you're here in Georgia,
but the things that you're producing, and you're
creating is, you know, is it's, it's wonderful,
right? And in you, I mean, you, you appeared
in many things. I mean, you were you were in
the in the shield. We share that history. The
audience will notice this man's an amazing actor.
I think whenever he decides he wants to do it
again, he'll be awesome at it. Hey man, put me
in one of your fantastic films and I'll show
up. How I Met Your Mother, Reno 911. These are
people, these things that other people produce,
but we, I'm going to get to yours at some point
because what you've what you're creating, what
you're building, and what you're laying down
for the future is really amazing. But you know,
as well as being actor, you're also a director,
right? Yes. Those experiences that you have from
those those those TV shows and films, like, what
did that? What did that bring to you? On your
on your own set? Yeah, it's interesting. You
say that? I mean, um, being that, you know, and
I have, I always tell people this, my mom says,
why do you always tell that? I said, because
people need to know that There is a level of
growth from people who work hard, right? So being
a project kid, I was always very appreciative
of Anything and everything that I received, you
know as a kid I make sure I wouldn't wear out
my clothes or make sure I wouldn't wear out break
something people give me gifts I used to hold
on to them for years. I'm pretty sure I still
got stuck when I was 15, but understanding that
when you're When you're when you're working in
one arena, right? So say, for instance, being
on set, I was always over the shoulder of the
director if I was capable of doing that. And
what I realized is that just incongruent when
it comes to people in general, people want to
be treated fair. People want to be appreciated
and they want to be treated fair. They want to
be acknowledged and they want to be noticed.
And when I was on set, I realized that the people
who would get me to work hardest for them were
the ones that recognized me. They would say,
oh, you know, I saw your audition. You know,
I'm glad you were able to take the part. And
they would work well with me. You know, we, like
I said, we share in common the shield. That was
one of my great experiences working with Walton
God in the senior year. Um, and, and just having
that experience because the, the, the director
of my episode was the, was the head DP. So that
spoke volumes to me that he had chose me. And,
you know, I realized that when I do projects,
I want to make sure that people know that they're
appreciated, that they're acknowledged, that
they have a say, that the set is fun. You know,
time is all we really all have. That's the most
tangible thing that we really have. You lose
it, you don't get it back. So someone is taking
the opportunity to come and be there and show
up because I love working with people who have
strong integrity like just show up that's the
number one thing then I want to make sure that
experience is awesome yeah so I was able to bring
a lot of that to the art of directing and working
with actors and being able to say okay I got
to work with my crew this way because if you're
asking people to do stuff that's outside their
normative process or their comfort zone you got
to make it a relaxed relaxed environment you
know and you've worked with a lot of people.
But before we get to that leads me to something
that you talked about. I don't know how when
you talked about this, but you talked about loyalty
in Hollywood. And things have things have changed.
But you're talking about how you brought up the
ASAP fables and, and how people that bring the
work with their teams. I think you mentioned
Seth Rogen and and how they still work with their
teams, they don't flake, they work through the
hard times and it's still together and produce
and create, you know, fantastic film. Share your
insight on that and just share your insight on
that first and then I'll go to the next part.
Well, the thing that people and I wish I knew
this early on, very early in my career as an
artist of any regard, business is the same in
every, you know, in every environment, business
is the same. You know, spend less, make more,
make sure you set a date, execute that project
by that date. Those are all things that travel
across all the mediums of anything, you know,
corporate business, you know, medical business,
the medical field. Business is business. And
what I've learned is that a lot of times people
don't realize that it's business. The entertainment
industry, It is a personality -driven business.
Yes. Right? Yeah. So at a nine to five, if you're
working in corporate, you can hate your staff
members. You can hate all the staff members.
Right? But you either quit the job or you show
up. Right. You see, with acting, you have to
act that you like people even if you don't like
them. You understand? Now, people can say, well,
we do that in corporate. No, eventually it does
come out. Right? It does come out. In the acting
world, you don't know who you're gonna work with.
You have no idea who you're gonna be dealing
with until you get the part. So it's different
than how it is when it comes to corporate. Corporate,
you're showing up to a job every day. You're
working to get some contracts. You're working
to get different work. You're making bids. With
an acting job, you don't know who your co -star,
especially on television. You have no idea unless
you do a reading. If you do a table read, then
maybe you have an idea. But if you show up that
day, and then you don't know how that person's
gonna be, right? So you show up and next thing
you know, maybe they stood out that night and
got a hangover. You gotta deal with that. Maybe
the chick that has the part in that feature film
slept with the director and got the role last
week and never did a day of acting her life.
You gotta put up with that. So to me, that's
something that I tell people a lot. You have
to understand the business of the entertainment
business period, not just the acting world. It
is a business of personality. You're putting
up with whatever that person may feel. They could
be very, they can have a lot of crazy idios.
It could be dealing and dabbling in alcohol or
drugs. They can have personal issues and they
bring that to the set. You don't know but you
just have to show up and you have to know that
the project is all that matters And of course
that's similar to how it would be in the corporate
world product. The project's gonna keep going
you get fired They're gonna hire somebody else.
Yeah, the business doesn't go under you do right?
So, you know, you I thought you had more because
I was I was Everywhere and I was like, yes. Yes.
Yeah, but all that that all that is true and
it is a business I mean, it's a it's like you
said personally personality driven. It's people
don't necessarily I think beginning actors, actors
who are warning to the bright lights and all
that kind of stuff and the fame. They may not,
not all of them, but some of them probably don't
approach it as a business. You know, they don't
see the loyalty that you can create in a team
and bring, you know, professionalism to the set.
