We were lucky to catch up with Geekset Podcast recently and have shared our conversation below.

Geekset, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Has your work ever been misunderstood or mischaracterized?

Here at Geekset we’re representatives of the Blerd [Black Nerd] community which is highly mischaracterized and under represented. What’s unique about this culture is that there are tons of us around the world, but the mass media still represents us as one sole person, Steve Urkel. The Black Nerd is always the butt of the jokes, portrayed as uncool or quirky and in reality that’s not the majority of us. So we not only live the norm, but we put forth an effort to showcase the diversity within the culture through interviews, content, highlights and just reporting on the culture.

Geekset, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

‘Geekset’s’ roots are in Milwaukee music scene Rudy “Young Deuces” Strong, Ron “Bacardi” Cegers, and Demetrius “Didge” Strong met in Milwaukee’s music scene. The Strongs are brothers. “Geekset,” the name of the podcast the three men host, is an homage to the famed hip-hop group Dipset (aka The Diplomats).

Ron “Bacardi” Cegers, Rudy “Young Deuces” Strong and Demetrius “Didge” Strong make up the Geekset crew, who regularly hosts a podcast covering all things nerd culture, but from the perspective of a Black man. The men are proud Blerds.

Rudy Strong, 35, is an established hip-hop artist who has worked with both local and national talent. He was featured in national hip-hop magazines XXL and The Source. His younger brother, Demetrius Strong, 29, is the program’s director and showrunner. “The Northern Illinois alum produced the majority of ‘Geekset’s’ video content as well as some independent scripted podcast and films that he has in development,” Rudy Strong said of his brother. Cegers, 40, is an established hip-hop producer in Milwaukee.

“There’s a lot of podcasts that cover geek or nerdy content, but they don’t sound, look or talk like us,” Rudy Strong said.

He said they wanted to bring their conversations to the world: “We wanted to bring a barbershop feel, when you hear four Black nerds argue Batman vs. Superman, it’s as passionate as hearing someone argue Jordan vs. Lebron.”

Notable Links:

– https://www.forbes.com/sites/scottking/2022/03/14/how-the-geekset-podcast-is-establishing-itself-in-blerd-culture/
– https://theblackwallsttimes.com/2022/03/30/geekset-shines-light-on-blerd-culture-on-podcast-and-new-documentary/

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

Young Deuces – I think non-creatives need to understand the mental toll being a creative takes
onto you. We are constantly thinking of content, how to shoot it, when to shoot it,
what our angle is and its a lot at times. A lot of people want to compare and its not really
a fair assessment because of course physical wok is tough on the body, but mental
strains are a huge impact to the body as well.

DIdge –
The uncertainty, in all aspects. There’s uncertainty in how a project will be received positively or negatively, there’s uncertainty in how big the response will be nominally, and there’s uncertainty in your ability to even get the project done. Being creative is that never ending journey in trying to chart a new path, and honestly just believing that your will is enough.

Bacardi –
That its easier, its not. Being a creative doesn’t come with any discipline already established that would be in place in most traditional work spaces. So its constant trial and error to find a system that works to stay consistent and discover whats productive for you. There is no blueprint to the success story because you are the one writing it.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

Bacardi – Right now its the success stories of others in our realm. Being able to bring light and report on others so that we can influence more people who maybe thinking of stepping out on their own in their own way.

Didge –
Honestly, the want to tell our story the right way. So much of what we’re doing is making sure that we shine a light on black creators, or black geek culture in general and that’s because we want to be sure that it’s someone who is of the culture telling that story.

Young Deuces – We just want to be an asset to the culture. Our focus
is to make sure the world see’s the dopeness of Being a Blerd and every inch of it. We love giving people their flowers as well as highlighting the accomplishments they achieve. We are the reporters of the culture.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.GeeksetPodcast.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/GeeksetPodcast
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/GeeksetPodcast
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/80764444/admin/
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/GeeksetPodcast
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/GeeksetPodcast