We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Anthony Johnson a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Anthony, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Naming anything – including a business – is so hard. Right? What’s the story behind how you came up with the name of your brand?

Onyx Productions Media, LLC
In high school when it was time to choose junior rings, I was going through the pamphlet of the various stones. Even though the garnet is my birth stone for some reason the onyx stone stood out to me, the color and the name.
Fast forward to couple years later and a new platform started, instagram. When I was setting up my profile I was going back and forth with what name to choose that I would stick with. So I came up with aj_onyx which is my initials and the name of the black stone I liked back in high school. Fast forward to current day, the name onyx has become my brand. Onyx Productions Media is the parent company for my photography business, and my men’s jewelry line, Onyx Lynx.
When building a brand it’s important to choose words or phrase that will stick and actually make sense. So, onyx has stuck with me ever since to the point where that’s my nick name for certain people.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am a creative and determined individual who enjoys culture, music, food, and everything entrepreneurship.
With my Jamaican background, it was inevitable for me to have many jobs. My educational background is in Health Services Administration and Health Science, I graduated from FIU with a bachelor and master degree, then later went on to attain my doctorate from Nova Southeastern University before the age of 30 which was a big goal for me.
I’ve worked within hospital care, public health, federal government, and higher education.
I’m big on entrepreneurship and being your own boss, I am owner of Onyx Lynx a premium quality men’s jewelry line and a photographer with Onyx Productions.
I am a firm believer on giving back to the community and participating in panel discussions to connect with young driven students who are interested in my career path. All in all, one thing is share is that it’s okay to pivot into something new that interest you and to never be afraid to start over whenever you need to. My overall career path and business interests are definitely a testament to that.

Have you ever had to pivot?

Upon graduating with my doctorate in health science, like many other the job search was quite difficult and discouraging at times. I had a terminal degree with no job, why wasn’t I getting hired? So I decided to try higher education being that I was passionate about education and mentorship. This would be a great opportunity for me to be able to connect with students and share my story. I was hired as a Professor of Health Management and now serve as the Department Chair for the program. I pictured myself in a hospital working with administration, but with me pivoting into higher education, it allows me to not only give back and share my experiences and knowledge with aspirational students but also gain transferable skills overall.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

During college, like many students, I was trying to figure out what my plan was and what I wanted to study. I went from a biology major to a psychology major then later on declaring a health services administration major. Once solidified, I gave myself a goal to complete a doctorate degree before the age of 30, I conferred and graduated at the age of 29. 10 years of schooling really paid off because now I am able to venture into so many other interests, entrepreneurial ideas, hobbies, travel or even go back to school if I want to. Sticking to your plan and not giving up no matter how rocky the path may be, it will always pays off.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://onyxlynxshop.com
• Instagram: aj_onyx, onyxlynxshop, onyxproductions
• Twitter: aj_onyx

Image Credits

Onyx productions