We were lucky to catch up with Da’ante Bowman recently and have shared our conversation below.
Da’Ante , appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.
Thank you for having me, The most meaningful project up to date is the one that I’m currently working on getting developed which Is my TV show “The Island of Misfitz”. I have just finished writing the full season and started the process of reaching out to donors, investors, and anyone willing to donate to its fully funded development by creating a Kick-starter -https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/theislandofmisfitz/the-island-of-misfitz. We hope to reach our goal of funding the season of 50k.
This is one of my most meaningful projects due to the fact of what the show represents. It’s a series about self-discovery and rediscovery of who we are as people through the lens of the artist. As an Artist, I believe that we have a unique outlook and journey that is different than most. We live in constant delusion and fear of running out of time. In the show, I pull from my own experience as a kid being 17 with a dream from a small town and hopes of one day making it to Los Angeles to a 27-year-old Artist navigating life and the pursuit of the dream. I wanted to tell a story not only about someone chasing their dream but what the journey along the way looks like.
For me, as an artist, the road has been hard, lonely, and full of ups and mostly downs. I wanted to stay true to the hustle and essence of what it feels and looks like to pack up and move across the world with no support, no money, and 2 suitcases. I want anyone who has ever had a dream, been told no, lost their way, or thought about giving up because of fear to watch this show and find a character they relate with.
This show just doesn’t impact a local audience but the goal is for it to reach the world because I believe everyone alive has a dream, whether it be big or small. Everyone has a story being told in “The Island of Misfitz” that forces them to reflect and hopefully inspires them in their journey that they are not alone.
Backstory in writing This story came about during COVID-19, I was alone in my Hollywood apartment during quarantine just reflecting and asking myself who I am and what it is I’m searching for. The answer scared me because I didn’t have one. I was only ever focused on being an artist. I never bothered to see myself as anything else. I started to think about the Journey from 17 – 25 and realized so much time had passed and so many experiences have shaped me into the person that I am today. From moving to 3 different states in a year to being homeless and sleeping in a dance studio I taught at, to thinking about joining the military because I had no money, and eventually giving up going back home to Kentucky to live with my mom. I felt defeated and lost. I looked at myself like a failure, that I was going to be one of those people who tells everyone he’s going to chase his dreams no matter what, and then “the what” comes and he crumbles.
I hated myself for that but something in me forced me not to give up instead I prayed to God and asked for guidance and wisdom, and I reflected and decided to turn my pain into art. I began to type the first draft of the concept of “The Island of Misfitz” which I had based on a high school creative paper of mine I wrote about a group of kids from different walks of life coming together as they find themselves in a world not fit for people like them.
The reason I feel so connected to this story is because it’s mine. I am Courtnee Larkins, every artist is as well. I wanted to write something so relatable yet inspiring and also heavy because nowadays we don’t talk about the real stuff that keeps us human anymore.
As a Writer and Director, I want my Films and TV shows to reflect the times. I want to impact and influence change in the best way I can through multiple genres. By telling stories of People of color, about faith and sexuality, Injustice, and the things left unsaid. I have an approach to film as pushing the boundary of what is moral and what isn’t, How we got here, and where we are going. I ask the questions through my writing that make you think about humanity and what type of human you are.
My message to any Artist is that “Your perspective and outlook on life is unique and tailor-made just for you, giving you the ability to share and when you do share your art it’s from your lens and that is worth more than gold. So always tell your story because the right people will come to back it and support you along the way because they understand”
Da’Ante , 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?
My name is Da’Ante Bowman it’s said like (Day-on- Tay). I’m from a small town called “Madisonville, Kentucky” and I’ve been living in Los Angeles chasing my dreams as an artist on and off for the last 4 years but 8 in total since I bought a 3-day greyhound ticket to LA right after High school. When I say the journey has been crazy trust me. I am currently in film school graduating in a couple of months and one of my goals is to finish my TV “The Island of Misfitz” developed. Follow me on Instagram @Daantes_inferno, to see updates on the process and to get to know me. Always welcoming new energies and connections along the way.
A little bit about me and how all this started back in 2015. I was a senior in high school and I played basketball. I started varsity and was a real athlete thinking about college ball and having “Hoop Dreams”, but all that came crashing down after an injury my Junior year that swayed me from playing. Although I was healed and starting again it wasn’t the same. That year I started to really have trouble with my identity, I wanted to be myself but I had been living a lie for so long that I didn’t know who I was.