So for those, just speak to the newbies or those
that are interested in starting acting, what
would you say to them? Well, I'll tell you, when
I was acting full time, and I still act, but
I tell people that when I was acting full time
and studying in a class, competition wasn't so
prevalent. It wasn't like, you know, because
most acting schools are very close to how theater
is. Theater is based a certain way, so if you're
in the theater, it's a community. And when you're
at certain acting schools, depending on the acting
school, it's a community and everyone is a little
bit supportive of each other, you know, or they
would see someone accomplish something and be
like, oh man, so there's hope for me. But now
it's very competitive. And so what I always tell
the new generation of actors is that you have
to take advantage of the benefits and the benefits
of social media. Social media has done greatness
for people and has disrupted the industry in
a bad way. In a bad way. So there are, yeah,
there are good points and bad points to it. You
know, a lot of times I tell people you can hide
behind social media, but if you're keen, you
can see the truth in social media, right? So
the new actors, a lot of the things that we didn't
have, which like the IMDb that came like maybe
in my 10th year as an actor, uh, being a relevant
thing. Social media came years, a couple of years
ago. You look at the 2B actor that people like,
there's been this little thing going back and
forth where this one guy mentioned 2B actors
aren't really actors. And I'm like, I know 2B
actors doing better than actors who have a manager
and agent submitting them big projects because
they're making their money. And they understand
that social media is a means to be able to build
a following. Because marketing is key. I learned
that on my last feature film. I just sat down
with a young brother yesterday. He just graduated
high school. He's going into college. But he's
been making films for the last three years. And
he says, I want to do distribution on this new
film I have. And I said, OK, well, what's the
running time? And I asked him all the valid questions.
And I said, what's your marketing plan like?
Hey, he looked at me. He says, oh, I got tick
-tock. I said, how's your Facebook looking? Well,
I'm not on Facebook. How's your Instagram looking?
I'm not on Instagram. And I said, well, now guess
what? You got to do all of them because each
one has a different age grouping and classification.
That is very true. Right. And so I was able to
do over six million views on A New Life primarily
because I understood my audience, number one,
and I sat my behind down in the chair and did
the marketing. Okay. See, so for the new actors,
bear in mind, you have all the tools you need
and all the resources you need exhaust them.
Yeah. Yeah, I agree with that. Definitely exhaust
them. I think just in a business standpoint,
that's what I'm learning too, because first of
all, like I said, I'm almost 50, right? And you
mentioned back in the day, we didn't have all
the things that they have today because the way
that we had to market ourselves was either showing
up in the rooms with where they showed up, or
our head our headshots and all that kind of stuff.
And I don't know exactly how it is now, except
that, you know, social media has played a part
in transitioning Hollywood to or or black Hollywood
into what it is now. Where do you see the future
of of Hollywood or the arts? Well, the danger
right now is AI, obviously. But AI has been around
for a while. AI was a strong aspect of the industry
for a while, and people didn't know that. A lot
of the films that had been released were released
through studios that were using software to analyze
who would be the best person to cast and who
do we go to in order to make this film? how to
assign the right director, what's the numbers.
It was an actual software that was floating around
that was doing the work for the producers. The
visual artistic aspect of AI. I was just talking
to my manager today and I said there's a point
that people will bore themselves because they
don't understand human behavior. Human behavior
is, you know, you look at the first rock star,
the first rock star was Jesus Christ, right?
Everybody wanted to be around him. They wanted
to touch him. They wanted him to give them something.
They wanted him to make them feel a certain way.
And so human beings by nature love following
people and love seeing people. So, OK, you got
the social media. If you make it create an AI
character, that's great. But. The other aspect
of human beings, because we're base creatures,
right? The base needs, the wants and desires,
eat, sleep, go to the bathroom, make love, all
these things. The base aspect of a human being
still is to find something to get into and to
find something and someone to follow. So that's,
there's a reason why, you know, people always
say, well, Hollywood is dead, films are dead.
Really? Okay, explain Terrifier 3. And they go,
what do you mean? And I've sat in rooms talking
to people who I've wanted to help me fund my
film. And they go, your numbers are off. And
I'm like, are they? And I'm like, Terrifier 3
was a film that cost $1 million to make, $500
,000 to market and to do P &A for. It made over
$93 million. It rang the bell. The clown rang
the bell at Nasdaq. If you can't explain that,
then you don't really understand that. that the
model is what it's always been. It's giving people
what they want. And so you can't create an AI
art to clown and have it ring NASDAQ. People
want to meet what they see on television. We've
all been that way. It's been like that since
the beginning of time. In Vaudeville, people
wanted the celebrity to come back to their city
and their town. That's who we are. We want to
be around greatness. We're gonna have AI basketball
players, AI boxers. So I always tell people,
don't fear. It's gonna play itself out. I firmly
believe that. Now, having AI as a tool, yeah,
absolutely. I'm big on that. Help me with my
scheduling. Help me with my budgeting. Help me
with my storyboarding. Absolutely. Help me with
chat GPT to write up a brief or something. Sure.
But replacing the human, even the art that you
see, like some of the videos, it's still lifeless.
And people go, man, this looks real. T -word,
look real. But it's not real, yeah. You can't
satiate your hunger with a bagel that's not real.
