Meet Bradley Hill: Founder of King B+U, Content Creator, Creative Director, Stylist, Plus Male Model, Curator, Microinfluencer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Bradley Hill and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Bradley, what matters most to you?
I believe that my work is founded in Representation. My goal as a creative, in every capacity I create, is to provide representation of some sort. My work focuses heavily on putting plus size men in prominent and desirable roles and allowing black men space for vulnerability. I also focus on bringing black people to the forefront as we are often used as background or tokens in the creative space. This need and push for representation stems from my own experience. As a plus size male, I cannot point to a single mainstream magazine, publication, tv show, movie, runway or campaign where someone looks like me (and is not there for comedic relief. I got into modeling to try and be that representation in serious artistic works. Even more so, the work I’ve done as a creative director to feature diverse body types and array of black skin tones and identities was to emphasize the non-monolithic diversity in the black community and give voice and prominence to those who typically do not have it in these spaces. The hardest part about this is that society has told us that we don’t belong so it is hard for a lot of black men, plus size black men especially, to see themselves in this way if they don’t look like the stereotypical model. This can easily be said about all genders and races, but the reality is, women have made strides in the art and fashion community when it comes to body positivity and accuracy within body positivity. The first recognized plus size male in the industry is a white man and the body types that are featured in what little bit of plus size fashion we have are all built like football players, which is unrealistic to the everyday male. I look up to people like Ady Del Ville and Dexter Mayfield who I see myself represented in and doing the work I want to do, but we have so much further to go and I look forward to my work contributing to the larger conversation of representation!

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My Art is diverse. I founded King B + U as a creative experience in which people could approach me and bring me into their projects at whatever capacity they’d like because I realized my artistic talents were not specifically any one thing. I wasn’t just a model, or just a creative director, I was styling clothes and sets, I was curating galleries, producing, managing and hosting events, I was in the artistic think tanks and I was growing faster than even I anticipated. We grow up thinking artists are a specific kind of person, but what I learned is that my experiences in the world have been so extreme, the pain and the pleasure, and It was up to me to find creative ways to tell my story. I did that through my art. My modeling allows me to showcase a piece of myself that I was taught to hide. That vulnerability, that softness, the sadness, all of it. I shine in front of the camera because I was dimmed in real life. My work behind the camera has allowed me to give a voice to people and issues that I care about. I started a MENtality series in which I cast, create, direct, and curate a gallery on men’s mental health in different capacities and then host a panel discussion event bringing different creatives and professionals in to speak about men’s mental health, specifically men’s mental health within the black community. This work has allowed me to unpack a lot of the trauma I have around dealing with my own mental health while building and strengthening a community where it is okay for black men to struggle and be vulnerable and we uplift them and support them instead of calling them weak and tearing them down.

I feel like what set’s me apart is that fat black men are always in the background but I’m determined to not only be a main character but to showcase that while society has lowered its expectation for what they believe fat people can do, I am determined to show that I am so much more than that and I don’t need to fit a mold to do it. I will be in front of the camera and behind it. I can be a team player but I can also and most definitely will be in charge. I have such a unique perspective too. A lot of fat black men doing the work that I am doing are from large cities and/or the south. I come from a small city of Pittsburgh where there is nobody who looks like me doing the work that I’m doing the way that I’m doing it. I’m not just set apart, I had to build my own lane and continue to do so.

I’m most proud of my personal growth in my art, which is reflected in the shirtless works that I did in 2020. I was shot by acclaimed photographer Shikeith, in my first ever shirtless modeling work. As a fat black man, I was still wearing shirts to the beach. We’ve been told we aren’t desirable and that we don’t belong and that our bodies are disgusting. That was the first time I was celebrated for my body and that it was displayed in such a powerful and beautiful way. It inspired me to do a shirtless shoot for my birthday signifying this growth and rebirth in my confidence and identity. My self love journey and the growing I did in desiring and loving myself has made me a better person and has grown my art beyond anything I could imagine.