Over a break I decided to come out, I had my sister write the words “I’m bi” on my chest to ease the blow of knowing I was gay but for people’s sake Bi was easier. So I came out. It was then that the feeling of being able to be my authentic self pushed me into an era of self-discovery. I wanted to be Da’Ante without anyone else’s influence but my own and I did. Later that year I joined my High school dance team. High Voltage and became the first Male dancer ever to be on the team. It was a dream come true because, for the first time in my life, I did something that I wanted to do. I asked no one for their opinion I just acted and it paid off.
The power that gave me to be myself was insane and that came from me dancing and expressing myself in a new way. So being an artist turned into the way I can truly express my mind, and who I am and just be unapologetic about it. Dance and art gave me my voice.
At nationals, we performed and got a standing ovation. The crowd, the girls, and the coaches all smiled around my team. I loved it but my favorite part was a little boy running up to me and hugged me saying he wanted to dance like me one day. it felt amazing because at first, I got a lot of pushback from being from a small town that doesn’t see a lot of people living their truth. I became a trailblazer just for honoring me and that became my life’s goal. To continue to inspire the world by being authentic and transparent while creating from my imagination.
The mission is to make movies, and break into Hollywood because they need a strong black male voice like me to inspire other Brown boys that just because we come from humble beginnings doesn’t mean we can’t make a huge impact on the world as I intend to do.
I’m inspired by life, the many people living in the world inspire me daily as everyone has a story and I think the love for it just draws me to wanting to know it. There are so many people to meet so many things to learn and so much about myself I still have yet to know. I think the one thing we have in this world is our stories. The impact storytelling has had on the world for years is how we have our foundation. I think at the end of the day besides all the material things our stories and perspectives are worth gold and that’s what I want my artistry to reflect.
I come from a single-mother household, we were homeless countless times, had money problems, my parents fought more than they loved and I’ve seen so many crazy things that a child shouldn’t be exposed to but I think it made me the person that I am today. A strong, adaptable, relatable, inspiring, bold, kindhearted, and loving human who just wants to create.
I learned a lot from my childhood about struggling but in the end, I think God used that to mold me into this impenetrable human that goes so hard for his dreams and change in the world which makes me a force to be reckoned with. I am a freak of nature. A powerful being in this world with real-life influence. Anyone who meets me will tell you I’m inspiring or have inspired them in some way. It’s not even me it’s my heart and the light that lives inside me. I’ve been that way since I was a kid.
I want to say thank you for reading this and thank you for just being humans who want to honor stories and people like me.
To anyone out there who would like to donate to my cause and if you feel inspired to be a part of the development of “The Island of Mifitz” and any of my future projects please don’t hesitate to reach out.
My email is: [email protected]
Donate if you can: Cash app: @daantebow23 Venmo: @Daante-Wilson. Zelle: [email protected]
Thank you in advance to everyone who supports and joins the family.
Welcome to the Island of Misfitz!!!!
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
I love to tell this story because a lot can change in a year just by your decision and what you feed your soul. I was in Denver, Colorado. I just got fired from my job but to how I handled it they sent me to another at a different location. Texas.
I had no desire to go to Texas but I felt that immediately when I got there it made sense. I started teaching for the first time my own Choreography and my classes were sold out and I had so many dancers wanting to learn from me. It was all I’ve ever wanted. At some point, I quit my job prematurely thinking that I could just dance because things were going so well. Next thing you know a dry spell happened and no money was coming from dance. So I had to pivot. It just wasn’t working out for me. I soon lost my apartment, got evicted, and ended up having to sleep in my car. I was alone I didn’t know anyone and I was at rock bottom again. I prayed for help. I cried in my car which wasn’t mine but given to me by kind people for the time being.
Alone with my dog Zukko, sleeping in my car I just felt life crashing down. I started to sleep in the dance studio after the classes I taught. I would say goodbye to everyone and watch as the last person left to just go back inside and sleep on the floor. Every night I fought the thought of giving up. I was broken and my students started to see it. I decided to use my pain and what I was going through and turn into an inside of my artistry called ” Step into the inferno” -https://youtu.be/v8jiBY8jQwU?si=0o3gwpxnDSXr4jKe which became a way for me to express with the students who believed in me and supported me. A beautiful moment that taught me that people are willing to help you and sometimes you have to be okay with letting them.