As well said, I get that. You know, that's actually
speaks to a little bit where people are creating
these chat GPTs or not chat GP, but the AI is
like love interest. Like, you know, and you were
you use the word satiate, like you cannot fulfill
something that can't that can't be fulfilled
without another human. Yeah, absolutely. actual
things in life. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, society
has groomed people to be that way. We live in
a fast food society. Everything is fast food,
right? You want it quicker, bigger, better, tastier,
everything is fast food. And our attention span
is short. It's always been short and it's gotten
shorter. With AI, people... are able to disconnect
themselves more, but the key is knowing you have
to come back. It's kind of like a vacation. You
got to come back. You can go and, oh, this is
awesome. The reality of the world, you won't
be able to function because the powers that be,
yeah, they're introducing AI, they're introducing
a lot of the transhumanism stuff, but still,
the spiritual aspect is important. You know,
you can't build, again, like you gotta have a
team. You gotta have, I had to learn what that
was to collaborate. And now even major companies,
that's how they're working with people. They're
collaborating. The word collaborate is the number
one word. We'd love to collaborate with you.
We'd love to work together. It's saving them
tons of money in advertising and marketing. If
I get someone who's on social media and they
have three million fans or they have one million
fans, and normally what it would cost for me
to make a commercial would have been maybe $250
,000, $500 ,000. And now I'm paying this guy
$5 ,000, maybe $10 ,000 and sending him free
product. And then maybe if I need to do some
additional work, I get some AI to do some stuff,
some footage or some posters or something. Look
how much money I've saved. And so that's where
we're going. But at the same time, once you do
meet and greets, because people want to get outside,
they want to go somewhere, right? That's why
you'll always have these expos. You have like
a lessons expo and all the different expos. People
want to get out and meet who they're buying from.
It's not going to be an AI person. Again, you
want to feel appreciated, right? So it's the
human experience that we're remembering that
no matter what the human experience is you have
to live you have to live I mean there's an automatic
way of being for human beings is to connect and
AI and all that good stuff there is a place for
it, but I don't really feel and believe that
people should have that take place of you know,
human nature, human ways of being, because connection
is a needed thing, 100%. Absolutely, yeah. You
know, and I think people bank on trends, you
know. We're very trendy as a culture. The world
is, not just America, but the world is very trendy.
You know, what's hot, what's not, what's new,
what's the scandal, you know. Okay, what you
know the iPhone company right proves that You
know the every year the new iPhone. What's wrong
with the last one? I had probably nothing. How
is it better? Well, you know, it's got more it's
got more things, you know, I tell you I have
bought a car a couple years back 2018 I bought
a car and everyone's telling me to lease it and
I leased it right? It's like it's smart to lease
it builds your credit. It helps you out. I said,
okay great I lease it and then I went to the
car dealership And they were like your car is
better than the car that's out now. The only
difference is that the technology so they said
Every year, we're looking to increase better
technology in something that has nothing to do
with taking you back and forth Yeah, honest that
the car the car is taking you back and forth,
but they look at it as well people spend their
time in their car So how can we make that the
car more like their house because most people
don't even live in their house You know, they
have beautiful homes and they barely spend time
again go back to the base need of human beings
They want to be out. They want to be or go go
go to any any main street in any city on a Saturday
night people are out or Saturday morning people
are out and about they don't want to be home
all day right so that human interaction that
we're talking about you know it that it's understanding
how humans are that you know yeah you can have
an ai boyfriend a girlfriend but so what what's
that gonna do how you gonna play it off and show
it off to everybody you know it's it's a weird
concept um i had a guy on uh Nick Jane. So he
deals with AI and he has this wonderful company
that he started. And, you know, I mean, it was
almost like we'll have the conversation. It was
like, they were actually creating AI to make
sure they did it. It was datable to human beings.
I was like, I don't know about that, man. It
was like, you know, people want their basic needs
met. Yeah, you know. And we were growing to that.
That's not something that you know the nuclear
family has been destroyed right so we live more
in an environment where people like I said they
want that fast food and relationships are a thing
that sometimes for some people yeah I think what
people made their mistake is especially dealing
with either the churches or dealing with people
who are in their sense, morally justified and
how they see things. People made their mistakes
in realizing that some people just aren't geared
up for relationships, right? And so the truth
of that is that they go through these scenarios
where things are not working. It's just falling
apart all the time, right? Either through self
-sabotage or they just were groomed to believe
that they would make the best spouse. What happens
is is that AI is something where it comes in
and it feels that need and people get lost in
the thought that thinking that okay Well, this
is the way it is for me. No, no, you don't even
need AI. You just need to get back to yourself
and Find a way to appreciate self Self -appreciation
is lost in this day and age and one of the things
that I teach actors now is knowing that there
is a greatness in all of us and You recognize
the greatness and others that recognize the greatness
in you so thereby you'll find your team of people
who can work close with you and Collaborate that
word again buzzword and build because we're creatures
of wanting to build That is who we are. Yeah.
Yeah and You are a creature of building this
of your your world in in in film and TV and want
to talk about And I can I can never say it is
a dark, dark, dark, dark, dark. Right. Yeah.
Okay. Yeah. It's it's an independent film and
media production company. Right. Yes. And you
have created some films that, you know, that
that are doing great things. Right. So your mission
I'm reading here is, you know, to bring quality
media filmmaking and content to film and television.
And one of your latest film, I believe, is A
New Life, right? Is that the latest one? Okay.
