We were lucky to catch up with Diamond Holts recently and have shared our conversation below.

Diamond, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

The first time I knew I wanted to pursue a creative or artistic path professionally was when I was around 20 years old. I have always had this dream to help African-Americans in the criminal justice system just because of what I see on a day-to-day basis, what I hear or even the things that pop up when I research about African-Americans in the criminal justice system. Just noticing these things really changes your mindset and sometimes it makes you want to be able to help these people. When I decided that I wanted to go to school officially for criminal justice and corrections, my end goal was to help people in the criminal justice system who were guilty based on their skin tone or just because they didn’t have anyone to blame. I knew that there would be a difference-making with what I was trying to do and when I turned twenty years old, I wanted to start making a difference now or trying to put information out there as little as I could. That’s when podcasting came into my mind, just because I realized I can spread the knowledge that is needed, I’m able to express my opinion, and I’m also able to have others relate to what I’m saying.

Diamond, 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?

A little about myself. My name is Diamond and I’m currently 21 years old and about to turn 22. At the moment, I’m a student at the University of Phoenix currently studying criminal justice and corrections where I plan to go into the criminal justice field, whether as a probation officer, or whether it is taking that journey to become a lawyer, but it is just my end goal to help inmates in the criminal justice system. I am a podcaster as well and my podcast name is called Unarmed & Harmed. This podcast name was created because a lot of people can be unarmed and still be harmed at the end of the day, whether it is within their life or just in general. This podcast is about African-Americans in the criminal justice system. This podcast is a podcast for me to spread knowledge and just open people’s minds to different topics about the criminal justice system as a whole, but also different topics about the African-American community. I also have another podcast coming out called Crave Yourself. This name was made up because I always believe self-love is very important and you should always want yourself before you want anyone else or before you want to put yourself out there. This podcast is going to be all about friendships, self-love, or anything I just experience that others can relate to. I’m most proud of just being able to put myself out there and be able to express my opinions and that is what I’m most proud of for myself. I also feel like I’m proud that I can have anyone just relate in a way of a personal connection. For me personally, when it comes to my podcast, I try to be authentic and try to have others connect, so it feels like they have someone who understands what they’re going through and I feel like that helps me stand out as well.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding aspect of being a podcaster is just the audience, or some will say the fanbase that you gain when you are in that type of field. For me, I say this is the most rewarding aspect because I have a podcast, so I’m able to spread knowledge to others and I’m also able to have others connect personally. It’s rewarding because it feels like they have a friend even though it is me speaking on audio. I want them to feel like I am there and I’m directly speaking to them like the knowledge and advice I’m given is for them only. For me, you have this power when you have a podcast, and that power you can use to draw people in to connect and just change their mindset, but also help them gain knowledge. That’s why, for me, it is just rewarding to be able to have them connect, have them realize that other people understand them, and just having even one person listen to my podcast shows that I am changing the world one person at a time or I’m just being able to spread knowledge to one person at a time motivates and makes me happy.

How did you build your audience on social media?

For me, on social media building, an audience is not easy but pays off. It’s not easy all the time because there are people out there who only like certain things and sometimes you don’t resonate with what they like. I just started off posting on social media just for the fun of it and as I started posting I noticed I was getting small followers here and there. Then I decided to start taking social media more seriously when I realized that getting an audience can help me in different ways than one and I wanted to take advantage of that. Just because my mindset was if I could get an audience, at least I know I have people that not only relate, but understand my journey. To build my audience, I had to understand myself, meaning I have to understand what I love and what I can post or talk about daily or every other day, because that will keep me going and I never have to pretend to be someone I’m not. The advice that I have for anyone who wants to start building a social media presence would just be the advice I give myself and that is to take risks but keep being yourself. There are a lot of opportunities that you can get on social media that can really not only boost your audience but actually put you out there to find those people who relate to you and the things you love. Being yourself is the golden ticket because it shows that you are authentic and that nothing can change you. After all, you are in love with yourself, and deep within you are happy with yourself. That’s just an amazing sight to see, trust me.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/Diamondholts
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/diamondholts/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPkpf8trxmg9uMzCNX3EgUA
• Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTd7q4Foq/