I’m most excited about growing my King B+U platform. I Have so many ideas and things that I want to do and I finally feel like I’m in a place to do them. I want to create more work and expand my outreach. I want to feature more plus size bodies and do more out of the box projects that amplify my voice and the voice of other marginalized communities. I have so many stories to tell and I can’t wait to tell them in the ways I’ve created.

I owe my creative success to my lovely talented amazing friends who are also my artist community. I have incredible friends, A creative director, a hair stylist, a musician, a model, a writer, a photographer, a curator. We all help each other, strengthen each other, sharpen each other’s abilities, criticize each other, help each other with the work. I owe my success to the black women who have poured into me and helped give me a platform to do the work I’m doing today. It was not easy. Black people, especially in our city of Pittsburgh, are marginalized and oppressed from the creative scene, Beyond that, black people are constantly being oppressed in the city, and the city does not care about it’s black citizens. We overcame that by being resilient and making our own when they wouldn’t let us in theirs or when they took from us, we just built it again. Alligning myself with black women was probably my best decision because they are the most powerful beings and I wouldn’t be here today without them.

The biggest lessons I’ve learned is 1, Don’t compare yourself to others. I spent a lot of time comparing myself to other models and creative directors in the city wondering if my art stacks up to theirs or if my abilities were as good as theirs and it halted a lot of my progress in my art. Once I stopped comparing myself, and existed as my own and created art uninhibited by the need to please and be like others, I created some beautiful things. My creative journey does not look like any one else’s in the city but I’d never have do anything I’ve done if I had let the doubt win that I was receiving by comparing myself to others. I also learned to Adapt. Adapting and changing is the only way to never peak. I don’t believe in ceilings, and I don’t ever believe I’ll reach a point where I never need to grow or change anymore. As society continues to grow and evolve, I have to grow and evolve with it if I want to continue to create amazing and relevant work. I think the final lesson I’ve learned is that if I don’t see the space for me, I have the power to create it. I’ve learned I don’t have to race in the same lane as other creatives, that I can just create the lane for myself. There is room for everyone and the difference is you, you make it your own, you make it unique, and nobody can do what you do and that’s because you’re the one doing it. All these things have made me who I am today and made me a better artist and even a better person.

When people meet me or encounter my work or my brand, King B+U, in any capacity, I want them to see themselves as apart of my creative journey. The motto of my brand is “what does King B plus you look like?” and I want people to understand that my art is a piece of me and my journey as a creative is taking that piece of me, my creativity, my experience, and merging that with whatever experiences people are bringing to the table. Art is such a beautiful expression and creating with others is personally what I believe will be the saving grace to humanity and I want to continue to be that change and show that through this journey and my work. The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I want to shout out 2 people/businesses that I directly credit to my success as a creative. Cat Burton, founder of Create Art Together (C.A.T.) which is a creative collective in which Cat has boosted the career of many creatives while providing resources and opportunities for emerging artists. Cat was the first one to bring me in as a model for a gallery she directed and curated. Cat and I have worked on many projects together since then and have helped each other grow into the creatives we are today. I also want to shout out Mia Marshall of Luxurae Hair. Mia Marshall is a prominent hair stylist who founded luxurae hair to give the everyday woman the lux touch while putting natural braiding styles and black hair culture center stage in the creative sphere. Mia allowed me to creative direct her premier promotional shoot and continues to bring me in to collaborate on many different projects. That premier promotional shoot also provided us both with the opportunity to have our work featured in a prominent gallery space. Mia and I have also grown so much together in our creative endeavors and helped each other immensely becoming the artists we are today. Both of these incredible black women inspire me to continue to create and bring my best and most authentic self to my work.

Instagram: b_rad_hill

Twitter: b_rad_hill

Image Credits
Images shot by Shikeith, Joe Lowery, and Ray Carrington