We recently connected with PJ Ryan and have shared our conversation below.

PJ , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

My mission statement is a mixture of where my moniker comes from and my experiences as a full time creative. PJ Ryan is a mixture or my initials (Phillip James) and the name of my imaginary friend as a child, Ryan. My grandmother, Ernestine V. Adams is the only person who would actually call me Phillip James. So in many spaces I am known as that. However in the creative world, Ryan plays a very integral part of my existence. When I was a child, Ryan was the entity that knew my deepest darkest secrets. It is in those secrets that I’m the most vulnerable and the most willing to chase my dreams.

“Everyone has a story and every story deserves to be told so chase your dreams until you run out of breath!”

Now making that mission become a reality was birthed out of overcoming depression and understand the true power of taking a leap of faith. For me, living in your truth is to understand your triggers and being able to live freely without fear and/or shame. It has been my experience that when you take a leap of faith and believe in yourself, all of your dreams really can come true.

The power of taking a leap of faith is something that I hold near and dear to my heart. Prior to what I do now as a full time creative, I worked in a corporate environment for over a decade. I worked as a Finance Manager in Healthcare Administration and felt that I was missing my calling. However, during that time getting a steady paycheck was more important following my passions. It wasn’t until my dad, passed away that I truly began to see the truth. I was just a replaceable cog in a huge machine. Now don’t get me wrong, that’s great for some folks and more power to them but for me I knew I wanted more for me. The change I wanted to apply to the machine itself wasn’t valued. My dad always would tell me that he saw me on stage or on television. With his passing and my current experience at that employer while feeling unappreciated I made the decision to leave it all behind and take a huge leap of faith. I began to map out my exit strategy. Juneteenth of 2017 was going to be my last day working for Corporate America. I had no back up plan and no job set up. It was all about Plan A.

So my mission is for the empowerment, because if I can do it, so can you.

PJ , 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?

From the leap of faith, I began my journey to become an actor. I wrote a list of people I wanted to work with such as Dr. Phylicia Rashad, Spike Lee, Omari Hardwick and a host of others. Once I wrote that list, I auditioned for the Black Arts Theater Intensive at Stella Adler Acting Conservatory co-created & led by Dr. Rashad and she became my acting coach at the very beginning of it all. That list became the footprint of what was to follow. I have worked with all that was on the list in several different roles such as on the television show Power on Stars, Spike Lee’s She’s Gotta Have It Too and his MLB Commercial dedicated to Jackie Robinson. I have done several other television shows, and even performed on stage of which I received writing credit for Justice On Trial where I played Medgar Evers. I enjoyed this part of the journey but I knew there had to be more. In 2018 I began working on producing my own projects. I worked as a Production Manager on a few web series projects and even started my own podcasts.

Highly Melanated Podcast hosted by Myself, Blair Tate and Christopher Regent aka RED with original 4th member Usheda Jackson. We were nominated for podcast of the year in 2019 but ended up winning Brooklyn’s People Choice Award for Podcast of the year in 2020 and also my other podcast, The Dear You Project, centered around a “dear you letter” written so the listener listening can learn from others going through similar experiences, won an Impact Award given by Gay City News that same year. Had I allowed my depression to take me out, I would have never known the great things that was inshore for me. And there is when my mission truly began. To help others by creating safe spaces for people to be vulnerable and seeing their true potential beyond the crisis that may be standing in front of them now. Your blessing is right around the corner, so as I always say, “Chase your dreams until you run out of breath!”

Ever since I was about 24, I wanted to create a space that was safe and inclusive to aspects of the Black Experience. A space where our stories could be told and envisioned through our eyes and our own narrative. A place where their creative light can lead a path for others to follow and work together as a network. Firefly Creative Solutions was created to be that space. It is more than just a production company. It is the ground work for a deeper vision.

I provide digital services for agencies and companies to advertise and get their message out to the community. I produce webinars, livestreams and workshops geared toward enrichment of our community. As a Podcast Producer, I put the level of care and time put in to your project to make sure it the exact way you envisioned it. Besides my own, I have produced a number of successful podcast such Let’s Take This Offline hosted by Kishshana Palmer & Let Go Of Less Podcast hosted by Amanda Chambers. I am most proud when I had a hand in helping someone else do great things and to be a part of their journey. I enjoy making a vision come to life and helping others share their stories to help others.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

One of my favorite stories to share is the actual begin of this journey. I can remember the first day I stepped into class for Stella Adler’s Black Arts Theater Intensive. The first day was in the Billie Holiday Theater in Bedstuy, Brooklyn which was already inspiring enough to be in the same room as legends in acting both on television and on stage. Miss Phylicia Rashad and Stephen McKinley Henderson were both on stage giving a talk to us in the auditorium. She then had this exercise for the students to do where we would say our name and an adjective that described what were feeling. As you would imagine many said things like excited and happy. However, when it got to me, the word I chose was unworthy. As time went on we each eded up having to do our monologues so Miss Rashad could see where we were in our craft. Lunch time comes and I am set to go in the second half. Something I said must have stuck because out of all of the students, Miss Rashad remembered my name from that one exercise. She walked over to me and said, “Excuse me Phillip, why did you say unworthy?” I explained to her that I just quit my job, I have never been trained in the arts as everyone else here. I didn’t put my dues in like so many have here. She cut me off and said in the most graceful way, “Did you not audition? Did you not get in? Are you not standing here in this moment talking to me now. So many of ‘them’ say we are unworthy of so much but it’s what we truly believe that matters and shows your worth!” In addition, she asked when did I quit my job and the universe would have it, her birthday is in fact Juneteenth. So she said we were connected before I ever even knew this moment existed.

From that moment all of the self doubt I have had about myself both as an actor and personally as a human being went directly out the window. I continued to push forward and be in spaces with Tony Award winning actors, legends and people of true notoriety based on my talent and willingness to strive for greatness.

Whenever I get overwhelmed and start to doubt myself I think back to that moment and push forward.

Have you ever had to pivot?

Understanding when it is important to pivot is key to anyones success. Throughout my acting journey, I enjoyed it all. I wouldn’t change a thing if I had the option to. However, depression, anxiety and fear of losing control of self being in front of the camera or on center stage became less and less of a focus. They were getting in the way of my talent. It wasn’t until I took a step back from being upfront and center and faded into the background that I discovered my actual gifts that I flourish in without doubt or worry. It was in the production world that I truly began to blossom. I fell in love with editing. That level of being in control had me hooked, signed, sealed and delivered.

After I began working as a production assistant to then production manager I found my wolf pack of other creatives that saw the world the same way I did. Through the lens of the story teller has helped me understand not just everything in entertainment but also in life in general.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: www.instagram.com/iampjryan
• Facebook: www.facebook.comphillipjames1022
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pjryanproducer
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/iampjryan
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/highlymelanatedpodcast
• Other: Highly Melanated Podcast – available on apple podcast, google podcast, spotty & YouTube https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/highly-melanated-podcast/id1377310920 https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-dear-you-project/id1422439247