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

Hi Darius , thanks for joining us today. Let’s talk legacy – what sort of legacy do you hope to build?

I want my legacy to be inspiring. I want to continue to inspire and touch the lives of people I haven’t even met yet, and even the people I have met. I want to be the example of what not giving up looks like! I want to leave an iconic taste in everyone’s mouth! You have your Beyoncé, your Martin Luther King jr, and now you have Darius King!

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

What drove me to the industry was between the age of 17 & 18, I was in between a rock and a hard place. Confused about what to do with my life after graduating high school a year early, I attended college for a short term, attempted the military and worked several jobs that I was unhappy with. Then one morning I became inquisitive about attending hair school and inquired and attended to see if this was what I really wanted to do. While attending hair school and being taught the “basics” of doing hair, I knew I wanted to learn more than what they were able to teach me, so I started learning how to custom make and later install wigs. This craft took a lot of trial and error, however it has successfully brought me to where I am today.

Although my career/craft can be challenging, overwhelming and at times I even feel defeated, I hold on to my faith and belief that I can do ALL things through Christ that strengthens me! I am often in the company of ladies with low self esteem or who have never worn wigs so the experience from the service I provide is always enlightening and rewarding just to watch their frown turned upside down.

I am a work in progress yet very passionate about my craft and strive for perfection with every client that I come in contact with. As for my brand, there’s more that meets the eye. There’s more to brand than just a young man behind a chair.

How did you build your audience on social media?

I built my audience on social media by genuinely, unapologetically being myself. Often times social media can make us feel as if we need to portray a persona by being someone we’re not just for likes and follows. I’ve tried that and it didn’t work for me, because I wasn’t being authentic to who I am. When I started showing people my at times unfiltered, yet charismatic self, that is how I gained my audience. You can’t win everyone over, so you win some, you lose some and I’m just fine with that.

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 of the lessons I’ve had to unlearn is you just can’t be kind to everyone. It doesn’t mean I have to be rude or mean however, as grating as it may sound my kindness can be taken for weakness. In this industry I’ve had to develop a lot of tough skin and backbone and stand firm on business first and making friends way after!Otherwise people will walk all over you.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @iamdariusking
• Other: TikTok: @iamdariusking

Image Credits
@treyshotme