We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Darian Jerard a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Darian thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Have you been able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?
I’ve always considered my day job as my part-time job, and what I do in the night scene as my full time gig. I’m an Administrator with the School District of Philadelphia, and I have a Security Personnel Company(DJ Securities) where I provide security for private events, celebrations, parties, and underground sunrise fundraisers. Before College, my Twin Brother Damian and I use to throw huge events in Philadelphia, including sold events on the Spirit of Philadelphia back in the 90’s. During and after college we continued to curate events that bought all of our friends and Family to Philadelphia, and other places every year. Throwing these and other events became my Passion, and it still is to this day. Seeing people come together and celebrate is a magical thing. It is something that I want to be apart of for the rest of my Life. With that said, I’ve been collaborating, and partnering with Artist’s, Musicians, and other Promotor’s to develop that formula that will allow all of us to pursue, and maintain our dreams. That journey continues …
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
In High School I fell in love with sports. I played a little Football, lots of Basketball; engaged in some Boxing, and lots of Martial Arts/Karate . I wasn’t great at any of it but what I loved about it all was the camaraderie. I enjoyed the friendships created, and the memories on and off the field or court. It wasn’t until I went to college that I caught the Acting bug. In my Junior year at Lincoln University, I had to choose an Elective to fill up my schedule, I chose Acting. Little did I know what an influence it would have on my career trajectory. Acting helped me to be more confident, disciplined, and creative. But the most rewarding part about being an Actor was the response I received from others.. After any play I was in, people would come up to me and tell how much they identified with role, or how a character I played made them happy, or just how much they enjoyed me. It was invigorating, and I became hooked on the idea of making people smile through the Arts. The idea of “giving back”, started here.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
After College, and working on a ton of Music videos first as a Grip, a 2nd Assistant Director, a Talent Manager, a Location Scout, a Driver, and eventually a Segment Producer for Bill Cosby’s “You Bet Your Life”, I landed an Assistant Producer position at WHYY TV-12 here in Philadelphia. It was by far, one of the most rewarding opportunities to be creative I’ve ever experienced. We did stories about Artist, People, and Organizations dedicated to uplifting others, and beautifying communities. In the 8-9 years that I produced there, I was nominated for 12 Regional Emmy’s, and was awarded 2 in 1996 for the 12 part documentary, “Sounds of Philadelphia”.. It was with these acknowledgements that I thought it was time for me to move on to the “big leagues”; meaning the NBC’s, CBS’s, and ABC TV stations. But it was also my introduction to an entirely different form of story-telling, and informing the community at large. I quickly discovered that the positive, light and fluffy way of telling stories on Public television, was the complete opposite way of how stories were told on network Television. “If it Bleeds, it Leads” was the motto, and I quickly found myself at odds with my Producers, and News Room Editors at FOX-TV29, and again at NBC 10News because of the way I wrote stories..
After about 4-5 years of trying to “Fit-In”, I was eventually laid-off having just announced my Wife and I were expecting our 2nd child, and purchasing a new Home. It was by the far the most stressful and depressing time of my life, but what came out of it, led me to where I am now.
Refusing to be defeated, or silenced I found the motivation and courage to start my own production entity, and The Darian Jerard Company was formed.
While creating this Production company didn’t save everything, like my marriage, it opened the door to other opportunities, and relationships that completely saved my life, and my creative spirit. The Darian Jerard Co. lead me into the Education realm where I remain till this day as an Administrator at one of the Finest Middle schools in Philadelphia, The Sharswood School.
Had I given in to the pressures of being fired, humiliated, and basically losing everything that was important to me at that time, The Darian Jerard Co, and eventually ROGUE Events, would never have come to fruition. For this, I am forever grateful to myself for not giving up, or giving in to the pressures of society, and others..
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
Having my experiences with the community at large while at WHYY TV-12 here in Philadelphia as a Producer, and News Room Writer, working with the School District of Philadelphia as an Administrator, and later surviving the Covid-19 Shut-down, I found that I was more motivated then ever to contribute, and give back to individuals in more need than myself. This realization lead to the creation of ROGUE Events. Our motto is; ROGUE – curating opportunities to celebrate Music, Community, and doing Something for Others in Need. ROGUE Events are basically outdoor, sunrise fundraisers where we encourage the Philadelphia Underground Community to Party with a Purpose by Donating Non-perishable Food items, or Clothing like socks, scarves, hats, and gloves to be given to families and individuals in need, while dancing to the most magnificent House music, being played by new and upcoming local DJ’s/Artist. This is our 4th year, and I’m looking forward to our 20th ..
Contact Info:
- Instagram: jerarddarian, rogue_portal
- Facebook: Darian Jerard
- Linkedin: Darian Bagley
- Twitter: Darian Jerard
- Youtube: Darian Jerard’s 3-15 Theory
- Other: tiktok darianjerard