We were lucky to catch up with Shi’Darius Barrett recently and have shared our conversation below.
Shi’Darius, appreciate you joining us today. Can you take us back in time to the first dollar you earned as a creative – how did it happen? What’s the story?
First dollar earned as a creative was in the motion picture “Papertown” directed by John Schneider and produce by the great John Greene. I found out about this film from my English teacher junior year of high school. My English teacher at the time was a huge John Green fan and brought it to my attention the film was looking for background. I hesitated no time to submit for casting and by the blessings of God could show up to set every day and miss school while filming my first feature film with a huge budget Hollywood budget. I learned about directing more when I was on set, being that I studied the details the director applied to each scene. I took those checks and bought something for my entire family that year. Every penny went towards Christmas shopping. This is bigger than me and for sure it’s not about me, it’s about the family. Now that is how I made my first dollar as a creative.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I graduated in 2016 from Central Academy of Technology and Arts where I majored in theatre. The training was for sure rigorous compared to many programs. My intentions were to go to New York and perform on Broadway, but God had different plans. Attending the American Academy taught me discipline in the professional world of entertainment. I would be selfish to not mention that my training is a big part of my start. I always wanted to be an acting coach and maybe teach at a college for a couple of years. I will be starting my acting classes online this late winter 2024. My focus will be scene study for actors and audition preparation aside from directing. I’d admit I was close to quitting on my dreams about a year ago right before my TV debut and streaming debut. There is nothing other than performing stories that enlighten my heart to live another day. I now take pride. in saying I’m an entertainer unlike before. First day of college our professors taught us to take pride in telling anyone that “I am an actor” . I think believing in yourself is the main component of being the best performing you at anything you do in life. I hope anyone reading this BELIEVE in themselves because I didn’t, and it’s cliche but true please believe in your next step. I’d say the thing I am most proud of is showing up modeling gigs after being laughed at in high school. I couldn’t work in Hollywood nor ever model for any brand … nor work in Hollywood without a four-year degree. Believe In yourself before anyone else can.
Alright – so here’s a fun one. What do you think about NFTs?
NFTs are the future in my opinion. I honestly feel NFTs are in the beginning phase like cryptocurrency was at the beginning. The demand was high and then, before it became mainstream; it had its down time. Bitcoin, for an example, dropped from 62 to below 22 but has since this year gained more value in the coin doubling back up. I created an NFT project myself, starting off with 500 unique NFTs valued at .43 Etherums. At the time, in 2021, that was valued at $350 each because of the utilities involved. I hope NFT continues to innovate over time, like cryptocurrency originally did. I think creative artists, , and brands can benefit big time to add more value to subscription based packages offered with my many brands and big companies in the future.
How did you build your audience on social media?
From a business perspective, being yourself and being creative is the biggest step to standing out as a brand on social media. Building a true genuine audience takes time and consistent content. I built my audience on social media from modeling with different brands. I had the privilege to work on a couple of projects that gained millions of views and streaming on a couple of platforms to say the least . If you were to visit my Instagram, you would see a grid of my portfolio. I curated my profile @shidtv on Instagram because a picture can tell many stories depending on where your mind is stated.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://m.imdb.com/name/nm6894976/
- Instagram: https://Instagram.com/shidtv
- Twitter: Https://www.twitter.com/shidtv