We recently connected with Gerren Ard and have shared our conversation below.

Gerren, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Has your work ever been misunderstood or mischaracterized?

I can’t begin to tell you how often I was passed over by my peers, and eventually, my scholars for not having the “right words” come from the “right body.” I could say something true, profound and thought-provoking only to have it dismissed and ignored. Another person could say the EXACT same thing and get recognition and praise for it.

Of course, that person looked nothing like me.
It really bothered me.

I was always mischaracterized as being passive, methodical and in need of guidance or direction when I was in a “relaxed state of mind.”

When I had to be focused, I was recognized as a charming, charismatic, natural-born leader willing to fight for any goal at stake.

When I became “Black Venom,” the performer, I was considered cocky, over-confident and brash without remorse.

The main trait that carried over amongst each persona on this spectrum was my need for truth and honesty. It’s been the “keystone quality” for my connection to this world. You can say whatever you want about me, but there’s not ONE person in my orbit that’s going to tell you that I’m a liar, a cheat or a thief. Yet, I’ve been painted as such in certain stages of my life by people I should have had utter confidence in.

In fact, during adolescence I went from “prodigy” to “problem” almost overnight.

I compare it to the pain that a children’s television star might suffer as soon as he gets older. He’s destined for greatness when he’s young and cute… but once puberty kicks in, he’s disposable.

As an only child, I could read and write at a young age, spoke eloquently and had manners in public. I was stubborn, but highly goal oriented. I was considered a “latch-key kid…” a child you could leave home alone and not worry about it burning down. My world was Atari, He-Man and Knight Rider; I could even light a stove, break an egg and bake a cake by the time I was 7. My world was innocent and other than your common bully, not a single person didn’t like me… I believed that everyone was capable of being my friend.

In elementary school, I was always the smartest and most talented in my class.

It wasn’t until my college years that I had MULTIPLE encounters with MULTIPLE individuals in MULTIPLE institutions that took it upon themselves to let me know my confidence was an issue. Instructors would purposely give me lower grades to drop my GPA or tell blatant lies about me “being disruptive” and “threatening” during classes when describing me to their superiors.

In one case, an older White instructor went to my dean with the complaint that I was being “threatening towards her.”

The issue stemmed from a concern over already having taken a web class similar to hers at another college. Upon telling her that I was looking to transfer out of the class due to this reason, she took it personal, stating “well, you don’t have to take it out on me…” which I never did, and assured her it wasn’t the case.

She kept pressing this notion and repeating the claim until I had to become firm with her.
For weeks this would continue.

My issue still hadn’t been cleared up with the school by midterms and I was still forced to participate with the assignment… worth a significant portion of my overall grade. I completed it, begrudgingly. It looked significantly better than the other students.

She then accused me of not producing my own work and blew up at me in front of class. This led to us having a heated argument in the hallway of the school.

I couldn’t help but notice that as loud as she was towards me, when we stood in that hallway, she became silent and “meek” in appearance… allowing my frustration to show while catching the attention of a director who was aware of my situation. When the issue was later brought to my dean (a transfer from Texas), he addressed the situation.

“She says you were threatening her…”
“Threatening her?! I never threatened her! How am I threatening to her!?” I exclaimed.

“Well, look at you! You’re sitting there with your arms folded, slouched back in your chair, with a stern look on your face and you don’t know why she’s threatened by you?!”

Without batting an eye, I replied:
“Look… for this lady to come to you and use the term ‘threatening’ to describe me?? She only said that because I’m Black!”

You could tell the tension in the office had gotten thicker. The dean carefully says,
“Those are YOUR words, not mine.”

Once again, I was affirmed that White individuals do NOT like discussing issues of race… especially when it’s legit.

The dean continued… “Look, a pit-bull could be one of the nicest animals in the world, but I still wouldn’t leave it alone with my wife and children.”

My head exploded…
I never knew that Black People were considered the “Pitbulls” of the human race.
Those were HIS words now… Not mine.

Is that how American society viewed us?
As intelligent as I was… as accomplished as I was… as talented as I was… I was only ONE thing in their eyes and it “required” constant monitoring.

Sometimes, I feel like that lion in the cage being poked incessantly by a group of idiots feeling protected by “their barrier.” Would they still poke you if that “barrier” was removed? If so, ironically enough, the moment the lion runs after the moron to even the score, it’s gonna be the lion that gets the bullet…

Every time.

Life is so unfair to a Black Man.

That’s quite a story – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Before I came out of the womb, I must credit my mother for giving me a name that has manifested its power and purpose within me. My namesake, Gerren Keith, was a famous Black director of such television shows as “Good Times,” “Diff’rent Strokes,” “227,” “Martin” and many others.