You mentioned it earlier. You had six million
streams and you won awards. Talk about that journey
from beginning to where it's at now. Yeah. Well,
I wrote the film. It's 25 years old, actually,
at this point. But I wrote it over 25 years ago.
I wrote it in 2000. And I just... At that time,
if you remember, there wasn't many great roles
for black male actors at all. Like, we were getting
good with hunting in class. Bobby was giving
us stuff that her husband wrote, you know? Yeah.
And it was so... Well, before you move on, it
was... Now that you brought that up, I was having
thoughts about that. Like, you know, I mean,
it was a great class, right? But the roles that
we were getting, I would always look at it, you
know, at the roles that she was giving us. And
it was just so like one time, you know, not one
time, multiple times I got the I'm pretty sure
you did too. The Samuel Samuel Jackson role that
and of course, we put our own spin on it. But
it's such a classic movie and population, you
know, classic role that you know, how do you
switch that from people not thinking about, you
know, Samuel Jackson and What I love about what
you're doing is you're creating these other films
that are really shining a new light on black
film and black men. And so go ahead, go ahead.
I didn't mean to... No, no, no. I'm bringing
back memories. I remember you performing and
you nailed it. that's kind of what brought my
my attention to you because I remember I was
like oh he's kind of switching it up the way
you had did it was different yeah but it worked
I mean you would come out that door and I was
like whoa you know and I remember how many times
she wanted you to play that character because
you know that's how Bobby was and Larry was the
same way he got rest his soul but you know um
with a new life I realized I said you know I
want It was at a time where there was nothing
but like gang member roles and I mean You know
to get to get something of substance for a black
male actor in the 90s, you know All the roles
went to Morris Chestnut and Taye Diggs, right?
They got all you know all the great roles So
us up -and -coming actors, you know, we in class
doing good will hunt and then you know any ethnicity
I used to hate that on auditions, all ethnicities.
And it's like, no, no, that means I'm not getting
it because they're not really looking for the
body black. They're just being inclusive. So
I wrote it, I wrote it like in three months.
It was my actual first script that I wrote by
myself. I had wrote a previous script with someone
else and I wrote it and I said, I'm going to
get this made. And I ran around meeting with
people. I gave a copy of it to Lisa Ray. I was
looking for Morris Chestnut. Everybody was like,
oh, yeah, go here. Morris Chestnut is here. And
I'd go there and wait all day. He wouldn't be
there. And then I hear, oh, yeah, Morris Chestnut
showed up. I was like, oh, man. So for years,
I was looking to get him attached to it. And
it didn't work out. So I just put it to the side.
One of the things as being a writer and being
a creative and someone who builds is you don't
stop on one project. I was telling my mom. You
know, she said, how many scripts do you have?
And I got to 10 and I was like, wait a minute,
I got more. And then I got to like 16. I was
like, how many more do I have? So I just put
it to the side. And then during, right before
COVID, 2019, which was one of the best years
for me, it was like, man, I said, I want to do
this film. I had met an actor in my class who
I was coaching, Chris Rouse. And I said, I think
you could play this role. And I think we can
make this for, you know, 100K, make it a micro
budget film. We can make it. And so we went looking
for the money and everything and then COVID hit.
Yeah. So there was no sag. We were all locked
down and my actors, you know, I took everything
online for a while, but I was like, this doesn't
work. So we said, you know what, let's just make
this film. Let's make it. You know, we have the
technology that we need, a black magic camera.
We can come out of our own pockets. Everybody
went and got wardrobe and We made the film. We
shot it in 16 days. I'll never forget. The next
day I moved back to Georgia to be with my mom
to help her out. But I took the film with me
and I edited it. It took me a couple of months
to edit it and I got distribution locked in.
That's magnificent right there. People don't
understand how, first of all, the editing process
is nuts, right? That process is nuts. You're
doing it... on your own. And then you turn around
and you get distribution. Yeah, it's a lonely.
It's editing. There's a I've met you know, I've
met more editors than DPS who said that they
they don't want to edit. I edit this. Well, I
did. I did the podcast and I outsourced it and
then I was like, let me take it back because
I didn't like, he was fine, but I wanted a different
thing and it would have cost more. So I was like,
let me bring that back. And actually I'm ready
to give it away again. Yeah. It's a lonely job.
It really is to me. It's one of the loneliest
jobs, which, you know, working with AI and putting
in prompts reminds me of that waiting for it
to render. And I'm like, nah, I'm probably gonna
always be a hands on guy. After the edit, once
I got the distribution, then there was that,
you know, getting the film ready to be released
and handling all the deliverables because it
was a no -budget film and I had to, you know,
do most of the work. That film opened up a lot
of my life for me. It just, the experiences,
I've always been blessed that the experiences
that I've had from the films that I've made have
opened up. different aspects of life for me and
gave me great experiences. Black Lightning to
Bison's Revenge took me to Cannes. You know,
A New Life got me an NAACP Image Award nomination.
So, you know, it's always funny to see people
wonder like, how did you get here? And it's like,
the work actually does it for you. Yeah, you
put the grid in. I was gonna, I'm gonna talk
about Black Lightning, but you So you were nominated
with the NAACP of image award. But then you also
got I got to have notes here. You got words.
