We were lucky to catch up with Ricky Robinson recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Ricky thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights 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?

In 2022, I started F.L.Y. TALK TV PODCAST. The mission behind the podcast was to give creatives a platform to showcase what their purpose is in their respective fields. F.L.Y. stands for Forever Love Yourself. So all artist that come on the show express moments in their life where they were faced with conflict and how they triumphed over the situation. With my prior military experience I have special edition episodes entitled Views of a Vet, where I bring veterans on the podcast to speak on their experiences in uniform, it also provides the pros and cons of serving in the military. With the podcast being messaged driven, I typically have positive topics weekly to motivate and inspire the creatives in the world to believe in theirselves and Forever Love Theirselves.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Ricky Robinson, i’m from Portsmouth, Va. I started doing freelance photography on a novice level in 2000. My stepdad purchased me a canon camera in high school and I fell in love with it. from there This was the timeframe where film was transitioning to digital, so i’m thankful to have had the experience of developing film and understanding the process. From there I enrolled in TCC (Tidewater Community College to study multimedia. Although I did not finish the program I am grateful for the knowledge I gained in learning Photoshop, and Lightroom. I joined the military in 2017. I served in the U.S. Army 1st ABCT in Fort Riley Ks. (BIG RED ONE). That experience changed my life. I saw the world and met people whom are family now. My military experiences instilled discipline to complete missions. At the time I did not know how this type of training would benefit me in the civilian world. I now see how it prepared me to complete anything that I start. I taught me to plans ahead, and never give up. After my military career I moved to Orlando, FL. to attend Full Sail University to study for Bachelors of Applied Science in Recording Arts. I graduated from that program in October 2022. The day I graduated I started my 1st day of working towards my Masters in Film Production. I’m currently in month 8 of a 12 month program. I am preparing to shoot my thesis film in July 2023. It is titled ADAFIED. It’s a documentary short about Ada Tate. She is a prior U.S. Navy Sailor, whom I met at Full Sail. She’s also a singer and songwriter with an amazing backstory which why I chose to make the story centered around her. I am currently looking for funding to help produce this documentary. During this time I started 42 Studio Photography and Films. My vision behind this company was to provide all media services for clients in the Orlando area. Since then I have redirected my vision for the company to be a rental house for all production equipment. Currently i’m in the beginning stages. So i’m doing research and prepping for the future of the company. I am most proud of my military career. This was something I did not see me doing. I am proud because I see how it changed me for the better, and I met some people who made a positive impact on my life, and lastly I started and finished something meaningful.

Have you ever had to pivot?

In December 24th 2015 I received a DUI in Portsmouth Va. At this time I felt like a product of my environment. I was the typical Portsmouth person. I worked, spent time with my family, and partied even harder. This time of my life I wasn’t goal oriented, I more so just lived day to day, but I struggled with alcohol addiction. Upon receiving my DUI it was the pivoting point in my life where I knew I had to make a life change. The consequences I faced made me realize that I had to take a good look in the mirror and accept the fact that I needed to do something about my situation. That led me to join the U.S. Army after being on probation for 2 years.

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

I wish I knew all the in’s and out’s of how business work earlier in life. I wish the fundamentals of business was taught in high school at the time I attended. Knowing how business works is a totally different mindset of being a creative. I feel that artist should be compensated for their published works. I do not like how people take advantage of other people ignorance. This happens often in business, simply because a vast majority of creatives only concern themselves with creating, which leaves the door open for someone to take advantage of their published works.   

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamricluv/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ricky.robinson.56808995/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ricky-robinson-64a289211
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@flytalktvpodcast1046

Image Credits
Ashar Corbett Ricky Robinson