Meet Devyn Zoolander | Storyteller

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

Hi Devyn, can you tell us about an impactful book you’ve read and why you liked it or what impact it had on you?
The book that I reference all the time, because of how much it has impacted my mindset, is “The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck” by Mark Mason. Prior to reading The Subtle Art, I was unfamiliar with a lot of psychological terms and mantras that self-help authors often highlight in their works. For example, I learned that “a true and accurate measurement of someone’s self-worth is how people feel about the negative aspects of themselves.” That statement is mind-blowing to me because I always believed that focusing on one’s strengths is the best way to navigate life. Manson disagrees. According to the author, we should embrace our imperfections and address them in ways that will give us the confidence we need to be the best versions of ourselves. Confidence is all about the manner in which we manage self-doubt.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My art is rooted in my journey to leave behind a legacy that will outlive me. I am very familiar with the everyday struggle that I face to show up in the world as the best version of myself. Sometimes I get depressed, vulnerable, and fearful that I will NOT be able to achieve my wildest dreams. To combat those emotional adversaries, I lean in to my personality and imagination. The colors that I chose for my brand are reflective of my creative identity. The teal represents my desire to stay true to myself…to be unapologetically me. The gold reflects the standard of quality that I strive to achieve whenever I release a piece of content to the world. Black is symbolic of my pride in being a Black man that loves his people. And finally, the pink represents my boldness. I understand that unless you’re Cam’ron in the early 2000s, most men are questioned if they dare to wear pink. For me pink embodies my mission to foster healthier relationships with women because at the end of the day I believe that men and women have more in common than a lot us have been conditioned to believe.

What sets The Devyn Zoolander Show apart from other podcast platforms is the transparency in which I run my show. Right now, I’m a one-man band that makes mistakes every time I record an episode. That said, I know that I am human and when people offer constructive critiques of my work, I am open to receiving their feedback. My show is thoughtful, artful, and intentional.

Going back to the branding of my platform, I would like to say that the slogan for my show: “Stay moisturized and mind ya business” comes from two places. First when I was growing up, my mother would always counter me saying something negative about someone else with “Now how you gonna talk crazy about someone when you ain’t even brushed ya teeth yet.” I never knew what meant by that as a kid. But as a grown man I realized that she was telling me to “look in the mirror” and confront my own blemishes instead of pointing out the imperfections of someone else’s life. Also brushing your teeth is a basic hygiene practice. So I just replaced teeth-brushing with “moisturizing.” The second place of origin for my slogan comes from a classic episode of “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.” After getting verbally and physically harassed at school by a mean girl, Ashley asks Will for tips on how to deal with a bully. So he tells her to scare the girl off by acting like she’s crazy…screaming “BACK UP! BACK UP! Mind ya business. That’s all. Just mind ya business.”

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
If my best friend was visiting Pittsburgh, first I would tell her to come through in the summertime because the winters here are unpleasantly cold. After she gets here, I would take her to Cilantro & Ajo, a Venezuelan restaurant on the South Side that serves the best plantains in the city. Then I would take her to Mount Washington to check out the incredible views of the city. Since she’s an actress I would record her performing a dramatic monologue against the backdrop of Pittsburgh skyline. Later on in the evening we would hit up Brillobox in Lawrenceville to two-step to the Union DJs (DJ Big Phill, Black Steel, and Selecta) because they play the best music from 90s hip hop and R&B. Speaking of music, we would have to attend an outdoor concert where the Bill Henry Band is playing. Finally, we would get some collard greens from Eon Bar & Grill.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I want to shout out a few people from my village. First, my brother Daren is my role model. Not only is he a hard-working family man that will do anything to uplift his loved ones, he is also an asset to his community through his job as a police officer. No matter how many times I’ve pulled a “Lynn Searcy” and reversed course on what I want to do with my life, he has always breathed an air of confidence into my dreams. Second, I would like to shout out my teammate Tierra Goode AKA “T.”, a talented actress that grew up in the West Oak Lane section of Philadelphia, PA just like me. Whether I need to try out a new piece of audio equipment or a piece of advice whenever I’m battling with anxiety or Impostor syndrome, T is a beacon of reassurance. She is a rockstar whether I’m on her team or not, but what I really appreciate is that she wants me to be on her team as she rises to the top. I cherish her presence in my life. And finally, I wouldn’t even be getting featured by Shoutout Atlanta if it wasn’t for my best friend Cedric Perry. I’ve known Ced for almost 20 years dating back to our time as students at Cheyney University, America’s oldest historically Black college or university. Long before I became a podcaster with my own show, Ced and I (along with Ray, Julbert and Garvin) would create videos in Emlen Hall at Cheyney and post them on Youtube. Whether he’s rapping, writing, or executive producing music and videos for his artists on his record label, Renaissance Entertainment, LLC, he continues to inspire me to go after everything that God has prepared for me. Thank you my brotha!

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/devynzoolander/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DevynZoolander

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Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCakNv9Ub3qNYjEuqkyMF5Zg