Okay, so you got the 2024 NAACP image awards
as a nominee of that one. But then you got a
writer's award. Yes. World Entertainment, World
Entertainment. Yes. How'd you feel when you got
that man? Like, talk to me about because that's
an accolade. I mean, you put the work in, you
put the work in and you know, it is what it is,
but then you put it out and then you get an accolade
for all the work that you put in. Yeah. I mean,
if anyone tell you awards like winning awards
aren't fun, they're lying to you. Like it's always
great to, you know, we come up in a, in a culture
of wanting to win and wanting to receive of needing
to have. And I thought I didn't get it because
I was nominated. opposite someone else. And she
was in two categories. And I knew her from a
festival that we shared in Vegas, where it was
the Las Vegas Action Film Festival or something
like that for Black Lightning. So she reminded
me all the way back then. Her name's Amy McCorkle.
And they called her name when there's alphabet
writing, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Right?
And I was like, Okay, okay, Amy, you know cuz
she had told me choices and she said if I don't
win I want you to win. Yeah And I thought she
won so all of the you know, I don't get nervous
But I do get anxious and all the anxiousness
left my body and everything and I was just sitting
there I almost got up and went to the bathroom
and then they called out two other awards and
then they said for best writer choice And I forgot
that she was nominated for Best Writing Award
and Best Writer. And so I thought that she had
beat me out. But I won for Best Writer. She won
for Best Writing. And so I was just like, oh,
man. And so yeah, that was a moment. that was
a moment because you know a lot of times if you
win an award you go up on the podium you don't
get to say anything and this was the same month
that the fires happened in LA and the people
I knew was affected by it so I got to shop shop
them out and just you know I write my speeches
I don't I don't play it off the cuff because
I don't want to say the wrong thing and miss
anybody's name yeah but it was a moment for sure
it felt great well much more to come I know because
absolutely because I mean, so you started, I
know this is like your first film, was it Wingman?
Wingman Inc, yeah, that was my first feature
film. Your first feature film. And I move on,
and I'm seeing, now did you write, let me see
what I got here, did you write, what is that,
Keep the Faith? Yeah, Keep the Faith, and that's
still in the editing phase, like every year I'm
telling myself. I'm going to pull it out, blow
the dust off of it, because it still looks amazing.
I shot it well. That was when I picked the camera
up and shot it myself. And it looks amazing.
I just used the right science to keep it where
it wouldn't be lost and outdated. So that'll
come soon enough. That'll come soon enough. Black
lightning to vices of revenge. OK, so I remember
when you were posting some things about this.
I think there may be clips or shorts or something.
I was like, dang, man, he did it. He's doing
it. That's exciting. First of all, being a superstar
hero. How was that whole experience? Yeah, I
give a lot of credit to James and Black, man.
That kid, he's not a kid. He's just... he's like
my mentee and he's a younger version of me, but
on a better level when it come artistic vision.
We had just came off of doing keep the faith.
We had some special effects in there that had
VFX that had to be done in there that would have
cost us 30 ,000 that we didn't have. And so I
said, man, you know, we need to get Hollywood's
eyes on us. We need to make something that people
are going to be blown away for. Well, that was
the the horizon of superhero films. And so there
was a point where everyone was doing fan films,
a lot of fan films and getting noticed by Hollywood,
get bigger budgets for films and stuff. So I
said, well, we should do a fan film. And I'm
like, it's got to be something good. It's got
to be a hero that that nobody knows about or
seen. And so it was Black Lightning. And because
I used to read a lot of comics and and I said,
I wanted him to come in a static. So He came
in, we wrote the script together, and then we
just started shooting it. He's like, let's just
shoot it. Again, all my actors out of class.
And I said, if you get the wardrobe, you get
to be in it, I'll give you a character. And the
doors just bust open from that, right? We didn't
get a lot of attention from the industry like
we wanted. And I think a lot of that had to do
with marketing. I think if we had some money
for marketing, then maybe that would have made
a difference. But we were two years in just handling
the VFX. And the announcement for Black Lightning
TV series came out. So what we did, we were like,
we gotta be the ones to come out with it first.
We rushed and finished out half of it, put it
out as the first episode, and then finished the
second half before the series dropped and put
out the second episode. And then we made the
full... fan film out, short film, and we started
going on our festival run and we did phenomenal.
Like I say, we got to put a can that in itself,
you know, to get on a plane and go all the way
to Europe for something that you created. Yeah.
I still have a lot of pride for that. You know,
people today look at it and hit me up on YouTube
and say, this is what the show should have been.
Nice. Okay. Nice. You know, that as so it took
you it took you to to cans, cans, everyone pronounce
it right. What was that experience like being
there? You know, it was weird. I told my mom,
I say, mom, go in the can. And she was like,
whoa, Paris. And I said, I didn't say I was going
to Paris. And then I realized she wanted to go.
So I called her back and I said, do you want
to go? And so what I did was I made all these
business plans to handle while I was in Cannes,
and then I said I would take her to Paris at
the end of the week, which I did. We did like
two days in Paris, and then we came back to Cannes,
and then I finished off the leg of work. But
it was an experience. It was an experience. I
mean, people say that that's the epicenter of
getting your film made. And I'm like, uh -huh,
I wouldn't say that. Maybe at one point, you
know, because people were going in to make money
and make deals. And I met with some people when
they shook my hand and they, you know, said that
they were interested and stuff, but nothing ever
transpired from it. But I could say the same
about being here in the States, you know, no
matter how much flak I got from the film being
what it was and the awards that I won and...
the attention that I got, it still didn't open
up doors for me. So there's a point where as
a filmmaker, you say to yourself, OK, why am
I doing this? It's no different as an actor.
