We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Chris “Slade” Johnson a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Chris “Slade” thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?
The story behind the mission of The Influence Crew began with a need to bring different and more relevant events and content to the city of Jacksonville, Florida. Flying Write was added as a way to create content and distribute original artistic images and events to the city of Jacksonville and beyond. The mission has remained the same since the brand’s creation in 2017 and we have never strayed away from our mission and movement. We are bringing cultural awareness to a city that has been creating amazing content for decades. It’s now time for our movements to be seen and heard.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Hey. I am Chris “Slade” Johnson, Founder and CEO of The Influence Crew, LLC and Flying Write, which are both media companies centered around the advancement of African American young professionals in Jacksonville, Florida. The Influence Crew’s mission was birthed out of necessity to create a cultural impact in the city of Jacksonville. Our goal is to enhance the young professional community and redefine it by displaying African American culture through social events and other media content. We plan to facilitate great events, that also spread true awareness to a needed cause. Our focus is not only to impact the community with social events and media, but also to participate in community events that serve people in need. Whether it is book drives, events for voting, or back to school activities for the youth, we want to bring action that is not normally seen in the Jacksonville community from young professionals. The definition of influence is the capacity to have an effect on the character, development, or behavior of someone or something, or the effect itself. We feel with community support we can be the positive effect everyone wants to see in the city. This is for all cultural individuals who aspire to Influence positive messages.
Flying Write is a subsidiary company of The Influence Crew, LLC. The mission of Flying Write is to create and publish events, artistic media content, music, art, and fashion that will set Jacksonville apart from other areas in the country. Flying Write partners with Trey Ford to present Culture Lounge, an event every Thursday at The Cookbook Restaurant created to highlight African American entrepreneurs, artists, writers, creatives and public figures in the city of Jacksonville. Culture Lounge has since published a book titled “Ten Toes Down” that spotlights premier creatives and entrepreneurs in Jacksonville. Flying Write also has a music division that serves to promote artists, create content, publish and distribute music and hold events that contribute to the artistic community. Flying Write has recently released two musical projects on every streaming platform titled “Ready” and “The PARTY” that have gotten high acclaim from creative peers and industry runners in the city. There are multiple visuals that accompany the projects and in August one of the videos titled “DEMAND X CROWN” was selected in the LOL JAX Film Festival of JAX NEXT 100 to be screened by a wide audience in Downtown Jacksonville. Flying Write is another major piece to the puzzle of creating and pushing the arts forward in this cultural movement.
I created these brands and implemented them in 2017 starting with Jax Juneteenth, an event celebration that is also an annual observance on June 19 to remember when Union soldiers enforced the Emancipation Proclamation and freed all remaining slaves in Texas on June 19, 1865. This day is an opportunity for people to celebrate freedom and equal rights in the United States. This year was our 6th year holding the event in Downtown Jacksonville, and we are sure year 7 will definitely be the biggest year ever. Impacting culture in any city is very difficult, but with tenacity, a great team and the will to change the current environment, a movement can be born that will lead to positive cultural change. This is just the beginning.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
Yes, besides being an entrepreneur and artist, I am also an educator for Duval County Public Schools and I’m currently in graduate school in pursuit of my doctorate in Educational Leadership. This causes me to pivot quite a bit as I juggle multiple items and tasks in order to accomplish my goals. Most entrepreneurs or artists devote most, if not all, their time to succeeding in their craft. Multi tasking can become incredibly difficult at times, yet I know achieving the end goal will be extremely rewarding, as I attempt to successfully create my future.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
One lesson I was forced to unlearn is that everyone remains loyal in business. I was under the impression that most entrepreneurs and creatives were in the business to network and increase their value with others as a team with the same goals in my mind. I learned very quickly that most times it is not the case. I had to learn to protect my ideas and resources because those people you think are helping, are really just watching and learning how to get ahead of what you are doing in order to gain more for themselves. This is a lesson many learn, but I am sure I learned it the hard way. However, it serves to strengthen character and prompts you to make better decisions about those you keep around. There are many hard lessons in this industry, but learning from the mistakes, correcting them, and moving forward is the only option if you truly want to be successful.
Contact Info:
- Website: theinfluencecrew.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theinfluencecrew/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theinfluencecrew
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-%E2%80%9Cslade%E2%80%9D-johnson-15554a23/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/Influence_Crew
- Youtube: https://youtu.be/7doNHsHyJ6k
- Other: https://linktr.ee/flyingwrite_