We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ryan Polk a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Ryan , appreciate you joining us today. Have you ever had an amazing boss, mentor or leader leading you? Can you us a story or anecdote that helps illustrate why this person was such a great leader and the impact they had on you or their team?

The best boss I ever had was this guy who ran owned an answering service call center in Youngstown, OH, and here is why he was the best boss I ever had. He was to the first boss I had that let me wear whatever clothes I wanted since nobody never saw us but him. The only time he had us dress up was if someone from one of the businesses we answered for would come into the center to speak with him. He would order us food sometimes and would have friendly conversations with us when not busy.

He also provided us with a T,V, and DVD Player in the center as a privilege which was something we did enjoy alot. He would work with our schedules which is also something I found rare in today’s employment.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

As an Actor, Comedian, Internet Radio Personality, Movie Critic, Model, and Published Author. I am determined to make it as a professional entertainer. In 2012 I started doing Internet Radio in college for Rookery Radio and after graduating college in 2016 I began acting in 2017 and then got back into internet radio in 2021 for No Static Radio LLC. Since 2012 I have found a passion for entertainment as a career. I was born and raised in Cleveland, OH received my Bachelor’s Degree in Public Health from Youngstown State University and currently working on my Master’s Degree in Communications from Tiffin University(Online).

Also during my undergrad years I participated in the Disney College Program from May 2014 until January 2015 since I consider myself a professional Disney Addict. This gave me the idea to write an eBook about my experience which is titled 8 Months of D.C.P.(Disney College Program) which is avaliable on sites such as Amazon, Book Baby, and Barnes & Noble. In 2017 co-starred in a friend’s stage play that was in Youngstown,OH, shot my first Short Film in Cleveland,OH a year later, and became an extra in my first feature film on Netflix called The Last Summer.

Since I love movies and think of myself as a movie buff I been told that i should either critique movies or be a director and that gave me the idea to start up my YouTube channel in 2018 where I review movies. Growing up people also told me that I am very funny and that they would either by my stand-up tape or get a bootleg copy lol. This gave me the idea to try comedy however I never thought of myself as a comedan but since i like acting this gave me the idea to do comedy skits on my Youtube channel since I did use to always wanted to be on All That and In Living Color.

In 2019 I finally had the courage to get up on that stage and tell jokes, it was kind of tough to get booked in the beginning since I was starting out but still a good experience overall. The same year I started ripping the runway in my first wedding showcase for Northeast Ohio Wedding Magazine where I would later do some photoshoots and a couple more wedding showcases for the magazine which made get into modeling. I was at one point interested in modeling during my freshman year at YSU but didn’t think I had the body.

There are so many things I am proud of with what I do i do not know where to start such as placing third in Best Local Comedian(Male) and Best Actor for one of the issues of Cleveland Scene Magazine, bein nominated four times at the Ohio Entertainment Awards, being seen in Hollywood Movies as an extra in movies like The Last Summer and Shooting Stars, and being featured in movies on streaming platforms such as Netflix, Peacock, TUBI, and Prime.

You can also listen to my radio show on Thursdays from 5pm-7pm on www.Mixlr.com NoStaticRadio in the search or you can listen in on TuneIn.com and type in NoStaticRadio

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

I would have to say I built my audience on social media by pretty much doing the same thing I been doing from the beginning which was always posting videos and pictures of what I do. I would also go LIVE sometimes once that option became available on apps such as Instagram and Facebook. When networking with entertainers I also give them my social media.

The advice I would give to anyone who is starting to build a social media presence would be to stay consistent when promoting yourself because once you stop or if you promote yourself every blue moon, nobody is really going to know what you do out here. Also depending on what you do use hashtags and mention a public figure or place because you never know who’s attention you might get. I have had celebrities and business “Like” and comment on my post before.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

One lesson I had to unlearn was that not everyone is on you’re side. When I first started getting into the entertainment industry I would think I had a fanbase and that people i knew would support me, share my stuff, and even help me out along the way. However I realized that some folks can be jealous of what you do because they do not either have the potential or guts to do it themselves. As an entertainer we are in this game by ourselves so we cannot also worry or expect the support from others.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @rpolkthetaurus
• Facebook: Ryan POk
• Youtube: Ryan Polk
• Other: Snapchat: rpolkthetaraus TikTok: @entertainertaurus

Image Credits
Areve Studios, MIa Turquoise Image, Mindy Kerr Photography, Mark Banks Entertaiment, and Lamont Hayden The 3rd