I fought so hard to do it on my own. I didn’t want to be a burden to another. So I stuck it out for the longest. I taught at a YMCA program just to shower, I didn’t eat and when I did I fed most of it to my dog. I slept in the studio and then outside in the parking lot. During that time I was so lost that I wanted to give up and I told myself if I ever got there I would join the military.
So I went to a recruiting meeting and got signed up. I was so close to signing my life away and leaving the creative world behind but a miracle happened. Right before, I went into the office to sign I sat in my car close my eyes, and prayed. I said, “God please if this isn’t what I’m supposed to do then disrupt my plans and reroute me”. I went into the meeting and as I talked they told me that my paperwork had an era and it would take a minute to be reversed. I walked out and smiled and I knew that My journey wasn’t over and that I couldn’t give up. That I had to keep going. So I decided to go back to Kentucky to reset and re-plan.
While I was home I felt defeated and found myself depressed because I was looking at my life on IG and seeing my friends do amazing things and there I was living back at home in my mom’s place sleeping on my little sister’s bed. That is when I started to write my book “Hello, Fear My Old Friend” and “The Island of Misfitz” and a song called “Ghost” about everything I was experiencing in the moment. I’ll drop the links below for you to listen.
During that time I started to just pour my heart out because it was all I had left. I ended up moving to Louisville with A dear friend and got a job for a moment the spark left while working but one day I got sick out of nowhere and during my time being sick a friend from LA texted me and asked when I was coming back because I belonged in LA. I looked up flights and prayed that they were cheap and luckily one was $192.72 and immediately I asked God again I said ” Please allow me to have enough just to get there this time I’m walking behind you”. I looked in my bank account for $200 and I bought the flight and left the next couple of days.
I made it back to LA on January 1st, 2023, and have been hitting the ground running ever since. I tell this story to say that when you walk behind God instead of trying to walk beside him. He guides your steps and things work out far better than you could do.
And I’m not talking about the false religion that has been whitewashed and used for slavery but a true relationship with the creator of the universe that is formed with love. That is what I have and that is what I found when I was at the bottom. when I had no one, no friends checking up on me, and no family unbderstanding what I was going through. when I was completely alone and down badly. God was the only person in my corner sending angels along the way to help. who I am thankful for.
So to any dreamer going through a hard time just let go of control and just enjoy the moment because even in the struggle there is a lesson to be learned during it.
Here are the links to the work I created during this story:
Ghost: https://open.spotify.com/track/2EUHnvWCA1qYkD7CvPM5oS?si=DhvGo2fhQYijbMOUMZsjlg
The Island of Misfitz: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/theislandofmisfitz/the-island-of-misfitz
Hello, Fear my old friend: https://www.lulu.com/shop/daante-bowman/hello-fear-my-old-friend/ebook/product-84nmedr.html?page=1&pageSize=4
If you feel inclined to donate to help my artistry please do so and connect with me about future involvement in any of my projects.
Contact me at : @[email protected]
Donate: Cash app – @Daantebow23 Venmo – @Daante-Wilson Zelle – [email protected]
Thank you for listening and allowing me to share a piece of my story!
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
I think the most rewarding aspect of being an artist is fully living and experiencing what it is to have passion and love for something beyond explanation. I feel most people in the world work a job that they just do because it pays well not because they love it with every fiber in their being. Whereas being an artist, We love what we do and are grateful we get to wake up and do it. I think that is the most rewarding yet powerful part. Getting to play like we did as kids with our imaginations and just being.
Also, the community that is built and unspoken between artists. We get each other and it’s a beautiful thing to feel seen and heard and understood and that’s what I think everyone is searching for. Us artists have a gift to live in that and I think that is special.
I like to think of us as Crayons. The world is this big ugly black-and-white picture. The artist comes along and puts it into perspective and brings color and magic to the picture. Turning something into nothing and using their imagination to create beauty.
Being an Artist may be challenging and come with its downsides but at the end of the day, the reward is worth it. Because not many people get to say they have a passion or a dream.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.Daantesinferno.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Daantes_inferno
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/da-ante-bowman-05aa1a250/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@daantesinferno3575
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3o1Nke4n4vsHNLNW2uNRa6?si=nwszf1r4RuO0F1_OzsPEzw
Image Credits
Dominic Hunt
Parker Burr
Jhana Waddell
Harry Bell
Da’Ante Bowman
Deji Emanuel
Sky Shield Productions