Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Lelund Hollins. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Lelund , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What sort of legacy are you hoping to build. What do you think people will say about you after you are gone, what do you hope to be remembered for?

I want my legacy to be known to my grandchildren to know how their grandfather was a man, not a puppet for corporations or the streets.

Lelund , 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?

I’m an Experienced Chief Executive Officer with a demonstrated history of working in the entertainment industry. Skilled in Photography, Audio Engineering, Musical Arranger, Executive Producer, Voice Acting, Writer, Social Media Outreach, Market Research, Leadership, Project Planning, Marketing, Entrepreneurship, Mentoring, Google Partnership, Humanitarianism, Philanthropism, and Homeless Advocate. For 13 years(1996-2009) I was involved in the world of professional wrestling in the Carolinas with jobs consists of being a ring guy crew member, training, referee, psychology, and learning the wrestling techniques.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Most of my life I’ve been experimenting with playing fire from both candles of the realms. First off it started with the death of my grandfather which changed the course of my upbringing. I was also dealing with an abusive mother until we both separated in 1988. I learned to be independent and do things on my own. Fast forward to 2011 I chose to be homeless due to circumstances beyond my control. For 12 years I dealt with homelessness in Hollywood and Long Beach. During this moment I was Artist Relations Representative for an indie label connected to major record companies. In 2012 I was dealing with health issues such as
Congestive heart failure and a mild stroke after the deaths of both my parents. I decided to take everything seriously and maintain a healthy lifestyle. While homeless I just maintained my faith in God and helped youths who were dealing with the homeless while students at school too. After graduation I was attacked by a student and things in Hollywood just went down the drain but I was determined to bounce back regardless. In early 2021 was pre-diagnosed with prostate cancer in the early stages. I thought I would reach out to my immediate family but there was no support available so back to my lonely journey once again. The only support came from relatives and strangers which kept me going daily out here on the West Coast. During the pandemic there was limited communications and even a disgusting death hoax fueled my position to live. So Summer 2022 as we were winding down the numbers to keep the cancer away then three more cancers came out of nowhere. Now I was dealing with stomach, lung and thyroid glands to where I had to stop thinking about the world, and focused more on full recovery. I just started to stop taking medicines with holistic methods to see where it goes in the
long run of that year. As I was going through my own personal sabbatical I got blessed with an apartment in Downtown Los Angeles. As of March 2024, my birthday gift to me was I’m in remission from all four cancers and still NO COVID-19 outbreak ever. I’m taking one day at a time to deal with keeping happiness and keep the negativity away from my mental sanity. I
highly recommend people take their health very, very seriously, keep a strict health diet and stay prayed up…

Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.

My side hustles that turned into my main/full time business and career has been freelance photography, music and professional wrestling. I started taking photos going back 4 decades in Norfolk, Virginia with a polaroid camera. I was my high school yearbook staff member and editor
my senior year at Cardozo High in Washington, D.C. I started experimenting with music as a kid while attending my grandmother’s church and mom’s record collection. I started in the world of wrestling as a fan first and foremost. My late brother Craig and my mentor, WWE Hall of
Famer Ernie “Big Cat” Ladd prepared me for this world. A wonderful moment of my life learning the craft and traveling throughout the Carolinas that I'll cherish for a lifetime. Summer 2019 I was recovering from a freak accident of both my hands to the point I couldn’t use them for
weeks. There was a program named How We See It and it was about homeless photographers and their photos seen through how we saw it. I was challenged to join the program. I had told them I was taking over the spotlight and I was confident about it. My subject matter was the
homeless crisis in LA and I felt I had to photograph from my own personal experiences in those LA county streets. For the past 14 years I took many photographs of Los Angeles County in many unimaginable ways and always updated the photographs for future references.

https://www.csunscene.net/lelund-hollins-how-he-sees-it

https://www.latimes.com/homeless-housing/story/2020-02-22/homeless-crisis-population-podcast-we-the-unhoused

https://voyagela.com/interview/rising-stars-meet-lelund-hollins-of-los-angeles/

https://medium.com/@claire.boeck.172/theres-a-problem-with-homelessness-news-coverage-how-can-we-fix-it-c79750945ee7

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.about.me/thereallelundhollins
• Instagram: lelundnathanielhollins
• Facebook: lelundnathanielhollins
• Linkedin: lelundnathanielhollins
• Twitter: @HollinsLelund @lelundhollins3
• Youtube: lelundhollins74
• Soundcloud: slymothybiggumz

Image Credits

All photos are property of Lelund Hollins, PoP LiFE Photography