I truly believe, as a Christian, that there is power in the name given to somebody at birth… so be careful not to name your children certain names. For example, I went to high school with a fellow named after a biblical character whose name translated into “grief” and “sorrowful.” This fellow was killed in a roll-over car accident before he even graduated high school.

Blessings and curses can be spoken over your head long before you’ve even been born…
Also, certain things that may LOOK like curses may actually be blessings in disguise.

See, I was raised in a household without my father in my life.

When he started coming back in my life towards my college years, I didn’t make it very easy for him to talk to me. In fact, I scared him. Of all of his children, I looked the most like him, had the most talent and shared a lot of the same interests. It wasn’t until I realized that my life was better without him, that I was able to forgive him. That’s not to say that he was a bad person at all… but he just wasn’t mature enough at that time to handle fatherhood.

Later in life, I was able to get closure with him before he passed away.
The weight of my conscience was lifted, and I felt so much better for it.

My grandfather, on the other hand, was the man that raised me under his roof. I couldn’t have asked for a better role model, and he considered me the son he never had. I learned work ethic and joy under him. He’d retire from the same job he’d held at a Tucson Chrysler dealership after 60 years of employment. He came home every day with a smile.

I often say, if I could be only half the man my grandfather is, I would’ve done something in life. He’s also the main reason how I became a contestant on Wheel of Fortune in 2020.

The way I see it…
I’ve travelled through life, falling into amazing scenarios which molded my life forever.
It was moments like those that reinforced my belief in “the divine power.”

I couldn’t have done the great things I have without already having a path made out for me with the right people I needed at the time I met them. I could only do so much… but God did the rest.

—

As far back as I can remember, I always looked at the world I was given and dreamed of it being even better.
I was a designer by nature.

I recognized early on the power of a child’s creativity and how important it is to foster it and allow them to dream without boundaries! How often as children are we told by adults, “That won’t work?”

How often are children discouraged from dreaming?

As an adult, we think in terms of feasibility. As a child, it works because WE SAY it works. No explanation is needed. No laws, no boundaries, no physics can stop what a child sees in his world. His naivete removes ALL the doubt in his mind and what’s left?

Ability.

Imagine what we could do as humans without fear and self-doubt?
Only to be a child again… and reclaiming your innocence.

This is what a designer/creator/artist gets to do.
I’ve been on that path ever since.

For instance…

I knew I wanted to make people laugh at a young age. I was naturally funny and learned what made life funny. Afterwards, I learned how to tell stories. I was such a creative person with dreams and imagination.

When I discovered a camcorder, telling these stories became natural to me. As a child during my summer vacations, I began to direct scenes, make up stories and improvise lines on the fly. It was skills like this that gave me confidence to try pulling off a movie in my middle school media arts class…

We had a camera, an editing station with sound effects and multiple VCRS… and I had a good idea of how to use them! After watching some of the prior films that came out of the class before that were submitted to film festivals, I knew we could beat those. I pitched my ideas to the teacher.

And he shot it down.
Twice.

He told me the techniques I’m describing are pulled off by multiple cameras which we didn’t have. He didn’t give me the shot to prove that I could do it… Nonetheless, with what we ALREADY had. We lost out on something that could’ve been great.

Later in life, I would film award-winning features and documentaries using only one camera… the same technique I proposed in middle school. I was way ahead of my time… but nobody knew it because nobody gave me the chance to prove it.

From that day forward, I believed that I had something to prove to the world.
When people said I couldn’t… it’s been my mission to show them otherwise… and I always did.

Because of this, I would find myself having a highly competitive nature. I became an over-achiever and bold enough to be adventurous.

In high school, I became number one in my entire graduating class in English… not the 25 others in the room… but the ENTIRE SENIOR CLASS… and in essence, the entire school. I only did it to prove to myself that I was as good as I said I was.

I became a professional wrestler while in high school after seeing a local show and being upset with the performance. I said to myself, “I can do better than that” and chose to participate to prove myself right. I paid my dues, learned the ropes, and became one of the most popular wrestlers coming from Tucson, training many students to wrestle in promotions and alongside legends they’ve only watched on TV.

It’s hard to believe I had an autograph and had been in national magazines at the age of 17.

I remember writing a video game company back in the 90s suggesting a way to make a better wrestling video game. I was WAY out of my league, but still set the course to eventually build my own wrestling video game and went to college to make it happen.

The game drew interest within many parts of the world, with many believing my project was the result of a new gaming company, when in actuality, it was the result of just one incredibly dedicated guy. Unfortunately, my hard drive died, and I needed to postpone the project. What opened up was a new career in film.

I co-produced my very first feature film by the age of 30.