I've met people who were acting, had great careers
and said they wanted to quit and left and went
and did something else. You have to know why
you want to do it. And I again, my objective
or agenda, as many as they are in Hollywood,
is I want people to see black men in the positive
light. you know, even with the negativity that
could be in a character, that there is a redemptive
theme revolving around it. And so I think I did
that for Black Lightning, you know? And I got
a lot of applause from people who know the real
character of Black Lightning because they say
your interpretation. You know, I'll tell you,
the greatest gift that I got was someone made
up a mock -up of Black Lightning in different
platforms. Black Lightning the TV show, Black
Lightning my fan film, Black Lightning the video
game, Black Lightning the comic. And I was like,
wow, that almost brought a tear to my eye because
I'll be known as Black Lightning. Nice. They
had two questions that just went split just like
that in my head, man. One, the first question
is, why is it important to you? And I would have
my own answer and I can probably think of what
you're going to say, but Why is it important
to you to produce film that put Black men in
a positive light in a different level of what's
been shown in the past? Yeah, listen, we're not
perfect by any means. I mean, you know, a man
in a suit has the same pain and energy and love
and desire as a man in a durag and jeans hanging
around his behind, but... The difference is that
the world sees us a specific way. And I'll tell
you this, I'll segue this right into my trip
to Cannes. When I went to Cannes, when you get
off at Heathrow and you go and you take another
plane, and then when you get off, you go into
Germany before you go take another plane. And
in Germany, when you go through the... the customs
area, the men, the German men sit above up on
these platforms and they look down at you. That's
just the way they made it. I don't know if it's
still like that, but it was like that for me
in 2017. And they look down on you. And basically
what happens is they give, especially I noticed
is that how they were treating black men in particular.
When they were walking up to that and they would
look at you like passport, you know You put it
up there and they look at it and they look at
you, you know with an arm like, you know German
guy, you know, and then for me my passport says
choice James Harrell Skinner. So he took James
Skinner and he looked up on the phone and he
said he didn't see he looked up on his personal
phone and said you don't see any You don't see
and I'm like, oh you put in James can you got
to put in choice Skinner? And he puts in choice
get it and you know five pages of Google show
up for me, and he was like oh You know because
I told him I said I'm going to can I'm a director
and that's when he picked up the phone It was
like you ain't no director. Yeah, and then that's
when I told him and I kept telling my mom cuz
she's like that's right my son blacklight and
I said don't say nothing Several times that I've
been overseas You know, another time when I did
a film, I did a film called Transylvania, and
they flew me over. I was the American stunt team
coordinator, and I flew over there, and I went
out of my hotel. I went on to the store. It was
nighttime, and I'm walking past these Romanian
kids. It's a group of about six of them. In my
mind, you know, I'm like, oh, man, I had on my
bomber, my boots. You know, I'm East Coast minded
at that point. It's cold, snowing, and I'm like,
these cats want to try something. You know, I'm
ready for them, right? And one of them looks
at me, he goes, throws his arms up, because I
said, I know they're gonna say something to me.
He recognized that I was an American, because
when you're overseas, they'll go African, or
they'll say French, because, you know, they'll
think that, you know, we have black people over
there. And he said, nigga, my nigga. And I said,
what? And he was like, take me with you to America.
And he thought my response was gonna be, yo,
MTV. He thought my response was going to be BET.
And I said, see, this is why I do what I do.
He didn't come and say, let's work together and
make some money. He said, he wanted to go and
party. He wanted to go over and hang out, see
some girls. And I said, nah, man. I was like,
hey. I gave him a hug and everything. All of
them. It was like three girls and four boys.
And I was like, wow. I said, so this is why I
do what I do. Because the world sees us as how
America portrays us. Yeah, and America itself
is a strong power in the world. The most influential.
And we as a whole black people are the most influential
culture on the planet. So if you see the negative
aspect of who we are more than you see any form
of positivity, that's how their perception is.
They can't help it. That's just the way it is.
When you're over in other countries, the television
that they play is usually either old or late,
or the channels that are out there. So if the
channel that they get is MTV, and who we are
on MTV, they see us that way, that's how they're
gonna perceive us. That's how they're gonna perceive
us, yeah. Yeah, I didn't have an experience like
that over there, but you could tell. the perception
that they have of us. And your guy, his introduction
to you was, why? Yeah. He thought he had the
right because of the information that was fed
to him. And he wasn't mean in it. I could tell
genuine energy. It was very genuine, you know?
And he meant well by it. He meant well by it.
Now, obviously, I'm not the type of person to
be moved by words. And so I can read it quick.
I'm just like, as long as my life is not in jeopardy,
we good. But a couple of hugs and some handshakes
that they wanted, and I'm on my way. They wanted
to go. to new york many wanted to you know listen
to the rappers and smoke weed and that's wild
that is wild are from hawaii you know i was like
yeah i wouldn't know where the plug is at i'm
like hey man you got the wrong one bro um that's
wild but completely believable oh my god so you
you have this company and you're doing you're
putting out this great product these good products
um What's your what's your hope for for your
for your your company and how it affects the
future? Yeah. Um, yeah, lately, I've been more
into empowering others. I think the future and
I tell this to people because I said I'm investing,
you know, I believe a real investment is never
in the idea or the product, but it's in the people
behind the idea. And so the reason why you see
companies go under or people go under a lot is
because they don't create a strong web. They
create networks, but never strong webs. And so
I've been investing a lot of my energy and time
into people who I see great qualities that I
know will keep moving things. You know, with
Darkhound Entertainment, I want to eventually
get to a point where I'm doing two films a year.
