We were lucky to catch up with John Torrence recently and have shared our conversation below.

John, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

The biggest risk that I took was moving to New York City back in 2016.

I landed an event job at a media company however I didn’t have enough to move into an apartment immediately so I slept on a friends couch for an entire month before I could find an apartment. The first apartment I moved into I had two other roommates however, I was ok with that because I really wanted to experience the New York City life which is taking the subway to work, plan events for a media company, and play basketball in the New York Pride Basketball League.

It took me 7 years and over 100+ job interviews until I landed that dream job and live in my dream city.

John, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I was born and raised by a single mother in Wilmington, Delaware, I grew up as an only child and played high school varsity basketball. As an openly gay teenage athlete I was forced to become the strong, driven Black man I am today.

My love for media came at an early age reading my mother’s subscriptions to Essence, Ebony, and JET, which came in the mail every month, and listening to both Tom Joyner and Wendy Williams radio shows every morning on the way to school. This led me to pursue
and receive a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communications with a concentration in Print Journalism from Delaware State University and a Master of Fine Arts in Publishing with a concentration in Sales and Marketing from Rosemont College.

For over 10 years I’ve worked with B2B and consumer media brands, as well as privately held corporations such as Bloomberg, Seramount (formerly Working Mother Media), PEI Media, and North American Publishing Company as an event planner and strategist specializing
in operational and logistics management within the business, finance, and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) industries.

Beyond my corporate career, I’ve been using my passion for media to create In My B.A.G. Listed on FeedSpots Top 45 Gay Podcast, In My B.A.G. amplifies voices of the Black gay/queer community through engaging interview conversations that dive into topics across
culture, sports, business, and entertainment with creatives, corporate professionals, and community advocates.

As an openly gay athlete with my passion for both professional growth and LGBTQ+ advocacy, I currently serve on the Board for the United States Pride Basketball Association (USPBA) as its Chief Marketing Officer (CMO).

My role is to advocate for inclusivity and promote the importance of sports within the LGBTQ+ community.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being a creative to me is giving myself the opportunity to do whatever I feel like doing, and not Pigeonholing myself. When it comes to my podcast, I can do whatever I want with it, there is nobody telling me “I need to do this” “I need to do that”. I can say what I want to say, and do what I want to do with it.

When you work in a 9-5, majority of the time you don’t have freedom to express your creativity due to corporate protocols, so my podcast gives me the outlet to be creative as far as designing the marketing materials, producing sponsor commercials and etc.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

What society can do to support creatives is really just “Show Up”. Whether it’s downloading a podcast, buying tickets for a concert or art show, or simply sharing a post from the creative/artist. Showing up and supporting comes a long way.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @IamJTruth
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-torrence-mfa-b7ab181a/
• Other: Podcast Linkhttps://linktr.ee/inmybag_podcast?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAaZxzS-YuZ66leu0hVnH0bRlCR-0zl6o_O1KrdRhFrmwK2CHEy-Pq2_A1NA_aem_Uwpi22DqgW3jNjwsKuo7Mg