I became one of the few people in U.S. History to file a civil lawsuit in district court by representing himself… going to trial and winning at the age of 34.

I was on national television as the farthest travelled contestant outside of California on “Wheel of Fortune” during Covid, by the age of 40.

I then became an award-winning filmmaker for my short film on living kidney donation by the age of 42…
and I’m far from done.

I still create commercials and short films for clients BY MYSELF that usually require a team to produce.

I was even invited – as one of 70 former contestants – to come back to the 8000th Episode of “Wheel of Fortune” to celebrate Pat Sajak’s retirement.

To leave such an impression in people’s hearts and minds?
That’s one gift that I’m thankful to possess.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

I believe my goal in life is to make a name for myself that lives on forever. I’ve always kept in mind the word “legacy.”

I think my biggest fear is to die and have nobody attend my funeral.

As an artist, I believe we were given a gift by the original creator, Himself. It’s a blessing to have “expression.” I don’t want to waste that gift. There’s nothing more rewarding to me than having someone you’ve never met be inspired or moved by something you’ve done artistically, creatively or against all odds.

I consider myself a trailblazer… I walk on paths rarely taken and I’ll do it alone, if I must. I want to get the most out of life… where I can point to my works of art and inspire the next generation to dream, build and become the desires of their heart.

I want God to ask me, “how did you enjoy the gifts that I gave you?”
And I’ll have nothing but tears of joy and praise to offer.

Then He says, “Well, if you liked that, just wait till you see THIS!”

Of course, EVERY artist wants admiration for their new creations.
Amazing people deserve to live forever.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

I’d like to offer something from the perspective of a Black over-achiever…

I, at one time, had had a conversation with my college career counselor that baffled me, disheartened me and left me in a state of mental limbo. One sentence he said…

“Have you ever heard of being… TOO good?”

It was not a statement I was prepared to hear from an educational institution.

He then added,
“As weird as it sounds, people can be intimidated by over-achievers… EVEN companies! They don’t want to hire somebody they feel can take their job. As strange as it is, you might actually have to pull back a bit, just to get your foot in the door.”

If I accepted his advice and pulled back… I’d never get a job.
If I remained an over-achiever… I’d never get a job.

How do I win?

From my personal experience, I can say that my journey to become employed within highly reputable companies have been marred by Human Resource games and technicalities. It has been amazingly difficult to find employment OR secure a job willing to compensate a man of my credentials.

“Business” can stifle creativity and innovation.

Let’s suppose this encouragement of “lowering standards,” as my counselor suggested, is applied to a business setting. It’s this self-destructive nature that suppresses the hardest-working, smartest-working individuals and places them on the same level as those who merely “do good enough” or “just enough to get by.”

When the strongest-willed individuals notice that their efforts aren’t acknowledged or rewarded, their morale suffers and they become detached from their job, putting forth only enough effort to get their job done.

This is where things go from “bad” to “worse.”

With a down-trodden individual now angry with his circumstances, a new “gap” opens, which is usually filled by a “faker.”

The “Faker,” in my opinion, are usually “High Functioning Under-achievers” that can manipulate their way to the top without having ANY credentials or skill required for the position. These folks are generally “haters” as well… with opinions about everything from their own “professional” points of view.

The “Faker” cannot perform at the same level for which “they criticize.”

There is, HOWEVER, one thing they truly succeed and excel in:

“BULL $#!T.”

In other words…

Those people can influence ANYBODY, to believe ANYTHING, at ANYTIME!
It ALWAYS works out to their favor and THAT is what makes them dangerous.

The “Faker” is like a cancer in society… It never provides, it only consumes, and usually goes undetected for long periods of time. Most “Fakers” look to climb the proverbial ladder of success, because only a “title” can “define their worth.”

A “title” VALIDATES a Faker.
A “title” REWARDS an Achiever.

By the time a “Faker” is in a position of power, the company is already in trouble.

Look for this “Faker” to begin making questionable (usually self-serving) decisions. They might hire their own friends and family into the business, take extreme risks, hire expensive expertise to solve “major” problems your company should’ve been able to handle, or sit on their hands and do ABSOLUTELY NOTHING… until they find a great idea, that isn’t their own, to take credit for.

“Creativity” is no-longer a goal or a priority for the business.
“Job Security” will become the one and only goal of the “Faker.”

Haven’t we all had managers, bosses or leaders in positions of power that didn’t deserve to be there?

This is what happens when institutions stop hiring people who are competent and try to hire more people who make them feel “comfortable.”

They’re signing their own death certificate.
We must be wiser in our decisions.

Never hold-back your greatness.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.blackvenom.net
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/g-brandon-ard/

Image Credits
Ryan Shore Sony Pictures Entertainment Gerren Ard