And it doesn't have to be me directing or uh,
me producing, you know, I can empower someone
else. I think that's where things will start
to change. Um, you see that happening in some
of these other people's, uh, uh, briefs lately
there, there, but is it genuine, you know, see
the thing is, is you don't want to control so
much the people who are making stuff. You want
to empower them and, and, and inform them that
there is power in media. And so for me, all of
the films that I have lined up, whether it's
sci -fi. I mean, I've been... It's weird. I constantly
get pushed into making comedies, man. You know,
it's like, I want to do some action so bad, I
got a film called And Then You Die. You know,
at the beginning of this year, there were people
interested, financial people, and all of that.
fell through once the fires happened. So, Jamal
Lewis, who's the star of it, he and I have been
running around asking people about it. But then
this other film that I wrote with two other actors,
the Fincher Cousins, Dylan Fincher and Willis
Fincher, they have like a Seth Rogen, Judd Apatow
type of sense of humor. So I got with them, we
wrote the script and we're shooting at September.
You know, for me, I want to, the hope, you said,
is to be able to have the financial means to
either make micro budget films or to move up
to another level where I'm making films, you
know, five million and under. That would be sublime
because then there's stories that I'd love to
tell. The Henry Johnson story, the story about
Henry Johnson from the Harlem Hill Fighters.
You know, people don't know the G .I. Joe, the
actual G .I. Joe figure, the doll. was based
off of Henry Johnson. See, I didn't, the name
was like, I've heard the name before, but okay.
So that's what I think is so important man those
stories actually being out in the world so people
can actually Get that kind of history. Yeah see
so much more of who we are because we are intellectual
We we do provide for our families. We do love
our families. We do You know strive to be articulate.
We strive to be mentally apt You know what I
mean? And mentally informed. You know, we do
have conversations of brilliance. It's not just,
you know, I mean, you know, cats cut up sometimes.
They do their things, but we're professional,
no different than any other culture. We are professional.
And I want people to see that. And we are sacrificial.
in a sense of we'll do what it takes to take
care of our families. We're not just deadbeat
dads. We're not just thugs as they see us. And
it's a battle. It's a battle because a lot of
times the culture themselves don't want to see
it. They'll take muck before they'll take anything
inspirational. You see Ryan Kugler and Michael
B. Jordan making something like Sinners which
had history in it and it showed. people coming
together and doing certain types of things, even
though it was a horror. Yeah, you know, who wouldn't
want to do that kill two birds with one stone,
you're entertaining the masses. And you're giving
a great message. Yeah, one of the biggest film
of the year, mostly doing better than these other
films that cost more money. Right. And giving
them some education. Absolutely. Yeah. Well,
I mean, I see big things on the horizon for you.
And are you working? You just named one of the
films that you're working on? Was there something
else that that looked up that you had going on
as well? Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mentioned it, then
you die. You know, it's ready to go. We're still
just working on locking in some finance for that.
But until that happens, again, I didn't want
to leave out 2025 without making something. Every
year I make something, whether it's a short or
a feature. And I'd rather be able to make two
features a year. But this year, I said, OK, well,
we're in a in the third quarter going into the
fourth quarter. I says, well, September, I'm
going to, I have a whole bunch of companies already
sponsoring me, providing me with the tools that's
needed. I have the tools, we don't have the money,
but we have the tools and I have the talent that
I've coached. And so we're just gonna get together
and we're just gonna make it. And we're gonna
shoot when we can. I mean, if it's three days
and... Chunks and that's what we'll do and we'll
find you know, $100 here $50 ,000 there whatever
happens happens Yeah, but the objective is to
have a completed feature film that is compatible
in the market to go theatrical. Yeah Not just
to say oh, we're gonna go it on to be and that's
great if you do that But you still gotta have
a great marketing plan the films that people
talk about the most More people gravitate to
and see there's a level of importance, right?
It's like going up to the nightclub if they don't
know you you're standing out front like everybody
else So for me With this film. I know that I
have to make it so good that it looks like a
film that was made for two million dollars and
then a strong marketing plan but that we're starting
on that now and with some of the sponsors they're
excited and they're seeing you know but I learned
all of this from a new life you know again like
I was telling someone yesterday I said listen
my film has six million views that's nothing
there's nine almost nine billion people on the
planet and they haven't all seen it yeah yeah
so that's how my mind works you know everybody's
gonna see it And I tell people, when you make
something, if you make a short, know that there's
a two to three year process with that short.
And if you make a feature, there's a three to
four year process. I'm still now online, people
say, what's good to watch? A new life. And I
put the poster in their comments. And that's
why I say Facebook is still important because
there's a lot of people on Facebook groups. that
are still communicating that way. Some people
don't like Instagram or TikTok. I'm barely on
TikTok. I do it because I have a post, but I'm
barely on there. It's fast. It's fast. Well,
one of my aims, I don't know, it's more of a
five, six, seven year aim is why I'm so driven
in my own business and my company and building
it is because I want to be an investor. in film,
because that is my first love. That is my love,
you know? But I saw a bigger picture for me to
be able to support arts and entertainment, and
that's what I'm working on. But, you know, if
a role does come this way. Well, you know, when
you reached out to me, that's when I said, you
know, I'm planning on shooting and then you die
in Atlanta. So it's nothing for you to come on
through and grace the screen with your presence.
