Today we’d like to introduce you to Damian Hendrix.
Hi Damian, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
My name is Damian Hendrix but you can call me “Hendrix” and I started in the photography and videography field as an indie business back in 2016. Although I’ve held other production-based jobs over the years prior, it was then that I decided to go full-time with creating and documenting with photos and video.
As a child, I used to sneak and watch Rap City w/ Big Tiggah and 106 & Park on BET. That vibe and the energy of the raw talent that came through the show were amazing and it all felt like a family type of environment. That was my motivation to create the segment “Open Stage” on The Black Element. Open Stage is a series that highlights random artists from various communities and we highlight their talent by allowing them to perform a song or auditory creative piece for our viewers.
Talent that has participated created in genres such as hip-hop, spoken word poetry, R&B, even gospel, and much more. We are completely in the grassroots stage right now. Everything that we have on set has come out of our pocket as we don’t charge for the opportunity. I do this for the community and the culture.
I call it my passion project and it makes me happy by creating these opportunities for the artists and creatives.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
So I primarily operate another business, Shot By Hendrix. This is a creative agency that provides photography and videography to individuals, and businesses, and we have an expanding presence in the wedding industry.
I actually had the pleasure to have my story highlighted with Voyage about that venture previously. The main struggle I have is trying to niche down to one segment/show at all times to effectively create engaging content for our viewers.
I don’t consider too many things as struggles, because I feel these are experiences that create a great success story.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I specialize in creating a platform for highlighting the growth, success, and entertainment of the culture. The culture includes the diverse ethnic, socioeconomic, and lifestyle groups that do not have a voice or a means to see other people within their community broadcasted in a positive light regarding their creative voices and other various talents and businesses.
I have been known recently as the guy who believes in the music scene and gives opportunities to artists that have no budget because of my love for the music and creative arts scene in the community. I’m proud of the progress that we have made in such a short time. I started out with zero followers and as of the time of this article, it’s almost 250. I hope to exceed that exponentially over the next few weeks, months, and years.
I think what sets me apart from the others is the non-competitive environment with other people that do or attempt to do what I do. If anything I wake up every day to complete myself from the previous day. A quote that I live firmly by is “There is no traffic when you stay in your own lane.“
Who else deserves credit in your story?
I always like to shout out to my family and friends for believing in the vision before I even did it.
That’s rare because a lot of times in life people do t support the journey until you have already made it. I would definitely like to give thanks to Shanice who pushed me from the very beginning of my journey to even get started.
My squad Shaka, Jeff, and Cecil constantly contribute to the vision by bouncing thoughts and critique when I ask for it, so far I’m like 10/10 which means I haven’t had much error. That’s great!
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: https://www.ourblackelement.com/openstage
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_black_element/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theblackelementshow
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCZhmxuErj9dcOe2zmrGGvIw