You know, you know, what's a great actor, great
actor. I don't believe in rust. People say, oh,
I'm rusty. I'm like, there's no such thing. You
know, I had an actor, he took two years off and
went and toured and backpacked across Europe
and came right back and went right to work. I'm
like, That wouldn't happen back in the 90s. You
disappear. That's it. You don't know, but I guess
he found himself brother. I'm happy for you.
So, you know, it's just like, you know, it's
bad. Once you get when you got balance, once
you once you get balance, you got it. You can't
lose it. You know, man, I think that's the same
thing with acting. And this has been an incredible
conversation with you. I mean, I don't want to
quit, but we're past the hour. But, you know,
this has been tremendous to catch up with you
to see what's going on with you to see that,
you know, you're, you're, you're built, you're
continually building, you're thriving, and you're
doing magnificent things in the world. Not only
for yourself, but for people. And you're you've
always been that being supporter of people. And
you're still coaching. Yeah, we have class every
Monday night. The class is be dark for the month
of September, because most of those actors are
in the movie. So if you're doing your job. Yeah.
I mean, I'm very big on giving people an opportunity.
And I'm a firm believer of in word and deed.
That's something that I use a lot. People need
to take account of that. When people say, you
know, I care about you, I love you. but they
go and they jump in their Ferrari and drive off
and you're still waiting on the bus. Do they
really care? I never forget this gave me a ride
one night. I didn't have a way home at the class
and I never forget that. Never forget that. And
we used to get out late. We used to get out like
3 o 'clock in the morning and I was like. The
class was an amazing class that night. Bobby,
for whatever reason, it was a big class. I think
it was a Tuesday night. Everybody wanted to get
on on Thursday because there were some agencies
coming. And so it was a crowded night. We didn't
get to do our scenes till late. And we stayed
till the bitter end. And I was like, the buses
aren't running. And this was before the age of
having cell phone technology where you can, you
know, text someone to call. That long before
I was four. You remember that? And I said, there
is no one to call. And everybody else who I would
have asked left. And I was like, there's no way
I can walk to where I stay. It was like... in
the morning. It was like, meet you and two other
girls, I think. And they were driving together.
And I was like, I don't want to ask them, because
I think one of them think I want to hit on them.
And then I was like, maybe this brother will.
And I asked you. You was like, yeah, come on.
And I tell that story to my actors still to this
day. I said, people have no idea of the power
that they have over a moment. Cause you could
have been like, nah, I gotta go to work. I'm
sorry. That's too far off. You took me home and
I never forget that. You know, I mean, but that's
the kind of energy that you have and that's what
you give as well. And, you know, again, man,
I'm just really excited about where you are in
life and what you're continuing to do. Um, as
your last words on this podcast this time, and
what's on your heart when your mind that you
would like to share? Yeah, I think, um, Persistence
is key. I think what I've learned personally
because people ask me, do you have moments of
doubt? And I said, no, those moments are gone.
Like I don't doubt anything anymore. But what
I realized is that am I in the moment? And like
truly, you know, when you're in acting class,
a class can say acting is about moments, living
realistically and truthfully and honestly in
a moment. I take it further than that. It's like,
what does this moment do for me? when I'm going
to be 70, if I live that long. And I'm seeing
by myself, is it going to be a fond memory? Is
it going to be something that I flippantly just
didn't pay attention to? Or is it going to be
something that really matters to my heart? And
I'm learning to live moments like that. And I
think if anybody's watching this, learn to do
that. Like not stop and smell the roses because...
You know, you can stop swirl roses and the dog
pisses on I'm saying in itself because it's where
it starts Are you are you really in the moments?
You know, are you are you really present? And
uh That that's what i'd leave Because I don't
really want anything like people say what do
you want? I don't want anything like I yeah I
want to make movies obviously, but if it doesn't
get made Well, um, there's nothing out of life
that I want Um, and I feel like I am already
successful. I don't believe in money as being
the gauge of success. I only do not believe that
if you showed up and you did what you say you're
going to do, you were successful. You are successful.
You made it a day. Some people didn't, you know,
and so I would leave with that. Just, you know,
being in the moment, like truly being in the
moment, being present and appreciate in the moment,
no matter how bad you may feel things are. Yeah.
Good word. Good word. Choice, we're going to
put all your information below, but how do people
get in contact with you? How do investors give
you money so you can produce your films that
you want to get produced? Absolutely. If you're
watching, you got some money. Hit me up. Let's
make something happen. You can reach me at Instagram.
Darkon2000, D -A -R -K -A -N -2000. On my YouTube
is DarkonENT. My Twitter is DarkonENT. Yes, I'm
still on there too. D -A -R -K -A -N -E -N -T.
My TikTok is Darkon2000. And my Facebook is ChoiceJSkinner.
You can go to my website as well. DarkonENT .com.
D -A -R -K -A -N -E -N -T dot com. Perfect. And
our quiz. And I'm on LinkedIn. That's not pushing
LinkedIn more. LinkedIn, yeah. I got a lot of
good things. Just look for Choice Skinner. I'm
on it. I converse daily with people. Nice. All
right. And we'll put all the information in the
description below. And the question of the day
is, what's one bold move you're making this year?
to own your voice or build your purpose -driven
path like Choice has done and is doing. And as
we always say around this time, let's make thriving
our new normal, and we'll talk to you next week.